“If it’s endurable, then endure it. Stop complaining.”
Marcus Aurelius
I was incredibly lucky to talk my son and his friend Connor into doing the first higher-elevation hike of the season with me. It honestly didn’t take too much convincing, and once I got the answer I wanted last week, I stopped talking about it. I have several longer hikes coming up, so I gave them a couple of options, and they eventually settled on Marion Lake. The plan was to take the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Tram to the top of Rendezvous Peak and head out from there. This had two advantages. One: we could start hiking at a high elevation without hiking up from the valley floor, and two: the tram doesn’t start running until 9 AM, so the boys wouldn’t have to get up too early. And, we could get D.O.G burritos on the way!
We planned on about 15 miles, and I was prepared for a fairly full day. I knew that we would experience some pretty decent elevation gain/loss, and for me, hiking between 8,500 – 10,500 feet would be a bit tougher than hiking in the valley. I was mentally prepared for some potential grumbling from my hiking partners, and I made sure to set us up for success. I am a pretty minimalist hiker, but I leaned more toward maximalism for this trip. I made us some prosciutto salami sandwiches, got some bomber trail mix, and even packed some beef jerky. With plenty of water, food, and motivation we headed up the tram.
It was a beautiful day for a hike – clear and 70 degrees with a light breeze. I let the boys lead the way as we headed out, and as soon as we found the trail they took off like they were shot out of a cannon. Noah is 6’, and Connor is about 6’2”. Their long strides ate up the trail, and while I felt comfortable keeping up on the downhill and even the flat ground, uphill was a different story. As the grade became steeper, their pace never changed. They charged uphill like someone was chasing them, and someone was…me.
It’s funny how life has a way of putting you in your place just when you think you are starting to get: insert goal attained (fit, smarter, better, etc). I’ve been walking and hiking a lot lately. I feel like I am in reasonably decent shape. As I’ve said before, being “fit” in this town is relative. This weekend, one of our friends did the 29029 Everesting challenge at Snow King. She hiked the 1.1 mile boot pack up Snow King 19 times in about 18 hours for total of 29,000 vertical feet. I had four friends do the Teton Mountain Run 30K at JHMR – 18 miles and 5,500 vertical feet! Chasing these 16-year-olds for 15 miles and seeing my friends accomplish these things showed me just how much room I have for self-improvement. I try not to compare myself to others, but mention it only to say that I am inspired by these achievements and fitness.
The hike starts off by immediately losing elevation as we headed from JHMR to the Teton Crest Trail Junction. It’s a really spectacular hike and has a little of everything – long-range vistas, mountain creeks, pine forests, and meadows. There were a few snow patches, but nothing remarkable, and I am hopeful that snow won’t be a factor from here on out. We linked up with the Teton Crest Trail, and we were making good time. To take the tram back down from the summit of Rendezvous Peak we had to be back by 5:30. I knew we’d make it, but I think the boys were a bit worried, and no one wanted to walk the extra mileage back down.
The trail essentially is a loop trail with a little side trip to Marion Lake. After hiking for several miles, we expected to find the trail to Marion Lake, but we never did. It occurred to me that we had probably somehow missed it, and that we were now heading away from the lake. I was able to confirm this when we hit the North Fork Granite Canyon camping zone. We had indeed somehow missed the trail about a half mile back. There was really no question of what to do – the boys and I knew we had to get to the lake, and we resigned to head back the way we came. How did we miss the trail? It turned out that due to a small snowfield, we had detoured to the right of a large boulder for about 50 feet. Just on the other side of that boulder was the trail marker indicating the continuation of the Teton Crest Trail and the way to Marion Lake. It seemed pretty incredible that a slight temporary jog right instead of left caused us to miss the mark, but I guess that’s how life is. Without even realizing it, we continually make a series of tiny decisions that impact our lives one way or another.
The trek up to the lake was tough, but worth it. My lungs and legs were definitely feeling the elevation, and it took more effort than I’d like to admit to get up there. It’s beautiful, crystal clear, and deep and the perfect spot for a lunch. Initially, we planned to swim in the lake for a while, but when the opportunity arose, no one took it. I dipped my legs in, but that’s it. We probably spent 15 minutes on the lakeshore eating before heading back out.
We gained the loop trail again, and began the long slog back uphill to the tram. This section of the trail was lush with willow and spectacular wildflowers. We trekked through forest and open meadows, and I noticed the conversation slow to a trickle as we gained more and more elevation. I got very accustom to seeing the backs of Connor and Noah slowly disappear ahead of me as they maintained their pace, and my hiking turned more into plodding. The part that I was really dreading was heading up the switchbacks on the north side of Rendezvous Peak, but it really wasn’t too bad. The real kick in the pants came as we headed back up the last half mile on the JHMR service road to the tram dock. Seemingly straight up hill in the blazing sun at elevation, the last 15 minutes were the longest by far.
It was only 15.5 miles total, but with the elevation gain, altitude, and heat it felt like a whole lot more. For me, the word grueling comes to mind. This hike wound up being a perfect metaphor for life. It was both amazing, but also at times, a bit of a slog. Spending all day with my son and his friend exploring the Tetons was such a joy, and I am grateful for the time we spent together. But, it wasn’t easy the entire time. It wasn’t all fun. It had ups and downs, missed trails, difficult moments where we (mainly me) had to endure. Persevere. We took the good with the bad, we soldiered on, we didn’t complain, we endured, and we made it. That’s life. It’s all the good with all the bad all the time. Whether we have a well-lived life is up to us – how we approach it, deal with it, and endure what needs to be endured.
Mileage – 15.5 miles
Time – 6 hours, 7 minutes
Animals – none
PS – many near the tram, few on the Teton Crest Trail, nearly zero the rest of the way