Do you ever have a day where things don’t go exactly as planned but it ends up being a great day? Today was one of those days.
My plan for today involved hiking to Taggart Lake (and maybe adding on Bradley Lake). Well, *somebody* didn’t check the weather forecast for today. And that same somebody didn’t look outside before leaving the hotel for the day.
Raining. It was raining when I walked outside. Sure enough, my weather app indicated mostly cloudy skies with an 85% chance of rain and thunderstorms. So not exactly great weather for hiking. My plan B ended up being to drive out the Moose-Wilson Road to see if I could spot any moose (nope) and then just drive around the park. When I got to the Taggart Lake trailhead, I decided to just go for the hike anyway. It turned out to be a great idea because within the first mile, I saw a fox and a mother moose and her calf!
When I reached the Y-junction in the trail and could choose to go straight to Taggart Lake or make a loop that included Bradley Lake, I decided on the latter. Shortly after the junction is where I met the nicest woman who is a small-group tour guide for outdoor tours. She was heading to pick up a tour group in a couple of days and was exploring the park on her own today. We ended up hiking together for the rest of the 5.5 mile journey. I don’t mind hiking alone, but it was great to have company for a while, especially knowing there was large wildlife around!
Bradley Lake was a little harder to see due to the elevation of the trail and trees in the way, but Taggart Lake was crystal clear and you could tell with a calm water surface, you would be able to see reflections of the surrounding mountains.
After my morning hike, I drove the rest of the Teton Park Road to Moran Junction and then stopped at J. Pierce Cunningham’s ranch before heading back to Jackson.
After a rest and shower, it was off to dinner. My originally chosen restaurant had an hour wait (before 5PM; welcome to Jackson Hole), which is how I came to be eating a “Guy’s Pie” at Pinky G’s Pizzeria. The Pizzeria was featured on Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”. How could I not order his eponymous pie? Featuring mozzarella, bleu cheese, chicken, and pepperoni, what was not to love about it? I need to head to bed early tonight, as I have a full morning planned tomorrow!
Traveling with Laura 