Teton Hike--Up to Table Rock We Go!

I just got back from Idaho yesterday, and what a blast it was!! I think I am in love with Idaho! Our first day there, we were greeted with a delicious meal by Jeff's very kind parents, we packed for our hike up Table Rock, and we tried to go to sleep despite our excitement!

At 5:15 we woke up and got ready for the hike. We left about 7, and started the hike around 8. What a beautiful mountain! Full of flowers and tons of trees and a river that we crossed quite a few times, oh how pretty!

Of course, it was pretty dangerous too, ahem....we prettymuch could have died, you know, all that crossing over rivers and no bathrooms around anywhere, not to mention the bears that we had to tackle and the anaconda that wrapped itself around Kleresa--don't worry, she is safe. If it wasn't for our fearless men we would have perished..

By the time we got up past the treeline, we could see our destination pretty well. It seemed so far away! Yet we had already gone about 3-4 hours, and we had covered tons of ground, so we just kept enjoying the journey. We even crossed a potential avalanche! ;)



Well, there was snow piled up--it was pretty cool looking to see it! Then we crossed this rockbed--tons of rocks, I have no idea how they got there. We also passed several "altars" people had made out of the rocks--or, just piles of rocks that have been added to over time--JR added a rock each time we passed one.



Eventually we got to the top, after several exclamations of "OK, only TEN MORE MINUTES!!" What a pretty sight! We had to cross 2 states to get there! ;) We started in Idaho and ended up in Wyoming. (I will admit I got a bit loopy at the top...maybe it was the altitude! and did you know that there are really fat flies that can survive at 11,000 feet? It's hard to take a nap on a rock when there are flies buzzing around your head...sigh....guess all good things come with opposition ;) )




Did I mention how tired we were? We didn't think that we would make it! But we did, and those rocks felt so comfortable!!

Here is a picture of Jeff, he wanted to win the BYU bookstore bag picture so he brought one up to the top of Table Rock.....I think he is really imagining that he is hitting the winning golf shot against his dad!

So in conclusion, I love being in the mountains. There is something to be said for accomplishing a tough feat, but there are also lots of gospel lessons that you can get from it! I was thinking about this a long time ago, why its so peaceful to be in nature, and I recall learning at one point that all of Heavenly Father's creations, like the trees and animals and everything in nature, has a spirit. They are also completely obedient to what He would have them to do, unlike humans, who get feisty and stubborn (unlike me...ha ha ha) so I think being around that kind of an atmosphere, around obedient creations, brings a feeling of peace. And it reminds us of what the Lord has created for us! What a beautiful world this is!