A Jaunt To Jackson Hole

Jackson Hole, February 2019

The whole idea of this trip came alive when my good friend Hallie decided she was leaving Park City, UT and setting off on a new life adventure for the next few months. The beginning of her long adventure is where this short one begins.

For a few months prior to this trip there had been a lot of talk between Hallie, our friend Kenzie and Me about making a quick jaunt up to Jackson Hole, WY to use the two free days listed on their Mountain Collective Ski Pass. Now, let me begin by saying that on numerous occasions we had collectively fantasized about taking ski trips together but ultimately life, time, and money got in the way. Working in restaurants has its’ freedoms and flexibilities, with a few exceptions on holidays. This particular week happened to be Presidents Week; one of the biggest weekends of the year for our little ski town and its’ businesses. Regardless, this was the week the trip had to happen. Hallie would be leaving town to drive home to Washington State later in the week, and Jackson Hole was on the way. Luckily for me, the busiest part of the week had past and I was able to take the time off.

I must say, I’m a walking paradox, I love spontaneity yet I crave order and organization. As with any adventure, things don’t always go as planned yet always seem to work out in the end. The night before seemed like a scramble; getting together all of our gear (separately), charging cameras, watching The Bachelor and trying to find miscellaneous travel necessities lost in the bowels of a storage bin somewhere. Nonetheless, nothing seemed to be forgotten, the car was packed (with my gear at least) and a late night group text established we would try to leave no later than noon. There was a storm front rolling in to southern Wyoming and getting ahead of it seemed like the most logical course of action. Needless to say, that didn’t happen.

Yvon Chouinard once said “The word adventure has gotten overused. For me, when everything goes wrong – that’s when adventure starts.”.

To be fair, not everything went wrong, but not everything went as planned either. We ended up getting on the road much later than anticipated (sometime in the middle to late afternoon), the actual time we left has seemed to escape me. While Hallie was packing up her life into her tiny car, Kenzie was running errands, and I, well, I was probably anxiously pacing around my house hoping I didn’t forget something.

We had finally hit the road and had a plan to convene at Whole Foods to buy snacks and to caravan up to Wyoming, when one of us realized we had forgotten something. So we ended up not meeting up and just hitting the road separately under the assumption that with Hallies’ fully loaded car, and my lead foot, we would soon meet up. Ultimately, that didn’t happen. We ended up taking different routes up to Jackson, each of us thinking that our route would miss the storm and be faster, but who really knows. It’s a relatively short drive for the west, about 4 to 5 hours. The roads were empty, but the winds were ripping and there were dark clouds on the horizon. Eventually, Kenzie and I hit part of the storm. Snowy roads seemed to have slowed us down for a short period of time. Yet once we past the edge of the storm, the sky’s cleared and a super moon crested the mountains to the east. I stopped the car and dug out my camera, it was -8 outside, my lungs hurt, my body was numb and I could barely press the camera shutter; but I loved every minute of it. Unfortunately in lieu of my efforts the photos were less than ideal, but it was worth the experience. I guess some moments are just meant to be seen and not photographed.

Not too long after, we arrived in Jackson Hole, tired, hungry, and ready for a non-Utah beer. We found a local spot, met up with Hallie and sat down to figure out our plan for the next few days.

The rest of our trip was spent skiing, drinking good beer (if you’ve never tried Roadhouse Brewing Co. you’re missing out), and trying to get just enough sleep to ramble on. Our days went like this: wake up, find breakfast, put on copious amounts of warm clothing, go shred, drink beers, find dinner, go to sleep and do it all over again. This was the lifestyle I signed up for when I first moved out west. Chasing storms with friends and forgetting about work. Even for just a few days I really felt like I had achieved something that had always seemed to elude me when “normal” life would get in the way. Sometimes it’s not about the trip itself, but how it makes you feel. The memories and details have a way of fading over time, but the feeling you get when looking at old photos and thinking back on the experience, that will live on forever.

They say the best way to get to know people is to travel with them; and we had booked one motel room. Looking back I wouldn’t have had it any other way; our plethora of gear erupting from our bags, snowboards and skis leaning on the walls and boots on the heater. These are two of my favorite human beings, and two people I know I can count on for another adventure with in the future. Enjoy the photos, they tell a story better than I ever could. (A collection of iPhone and Canon DSLR & 35mm Film photos)