My brother, Connor, and I visited the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Park in May 2017. It was an uncharacteristically cold year, and we were not prepared for the below-freezing temperatures. Nevertheless, we enjoyed the trails and views, and came home with a mountain of gorgeous photos. Read to the end of this post to see some of the most beautiful photos I have ever had the privilege of taking.
Connor and I drove out to Wyoming, stopping once on the way there at an RV park where we set up camp. The wind was so intense that it took five minutes just to hold down the fabric long enough to put one stake into the ground. Several times during the process, the tent flew up and we had to catch it out of the air. Connor and I hardly slept at all that night with the wind mercilessly flapping at the waterproof material. The hot showers this RV park offered, however, made all the difference.
As we drove through Wyoming the next day, we hit a blizzard. The snow piled up on the two-lane highway so quickly that Connor's little Nissan had to maintain an uncomfortably fast speed in order to keep straight on the road and plow through the fluff. I was gripping my seat the entire time, and had to look away any time a car came toward us from the other direction.
We finally made it to the Grand Tetons, and luckily for us, the snow had just melted enough the day before in order for them to open up the park for visitors that day. If we had arrived 24 hours earlier, we would have been sent away.
We set up our tent in a deserted campground that had a grand view of the Tetons. We spent the first night there and the next day went on a beautiful hike to get a better view of the mountain range. On the way, we yelled every five minutes or so to ward off bears (neither of us wanted to pay for bear spray) and other large animals. We passed by a pond that created eerie echos when we talked. Later, we lost the trail due to the copious amount of snow that piled up with the increasing elevation, and found ourselves scaling up the side of a steep hill covered in rocks in order to find the road, which Connor's mild phone signal told us was in that direction. At one point, my grip on one loose rock started a mini avalanche, and I had to quickly run straight upward on falling rocks in order to escape the tumble far, far down to the bottom. The view we saw up here was worth the trek.
Later, we drove over to Yellowstone and camped there. Every night, the temperature dropped below freezing. Connor and I had only brought sleeping bags meant for 40 degrees and above. And for some reason, we also left our winter coats behind. We had no idea that it would be so cold that year. We swaddled ourselves in our individual blanket and sleeping bag bundles, put on multiple pairs of socks, and layered our sweatshirts. Still, we were so cold that it was difficult to fall asleep.
The trip around the hot springs and geysers in Yellowstone was incredible. We saw pools of every color, steaming and bubbling in front of the hilly landscape. Old Faithful was not so much so, considering he just sat there and smoked for a little bit without so much as a small gush of water. Connor and I had more fun watching a random hot spring boil over (while also using the steam as warmth) on another trail.
The Mammoth Hot Springs up north were unlike anything I had ever seen up until then. Beautiful light brown and white shelves of hot water sat atop a large, rocky hill overlooking mountains in the distance.
Our tent froze over the last night we were there. Condensation had dripped into our old tent due to it being (only slightly) warmer inside. Connor woke up that morning and left the tent, dripping with dew and shivering. He cracked a piece of ice off the top of the tent, looked at me, and said, "Want to go home today instead of tomorrow?" I could tell from the blue tint of his face as well as his expression that the question was rhetorical.
Although we were relatively unprepared for the weather during our trip, the experience was overall a success. I will have to go again in the future - but maybe next time I'll check the forecast before I pack.
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