Adventures with Kelly and Kyle

The Grand. An objective Kyle’s been thinking about for years. Who knew we would meet someone with the same level of stoke and goals! We met Micah through Will and Hailey during our month long stay in the Lander area this summer. An offhand comment during a side conversation had Kyle, Micah and I driving hours from Lander towards Jackson.

I thought the approach and climb would be too much for me. But, I longed to see the mountain up close. With Micah as a climbing partner for Kyle, we came up with a plan. The three of us would hike up to the saddle and camp and the next day Kyle and Micah would climb. We lucked out and were able to obtain a permit for the Lower Saddle between the Middle and Grand Tetons.

The Approach

We left Lupine Meadows Trailhead around 10:30am, 6,372′ elevation. 6 hours, 7 miles and over 4,800′ elevation gain later we reached the Lower Saddle. I had the lightest backpack as I was just camping, Kyle and Micah’s packs had camping gear AND climbing gear.

I was still the slowest hiker. This was absolutely, without a doubt the hardest hike I’ve done and I’m probably in the best shape yet. As we were traversing through the morraines I almost fainted, ralphed and gave up. Multiple times. Kyle patiently waited for me and offerred encouragement to my zombielike countenance when he could. Eventually I made it to the saddle, ~11,100′.

The Camp

A campsite was selected among the boulder fields in the precarious alpine tundra. Kyle helped me setup the tent however, halfway through we both became so dizzy we had to take a break. I told Kyle to start making us dinner and I slowly continued to setup our camp. The increase in elevation combined with our lack of sustenance throughout the day was definitely to our detriment. For breakfast we both had a bowl of yogurt, for lunch a granola bar. That was it. No wonder we were not feeling well. Nothing a decent dinner couldn’t fix. Food in our bellies and camp all set, I could finally appreciate our surroundings.

The Climb

We woke up around 5 am, before the sun was up. As breakfast was heating we looked over to the base of the climb and saw headlights. People were getting after it early. At least two groups we counted were close to the base of the Exum, the route Micah and Kyle were aiming to climb. There were also loads of headlamps trudging up the approach for the Owen Spalding, the other popular route to the top of the Grand. The energy was electric. Breakfast consumed, coffee, tea and water as well. The guys were gearing up, ready to start their climb on the Grand.

It was about 6 in the morning by this time. Kyle and Micah took off from camp and hustled their way to the base of the climb. I watched from camp. The photo above was taken from camp and the Grand is directly behind them as well as the Lower Exum and Upper Exum routes that they were going to climb. At first I considered getting another hour or two of sleep (we hadn’t slept well the night before and the day was still young). But by this point I was too much awake. Instead I nestled in my tent entrance with my sleeping quilt around me, made another cup of coffee and watched their progress.

The Descent

After 7 sometime the sun was blinding me so perfectly I couldn’t watch Kyle and Micah anymore. So, I packed up my things, and filtered as much water as I could for the guys and myself. It is now 8 in the morning, I look in the direction of the Exum Ridge, shield my eyes from the sun and wave goodbye to the Kyle and Micah dots climbing higher on the ridge and turn my back on the Grand.

It was slow going at first, I felt stiff and achy. Luckily my trekking poles helped me to stay in balance through the uneven terrain. Finally I reached the short, fixed rope section and beyond that to my least favorite part of the trail, the dreaded Morraines.

The trail was so steep and riddled with loose rock on the way up yesterday, I was not looking forward to revisiting this spot. The trail spiderwebs through the morraines from people trying to find the best trail up as well as to and from various campsites throughout the area. The loose rock and crumbly terrain also lends itself quite nicely to erosion making it hard to maintain and stay on the ‘main’ trail. I got turned around 2 or 3 times, luckily never for very long. I was rather pleased with myself for keeping my head and finding the trail when I got off course. As I hiked down I passed a few other climbers on their way up and a number of Pikas yelling their hellos at me.

I absolutely relished in seeing the marmots bound across the landscape. I took a picture of my favorite chubby marmot which likes to sit on a boulder and watch hikers as they pass. We saw him yesterday chasing a few hikers looking for snacks, I was hoping to run into him today.

Onward I hiked, down, down down the mountain. I passed many hikers on the 7 mile trek back. My favorite group was that of 4 women in their 70s most likely, I saw them when they were about 4 miles into their hike. All 4 had huge smiles on them as they chatted quietly to themselves along the trail. We said hello as we passed and commented on the beautiful day we were having.

I pause for a sip of water as they pass. The leader of the group rounded a bend to which offers the first view of Garnet Canyon. Then I hear “All I can say is holy f**k” and one by one exclaimed something similar once the beauty was seen by their own eyes. I grinned knowingly. Wonderful ladies. I hope one day to be like them, still getting after it when the age is getting up there and still marvelling at nature.

The End

I made it back to Lupine Meadows Trailhead in 4 hours. The last mile of the trail seemed to go on and on, around another bend and another. I was absolutely exhausted, my legs and feet hurt. I reached the van and stretched as much as an exhausted person could. Took a nice hot shower, theragun-ed my legs, stretched some more then took an hour and a half nap. Best nap ever. Hours later Micah text that they had summited the Grand around noon (about the time I made it back to the van) and that they were staying out there another night. I congratulated them and was stoked to hear their outing was a success! Looking forward to seeing them tomorrow I made myself a proper meal and continued to recover the rest of the day.

For more pictures from the hike and camp, check out: Camping