Earlier this week, I was on a scout trip at the Teton High Adventure Base in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. As luck would have it, the invitation came for me to join our Varsity Team and Venture Crew because of a last minute cancellation (aweee, poor me, eh?). Our purpose on this high adventure was to canoe and raft the Snake River…50 miles of it…in 3 days! This is how it went:
Day 1 – The first 12 miles of this trip was an easy float along the Grand Tetons, one of my favorite mountain ranges in the west. We put in at Deadman’s Bar Road, not far from Jenny Lake, and pulled out at Teton Park Road near the unincorporated community of Moose.
Day 2 – Our second adventure was 10 miles by canoe that morning. We left right from camp and hit enough rapids to swamp us 9 TIMES! Later that afternoon, we boarded the rafts for 8 miles of Wyoming’s finest whitewater. We hit the infamous rapids called The Lunchcounter and The Big Kahuna, and even an underwater waterfall known as Champagne. This was definitely the highlight of our trip!!
Day 3 – The final 20 miles of this adventure was done by canoe. We started just outside Wilson where HWY 22 crosses the river. Lunch was on a beach at an approximate half-way point. Afterwards, we encountered small sections of mild rapids all the way back to our camp.
What a great experience this was for everyone!! Other than swamping our canoe so many times, the only physical challenge was 53 degree water with air temps in the upper 60’s to mid 70’s. Brrrrrrrrr!!
Here’s a Google Earth file of where we were and what sections of river we traveled.
The one thing that disappointed us was the condition of this base camp. We were surprised with the poorly maintained facilities, lack of improvements and a general feel of being run down. It was sad to see this camp in such a pristine location and appear to have had no investment in keeping it up. To be honest, it made us wonder where the money goes from Friends of Scouting…
