Cheers for Touchdowns and Mountaintops

What a busy weekend! Owen had a football game on a perfect Saturday morning. He pulled some flags and ran a lot (he plays running back and/or safety). This time one of his runs successfully went for a touchdown, and we caught it on video!! His team is red. He has really enjoyed learning the game, but says he likes defense better.

At the same time, Hadley was at cheer camp (a fundraiser put on by high school cheerleaders where our friend is vice-principal). She had a great time! After football, we went to see her performance. She's in the red shirt and black skirt near the middle.

Then we spent the evening with friends and left our kids at a sleepover, so that us grown-ups could hike Table Mountain the next day. It required a very early start, but we got to see the sunrise over the mountains!

We ended up being gone about 11 hours, 8 of which were hiking up and down 4000+ vertical feet in 14-ish miles! (To put it in perspective, that translates to more than 400 flights of stairs!!) Here's our group at the start of the unmarked trailhead. Note the sign says "not recommended"; that's because we decided to go up the steep face route!

The fall colors were starting, so that was a nice backdrop to the work! It was an overcast day and we were hiking in intermittent, chilly rain. Here's a few trail pictures to show you the steepness and rockiness of the trail.

At least the Teton Range's mountain scenery on either side was beautiful. I can only imagine what it must look like on a clear day!

Looking back on the valley we had driven in from...

Finally above the trees, we could see Table Mountain (our destination)! Also, once out of the trees, the wind really picked up. It was frigid and unyielding! Luckily, friends supplied me with gloves, hat, and scarf, which really helped immensely. Note to self: always pack layers!! Duh!

But some parts of the trail were just silly, like this rock fall. Watch out, ankles! You had to keep an eye out for the cairns distinguishing the "trail" from the rest of the rocks.

And here's the last part of the trail to the top, scrambling over rocks. This is probably challenging enough without battling high winds and a smidge of vertigo.

Ah, finally made it to the top! The wind must have been 40-50 mph with temps in the low 40s. I think Mother Nature was trying to tell us that today was not the day to get up there to 11,100+ feet, but we did it anyway! The world was spinning a bit for me, so I did not leave my spot, as you can tell. Haha!

And for all that, this was our view from the top. A wall of clouds and just a glimpse of the bottom of the Tetons. Bummer!

This is what we should have seen - the back of the Grand Teton! (A friend shared this from her last trip up.) Maybe I would do this hike again on a clear day, maybe.

No place for lunch in the cold wind up top, so we decided to start the scenic way down.

Lots of switchbacks made for a pretty quick descent. They are not that far ahead! But the trail back was much longer, as we had to walk down through a canyon around the mountain. Because of that, it was much warmer (blocked from the wind) and so picturesque. We do live in a beautiful area!