“The Fates guide the person who accepts them and hinder the person who resists them.”
Cleanthes
I have never heard of Arizona Creek before, and neither has anyone else that I’ve told about this hike. This trail is located between Colter Bay and Lizard Creek in the northern reaches of the Park. I get the sense that it is mainly a horse trail that outfitters and private individuals use to access the multitude of trails in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Only about 2.5 miles is in the Park itself, but since it’s a marked trail in the Park, I decided to put it on the list. I also wanted to do some recon for an upcoming longer hike that leaves from Lizard Creek, so I figured I’d accomplish both in an afternoon.
Even just finding the trailhead for this thing was not a chip shot. I passed the gravel road leading to it twice before realizing my mistake. The trailhead was at the end of a ¼ mile gravel road, sort of hidden, and felt very desolate. There were no cars, no people, and not a whole lot of evidence that many people come to this area. I set out on the hike and after about 100 yards, found my first pile of bear scat. Not a great omen, and I was feeling a little uneasy. The forest here is thick with lodgepole pines with dense underbrush.
I hiked through a mixture of forest and meadow and the trail here was very overgrown. It had rained recently, and I found myself trudging through waist-high wet grass. Before long my shoes were waterlogged, and my legs were covered with hitchhikers and small bugs. The mosquitos were also relentless and I donned my rain jacket just to protect my arms. I made noise by taking to myself, thinking aloud, and resurrecting my take on Gin and Juice to let the bears know I was coming. This is solidly grizzly territory, and hiking alone through this thick forest by myself, out of cell range started to feel a bit stupid.
Then, it began to rain. Then, it began to thunder. Not long after that, the lightning started. With the bugs, the soppy shoes, the itchy legs, the creepiness of the hike, and the looming storm I decided it was time to turn back. One of the four pillars of Stoicism is wisdom, and even though I struggled for a few minutes with the decision, I decided the wise choice was to turn back. The emotion I felt immediately after turning around was one of relief telling me I was probably making the right choice.
As I hiked back under the gathering storm clouds I reflected again on how to make decisions and the decision to turn back. I was already here, already wet, halfway to my goal, and not really wanting to come back up here to repeat this hike. That’s what was motivating me to continue, but were those good reasons? I decided I didn’t think so. I decided something was telling me that the wise move was to get the hell out of there, and I think I made the correct call.
So, the hike was a bust. Ok. I only did half of what I intended. Maybe, I’ll come back with a companion and do it again, or maybe I won’t. I don’t know. I do know that I didn’t really love any aspect of this hike, and the only reason that I would come back is to check a box, to cross the two miles I didn’t do off my list. I’m not sure that is a good enough reason, so I’m going to think about it. I am going to finish the rest of my list and consider whether to come back to it. I probably won’t revisit it, but I guess time will tell.
Mileage – 2.0 miles
Time –44 minutes
Animals – none
People – none