Tetons don't disappoint for a quick Nordic ski outing
Finding big mountains and tiny critters on a ski along Teton Park Road
I was skiing back from Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park last week when I saw the tiny dark blob zipping around on top of the snow about 30 yards ahead.
At first I thought it was a mouse, but the closer I got, I could see it was about the size of my hand. A vole had popped up out of the snow to have a look around.
I had driven to the park in Jackson Hole, Wyoming to spend the middle of the day skiing the Teton Park Road to Jenny Lake and back (about 8 miles roundtrip).
I wasn’t sure what conditions I would find, but as I drove north and gained a bit of elevation in the park, the snowpack increased. The area did get a bit of snow earlier in the week.
Entrance to the park requires a pass or weekly fees. I parked at the Taggart/Bradley Trailhead and began skiing north. The road is closed to autos just north of the parking lot.
A groomer passed by setting nice tracks for classic skiers and skate skiers. The Teton Park Road and trail to Taggart Lake gets groomed three times a week all the way to the Signal Mountain Lodge (about 14 miles one way).
The sky was mostly cloudy, particularly over the Teton Range, but occasionally the sun would hit and warm things up. I found myself pausing to strip a few things off as I heated up. Eventually I took off my beanie and gloves to cool down.
Because I was there on a Friday, the ski traffic was light. If you go on a Saturday, expect a crowd.
As I skied within a mile or so of Jenny Lake, more clouds moved in. I found myself putting my beanie back on as the shadows cooled things down a few degrees.
At the turn off to Jenny Lake, there was only a skier made trail to the buildings. I followed the track to the Jenny Lake Store and visitor center and sat to have a snack on the empty bench outside the store.
During the summer, this complex is swarming with humans — like Grand Central Station. Its population can rival some of the local small towns here in eastern Idaho. On this day it had a population of 1 — me. Everything was locked up and even the trash cans were covered in plastic wrap. Snow depths hit about 2 to 3 feet.
After a snack, I made some tracks in the snow over to the shore of Jenny Lake. As I arrived, the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the summits of Mount St. John and Rockchuck Peak on the far side of Jenny Lake. All the other nearby peaks were hidden behind clouds.
As I skied back to the parking lot, I saw the vole. The small critter let me get within 20 yards of it before it vanished back down a hole in the snow. It caused me to consider how voles seem to be on the menu of every predator. They are at the bottom of the food chain.
I remember that last April, I bicycled the Teton Park Road during the season when the road is closed to automobiles. On that ride I watched a fox — who basically ignored me — dive nose first into the roadside snow and pull his head back out with a vole in its mouth. After a minute of chomping, the vole disappeared down the fox’s throat. The fox gave me a sideways glance and continued walking down the road. (National park critters tend to be somewhat used to humans.)
On the subject of critters, on the drive to the park past the National Elk Refuge just north of Jackson, I saw thousands of elk. I also saw a small pack of wolves near the east side fence of the refuge near the highway. The wolves were just lounging around in the sun. It looked like they had a nice gig with thousands of potential meals — possibly an all you can eat buffet — to choose from.
While skiing back to my car, the mountains continued to play peekaboo behind the clouds. The highest peaks never did show their full majesty.
As I drove through Jackson on the way home, I couldn’t resist stopping at the New York Sub Shop for a sandwich.
If you’d like more information on other Jackson Nordic ski areas, you can stop in at the visitors center north of town or the National Forest Service office a block away. The visitors center gave me a “Winter Trail & Pathway System” pamphlet of several trails along with grooming schedules.
It’s hard to tell, but we should have a few more weeks of cross-country skiing left this winter.
I expect I’ll return to Jackson Hole in the spring with my bike for some early season cycling when the roads and pathways open up.
