Wyoming I

On our second day in Jackson, WY the weather poo-pooed our plans. We were supposed to drive and possibly hike through the majestic Grand Teton National Park, with its beautiful vistas. Instead we ended up driving through the park with think clouds blocking any real view of the rugged peaks. It rained, which was great - there were multiple wildfires going on in the area so the moisture was much needed.

Brian has never seen the park so we drove North from Jackson and made our way to the geysers of Yellowstone. Very little wildlife. Comparing to my previous trip through the area just a couple of weeks prior this was definitely pretty disappointing. But we made the most of it!

Our next destination, according to plan, was going to be the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Unfortunately, the weather wasn't looking promising - steady rain for a few days. The two of us would also have to carry about 80 lbs of camping and climbing gear each, for an 8 mile approach that went over a high pass. The name of which is Jackass Pass. Love it. My lack of trad climbing experience was another reason that we hesitated and ultimately scrapped the idea of going into that area. But I will be back there to backpack some day.

After getting some much-needed rest for these two days in Jackson we headed out to our next destination - Wild Iris climbing area near Lander, WY. We arrived in Lander in early afternoon, after driving through some stunning areas West of the Tetons. Amazing how quickly the geology and the climate changes in these states - we drove through lush green forests and an hour later we were driving through less-than-scenic semi-desert.

Lander is a great, if small town. We stopped by the Wild Iris Mountain Sports, the local gear shop to get the guide, and some local info. One of the dudes at the shop told us about a sweet swimming spot in the area. We filled up on water (from a spigot right outside the shop) and headed over to set up camp. Another awesome thing about this area - free camping. We drove the 30 minutes uphill from Lander and set up a simple campsite about 400 ft from one of the major climbing walls. YES.

Before heading back to town to get groceries and meet up with one of Brian's friends we walked over to the climbing wall to check out what we were in for. Limestone. Small pockets. Yikes. This was no super-grippy granite like in City of Rocks. You actually had to think about where to put your feet here. I led a couple of 5.8s, while we chatted with a group of older climbers from Colorado. I ended up getting their contact info because they like to go ice climbing in the winter and I am dying to try it.

Back in town we went to a local bar that serves Lander Brewing Company's beer. Yum - good food and great beer. We met up with Frank, Brian's old co-worker and friend who drove to climb with us for a few days from Salt Lake City. We came back to our campsite pretty late and passed out after a few more beers.