Across the Pond: Day Thirteen- I Climbed a Mountain and I Turned Around

And I saw my reflection in there snow covered hills and the landslide brought me down.

Sorry I had to throw in some Fleetwood Mac. It was totally appropriate. I know my blog posts have not been up to par the past few days. We have just been so busy and it has been hard to convey everything we do throughout the day in an eloquent manner. Today was our last day in the mighty Tetons. It is sad to say goodbye to them, but Yellowstone lies in our future, and I can not contain my excitement to visit a place I have wanted to see since I was a child. Today we decided to have one more smaller hike into Grainate Caynon. We once again loaded up and drove from Gros Ventre over to the mountains. Our hike started out in the sagebrush prarie and winded its way into a valley. At first I was just focused on going through the hike and getting to a good lunch spot. However, I realized that this would be the last time I would hike through the Tetons in a long time. Before coming here, I had never been in this much snow, or seen mountains this grand. I had never been so close to a buffalo, or mentally prepared myself to encounter a bear. I had never seen moose, and now I have seen four! I started to look around and take in the place that had given me so much.

We continued into the Caynon with the sun on our backs- the altitude just high enough to escape the humidity. We traveld alongside a river at the bottom of the Caynon. The water was so clear that I could describe every stone laying at the bottom. After eating lunch, we continued a little ways further until the snow yet again blocked our path.

The sun started beating harder and it became impossible to resist the crystal river. So, a few of us took off our hiking boots and walked in. It was SO COLD that I thought my feet my freeze and fall off in the first thirty seconds. With the water being melted snow streaming off the mountains, and snow still present on the side of the banks, I should have guessed I was reenacting Titanic minus Leo. However, I do not regret it!

We arrived back at the van and I started mentally saying goodbye to the Tetons. While driving back to Gros Ventre, the professors all of the sudden pulled the Geologic Van of Discovery into Teton Village, a ski resort type place. They came back to the van with a surprise-we were going to ride the lift to the top of Rendezvous Mountain that overlooked the village!!!!!!!!!!

We all leaped from the van and squinted into the sun up to the top of Rendezvous Mountain. It is about 3000 feet smaller in height than the peak of the Grand Teton, but still a monstrosity. We joyfully went up the steps and watched the tram glide towards us. I was so somewhat nervous getting in the tram- every now and then it would sway by the high mountain winds. However, once we really started climbing in altitude, my fear was replaced by wonderment at the beautiful landscape below. We finally approached the peak at an elevation of 10,450 feet. I hopped of the tram, didn't look down, and ran up the steps to the very top. The feeling of making it to the top of the mountain, with the whole world unfolding in front of me, was very similar to when I made it to the top of the hill my first day in the Tetons. This time, I was actually on top of a mountain, and the view was breathtakingly indescribable. Every direction I turned was a new world that seemed to be untouched by society. The Grand Teton loomed in the background, representing a part of nature that will never be seen by the majority of man, and therefore calls for respect. I looked down onto Teton Village, this big town that now was so small, to the point where I could not even see its residents. I thought back to the Badlands, when I felt so small as I looked all the way to the horizon. I could not see the horizon here becuase of the mountainous landscape, but I did have a 360 degree view on the top of the world. Everything seemed so vast, beautiful, and peaceful. I did not feel small anymore, but instead, I felt empowered. I felt important, like all the mightiness I had seen was somehow now inside me. I have seen places that not everyone gets to see, and I feel a great deal of respect for these places. These places- with all their quite- have somehow spoken the loudest to me. I was on top of a mountain, and no matter where we go, I will never forget that.

So anyways, there is a cute store (of course) on top of Rendezvous Mountain that sells pancakes, hot chocolate, coffee etc. After I ate a peanut butter bacon waffle, and the rest of the group indulged in a mixture of waffles and whiskey, we stepped back onto the tram and descended back to our world.

One more story before I say goodbye to the Tetons. This is the story of the electronic bear. Pheebs, Katherine, and I were walking to the bathroom around 9 at night. We were almost to the isolated facility when we heard a low noise that sounded like a mixture between a whoosh and a growl. We stopped in fear and looked at each other with eyes as large as the dim moon. I took one more look into the darkness in front of us and without thinking, I turned, and sprinted the fastest I have ever sprinted back to the camp. I had made it about 20 feet in 5 steps when my friends yelled "Elly stop! You are not supposed to run!!" I whipped around and beckoned them to come. They stood there and ultimately decided that it was definitely a man-made noise. Still, I was done with any bathroom rituals tonight and this time I begged them to come back to camp with me. They were still slightly frightened and turned from their cemented spots to walk briskly back with me. We ran into Dr. Suresh who wondered why we looked so scared. He walked us back to the bathroom and we determined that the noise was the extra generator turning on for the facility. We could still here the faint hum of surging electricity. Feeling foolish for leaving my group for an electric bear, I apologized. They were not too concerned because if it was a bear, it would chase whatever was running. Still, if only I could run like that all the time, I would be an Olympian.