#ProjectAlaska: Teton Pass, Salt River Pass, and East Canyon Campground

As I awoke at the Teton Valley Campground the next day, I was very thankful that the wind had become calm. My concerns about animals and plant life are very real; as once the plant life in an area gets wiped out, the animals who depend on them for food have little choice but to move out of that area. As they move out, the predators who depend upon the herbivores for food also must move out. So, these wildfires wipe out habitat rather quickly and take years to regrow. Once an area in mountainous terrain burns, the plants and trees that held the soil in place before the fire no longer are able to continue doing so which causes mudslides, landslides, and rock slides. All these conditions are what create a considerable bit of anxiety when deciding how to proceed. As we move forward in time, climate change is rendering "normal" weather patterns obsolete and extreme weather is becoming the norm. A sudden thunderstorm in the mountains can quickly erupt into a disaster; even if it is a dry thunderstorm, due to the lightning sparking fires.

Once I reached Teton Pass on my way into Jackson, Wyoming, I spent a bit of time hiking up a small trail to get some pictures of the valley below. This was a BLAST and very relaxing! While I was there I noticed a considerable amount of traffic. This was due to the fact that the southern entrance to Yellowstone National Park was closed due to the Berry Fire (see video here) and traffic was being rerouted through the pass in order to access the park from the west entrance.

Looking down into smoky Jackson:

After a lovely breakfast in Jackson, I continued making my way south over Salt River Pass and thoroughly enjoyed the historical significance of this route (see pictures below). I also was enjoying the fresh air rather than smelling smoke which I had endured for the last umpteen miles...

My picnic area for lunch was located at Monte Cristo Campground in Utah and I was thrilled that the smoke from wildfires in this part of the country was much less and made my pictures considerably less hazy. I was also relieved to not have to be on high alert for fire activity; I could just enjoy the moment! One of the troubles with mountain traveling is that there are many areas where you won't have cell service. Many of these areas are rather remote and cell towers are scarce; so frequently you won't have a signal. This makes it difficult to get information even if you DO spot smoke from wildfires, so one needs to make sure they check an area out BEFORE leaving the nearest town. One website that provides excellent information is InciWeb.

These shots were taken at a vista point along Utah SR 39:

Finally I made it to East Canyon State Park where my campground was located. Because it was in the 90's here, I decided to put on my swimming trunks and go for a swim (or at least that was what I THOUGHT I was going to do). I was able to get in up to my shins before I could go no further...WOW, was it cold! Enjoy!