The BackpackerS

This is the first of  series giving the inside scoop on some of our backpacking trips.  To start this series off, I am going to look at the first of our trips out west.
Best of the West 1 - Spring Break 2008
Grant Davis, Trent Smelley, and Myself
Keep in mind, this was one of the first major backpacking trips other than the pinhoti. We packed up Grant's dad's Prius with our camping gear and snow shoes.  We left late at night and drove non-stop to Jackson hole Wyoming.  The drive was somewhere around 29 hours but it was as fun as riding in a car for over a day can be. It was night time when we got into Wyoming.

We got into Jackson Hole around 3:00am and decided to set up my golite tent in the middle of a park.  This seemed like the best idea at the time and it was great until 10:00 am when a very nice police officer woke us up and let us know that we were not allowed to put a tent up in the city. At least he let us sleep in a little!

So we got up and stopped by what I still consider the best outdoor store in America: Teton Mountaineering. After that, we stopped by the visitor center in the Grand  Teton National Park and then made our way into the snow covered wilderness. We strapped on our snow shoes and put on our snow gear to fight the winter storm that was rolling in.

The snow covered landscape was breath taking. We had to dig down about 4 feet into the snow to put the tent so that we wouldnt get blasted by the wind and snow.  

We were forced to hike out when Trent was self-diagnosed with Giardia.  The hike our was rather grueling because every step you would take you would sink up to your knees or further. When the weather cleared up, the scenery was amazing.  This is when my Tetons virginity was taken. (I dont regret it)

When we got out, we hit some public showers (interesting moment in my life). Then headed south to Boulder Colorado.  We did some exploring there and came across a little state park that was pretty neat.  So we ate lunch here.

So that was about it.  I got a $150 speeding ticket on the way home.  Colorado is still my favorite state.