Last week a couple friends and I had the magnificent opportunity of hiking over the jagged peaks you see above--the Tetons in northwest Wyoming. Rising up from the Jackson Hole valley like teeth from a bear's mouth, the Teton Range looks stark from a distance but is in fact rich with life, almost to the peak (there were honeybees browsing flowers at 10,000 ft). Our 1 and 1/2 day hike through Paintbrush and Cascade Canyons brought us to 10,700 feet--and 10,900 feet if you include the ridge we scrambled to at the top. Since the parking lot we started from was about 6,900 feet, we climbed a total of around 4,000. The hike was about 20 miles.

I was very close to taking my digital SLR (a Canon Rebel XT) up the trails with me, but decided against the extra weight at the last minute. This was the first overnight backpacking trip any of us had done, and since us Hoosiers don't exactly go mountain climbing a lot, we weren't sure what to expect. We already had weight in our backpacks from sleeping bags, a tent, food, sternos, etc. At first, while the elevation was still moderate, I wanted to kick myself for not bringing it. But by about 9,000 feet (where I was huffing and puffing), I decided I had made a wise decision. Later in this post I'll have a lineup of Yellowstone photos for you.

We actually did have one small digital camera along for the first few hours of the trip, but the Tetons ate it. Mean things. Either that or some hiker got a free camera.

 The tree cover was mostly coniferous, with grasses and shrubs in the valleys, where streams fueled by glacier melt continually ran. Flowers species varied with the location and elevation, and raspberries were abundant. They were also the best I've ever tasted in my life. The bears must have loved them too, since several hikers we passed said they seen grizzlies or black bears near the trail. We had no such luck until we had come within 1500 feet or so of the summit, where we saw a small black bear browsing on an opposite ridge. He was about 200 feet away, and looked occupied, so we felt safe enough. We had the bear mace handy just in case.

To my utter delight, one of the most abundant animals on the mountains was the American pika, which I wrote about a couple years ago here. This was the first time I had seen one in person, and they are as cute as they look in pictures. Just imagine an overstuffed mouse, or a hamster with brains. Pikas live alone and are territorial, so every now and then when we passed a boulder field (there were many), we heard squeak not unlike that of a rubber duck. If we looked carefully we could usually find a bundle of fur perched on a rock, eyeing us suspiciously.

I discovered pikas are very curious animals, if you're patient and can act cute yourself. By making chipmunk noises I was able to attract a pika to within two feet of me. At that distance, he gave me a good gaze, sniffed the air, squeaked loudly and scampered away.

In the photo below--graciously provided to us by another hiker--from left to right, is Chris Bougie, myself, and PJ Slinn at Paintbrush Divide, a 10,700-foot ridge. Notice the snow fields (they are larger than they look in the photo), even though August is one of the hottest months on the Tetons. We of course slid down one just to say we rode a glacier. Or what was left of one.

Photo by Melisa Rodriguez

Below is another view of the Tetons, as seen later in the week after our return from Yellowstone. Thankfully, we had great weather during our time on the range.

 On to Yellowstone. From here on the pictures do much of the talking. It's worth noting that much of Yellowstone National Park has burned in recent years, so a good portion of the forests consist of standing trunks, with smaller pines growing beneath them. During our visit the east entrance of the park was closed due to wildfires.

The buffalo were none to be seen until we circled around to Hayden Valley. Last time I was in the park it seemed like they were everywhere, but I guess they migrate around often.

I did run into a herd of mule deer while walking around one morning. The fawns were happy and became as interested in me as I was in them: [Correction: A friend pointed out to me that this is an elk calf, not a deer. So scratch the "herd of mule deer" comment. Ignorance was bliss, at the time. I really have seen a deer before. . .]

Of course no photo essay of Yellowstone would be complete without a shot of "Old Faithful." Here it is at its climax:

The Old Faithful Inn, constructed decades ago next to its namesake geyser, is a log-built wonder of its own (the lobby is 76 feet tall, supported by timbers.) There was some remodel work being done on the roof during our visit. As a construction worker myself, I can, to a very small extent, sympathize with the below activity. In the man's defense, he was not asleep, and there was no ladder nearby.

Next is Aurem Geyser, and after that Grand Prismatic hot spring.

Vast colonies of Phormidium and Synechococcus bacteria--called thermophiles, or "heat lovers"--live around the hot springs, growing into mats and forming their own little ecosystem. Bacteria on the surface of the mat perform photosynthesis, and provide nutrients to the bacteria below them.

Below is an up-close photo of the bacterial mats, which grow wherever there is a constant warm water runoff. I'm not sure if the bubbles are trapped air, water vapor, or some other gas.

The next two photos are of the Mammoth Hot Springs area, which is drying up in some parts, though it still possesses plenty of natural wonder. The water flow pattern is also moving in some areas, enclosing trees and brush and quickly depositing a new layer of minerals. It should be obvious to visitors that such geological features have not remained the same over thousands of years. They change rapidly. Several decades ago the park's "Roaring Mountain" vents could be heard four miles away, but today they've subsided to a persistent hiss. (This doesn't necessarily mean the volcanic activity beneath Yellowstone is subsiding, but that the system is always being rearranged.)

After leaving Yellowstone, we were able to spend some time in Jackson, Wyoming. The next photo is of the city's iconic town square, guarded in its four corners by arches made of antlers. I didn't check to see if the antlers were real, though I assumed not.

 Jackson was hosting an art fair that included artists from inside and outside the Jackson community, including Scott Wheeler, Todd R. Kosharek, Keith Szafranski, and Emerson Matabele. Emerson is a highly sought out photographer who has traveled the world photographing native people and places. I spent some time talking with him and found out he has been contacted by National Geographic, no doubt soliciting him for an assignment, but to my surprise he doesn't like NG photography. He said he feels it carries the tone of a Westerner "looking down" on non-Western subjects. In his own photography he strives to approach his subjects on an equal plane.

The last two photos were taken somewhere along the road in Wyoming or Utah. I'll be honest and admit I cheated with the rainbow picture--I touched up the exposure with photo software. Came out nice, don't you think?

Except where noted, all photos copyright daniel james devine. 2007. all rights reserved.