Glory Peak - 10,086'

With the looming storm closing in quickly we decided Saturday that we had to get a hike in while the weather was still good (not frigid, not wet). Driving up to the pass that heads into Idaho the elevation is already over 8 thousand feet. We arrived at the parking area to see this welcome sign. So Wyoming.

Starting up the trail head we passed by several warning signs. The first one was a memorial of empty warhead shells with peoples names and dates on it. It was a sobering reminder of the reality here. And a little further up, we saw this sign well up a tree. I guess the snow piles up quickly here. And the warheads don't always explode. Nice.

The hike itself is relatively short but the altitude and my poor lungs were taking a beating. I'm not used to exercising around 10 thousand feet. That's going to have to change. Although it wasn't a blue bird day, we were still treated to some standard views.

In a valley with mountains surrounding the town, it was obvious to see how Jackson Hole got its name. This picture below shows a small piece of Glory Bowl and only one of maybe 7 oddly placed tubes. We learned that these large tubes are filled with propane and ignited after large storms. The result is a shock wave that travels down the bowl as a means of preventing catastrophic avalanches. Pretty ingenious.

Once at the top, we were treated to some crazy views and met up with a local and his pup, Luna. She's a gorgeous Husky/Malamute mix. He dropped some knowledge on us and we were happy to have made a new friend who does the avalanche report 3 days a week. The ravine which looks strangely familiar to east coasters is actually named Little Tuckerman Ravine. This will be awesome in the spring when it's safe and warm.

Due to the impending snowstorm headed in and the snow flakes flying up top we didn't dilly or dally too much on the summit. After a quick hang sesh in the yurt we decided we should get down.

The hike down was so much easier on the lungs but a little tougher on the psyche. I hadn't realized how steep it was coming up, but going down you realize that one little trip could easily send you 20 feet. Thankfully we all avoided that. Half way down Kyle wanted to get Luna howling, so we all chimed in and helped a bro out. We are now all dying to get a dog (one that howls or not), even if from the animal shelter just for a week or two.