“How beautifully Plato put it. Whenever you want to talk about people, it’s best to take a bird’s-eye view and see everything all at once — of gatherings, armies, farms, weddings and divorces, births and deaths, noisy courtrooms or silent spaces, every foreign people, holidays, memorials, markets — all blended together and arranged in a pairing of opposites.”
Marcus Aurelius
I was feeling very fortunate today to have my life partner, inspiration, and all-around goddess of a wife join me for today’s hike. Let’s be honest – she is much more capable and better suited for something like this than I am, so I was super-gripped to have her set the pace for me today. The objective for today was Leigh Lake Trailhead to Trapper and Bearpaw Lakes. It occurred to both of us when we were making today’s plan that neither one of us has been on this trail before. There are several trails in Grand Teton that we have never set foot on, but we’ve done almost all of the easy, lower valley trails that I can think of, but for some reason this is one we’ve missed.
The ride up into the park was spectacular, and getting out early is always clutch to avoid the crowds. The night before, we went out for delicious, but greasy Mexican food, so my body was definitely reminding me of the consequences of eating an enormous chicken burrito supreme and drinking a very salty margarita. One of the four virtues of Stoicism is temperance, and for me, occasional over-indulgence definitely serves as a visceral reminder of the benefits of moderation. Arriving at the String Lake parking lot and trailhead was easy and uneventful.
We began walking on the east side of String Lake and continued along the eastern shore of Leigh Lake for several miles. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting too much out of this hike other than some exercise and some much needed one-on-one time with Aimee. It turns out, as is often the case, I had totally underestimated it. We had stunning views across the lake of Mount Moran as well as Paintbrush and Leigh Canyons. If all goes according to plan, I should be up in Paintbrush Canyon later this summer, but for now it remains very snowy.
We passed several campsites along the way to Trapper and Bearpaw Lakes, and they all seemed like really beautiful choices to spend a night or two. The two lakes at trail’s end were small and tranquil with nice cascades flowing into each of them. We returned the way that we came, and passed increasing numbers of people as the morning wore on and we got closer to the trailhead.
My thought for this hike centered around the Plato’s view as described by Marcus Aurelius. To me, the main concept is that when we consider our lives, we would do well to consider what everything looks like from a zoomed-out view. Looking down on the Earth from high above, it quickly becomes apparent how trivial everything is that occupies much of our daily lives. Many things that we spend a great deal time worrying about or arguing about just disappear in a global context. Truly, on a universal scale everything is insignificant. Also, as our perspective moves from the ground-level to a higher vantage point, everything starts to look the same. This view from above reminds us that we are all more alike than we are different; universally, humans are humans. Our petty and political squabbles are ridiculously unimportant and the more we remember that the better off we would be.
Considering Plato’s view while walking in the mountains today, it’s impossible not to have this perspective. The Tetons are a towering reminder of how insignificant we are. We are tiny. Our lives are brief flashes of lightning. Rather than dwelling on anything negative for any length of time, we need to focus on making the most of the nanoseconds that we have and positively impact those around us. Time spent on trivialities or things we can’t control is time wasted, and none of us have as much time as we think.
Mileage – 9.1 miles
BGAS – 0
PS – 88
Ladies carrying paddleboards – 2