dear nap, i'd like for you to be over now.

dear fellow Jenny Lakers, I'm sorry that I'm always monopolizing the washer. Always. 

dear washer, thank you for sharing your secret that you only need the middle two quarters and saving me 50 cents with every load.

dear rain, we need you. desperately. haven't you noticed the west is on fire?

dear bats in the laundry room, stop pooping all over my detergent and trying to kill me at night. btw, Liesel thinks your great and at the risk of sounding ungrateful, I do appreciate all of the mosquitoes you eat. 

dear mosquitoes, remember how you ruined last 4th of July by hatching and biting our baby 51 times on her face and head and keeping us up all night? Please don't do that again. We love that you've been MIA this year.

dear Bebe, thank you for your patience getting wrapped up in a blanket 1000x a day and then promptly dropped on the floor. Liesel loves you, your crazy hair and your lazy eye. 

dear mama moose & Co., we enjoy looking at you every day. your babies are stinkin' cute. 

dear cookies, thank you for letting me devour you shamelessly this afternoon. 

dear milk, you keep giving me acid reflux . . .boo. 

dear baby in my belly, we are getting excited to meet you!

dear Needles, it's official . . . we're coming back too soon.

dear Brian, let's not do grad school and say we did. i miss you. 

Short-haul

The other day I tried to attend a community search and rescue presentation put on by the Jenny Lake Ranger's (Brian's crew). I caught some of it, but eventually had to give up after realizing that it was very much not a kid-friendly event (think slide show presentation in a totally silent auditorium with the person in front of you filming the whole thing and flinching with every "ha-po!" your daughter says). 

Still, it was really neat to see some of the history behind the Search and Rescue program here and how it evolved into using short-haul operations. Short-haul is where the ranger is inserted on scene by clipping into a 50ft rope beneath a helicopter. In the Tetons, there tends to be a shortage of safe landing zones for helicopters, and with short haul, the helicopter can remain in flight the whole time and lower the ranger pretty much anywhere in the range-- cliff edge, steep canyon, snowy slope etc. Pretty cool. And Brian loves it. 

the view of the chopper while clipping in

Brian is on the right in this photo-- getting ready to clip the caribeaner in his right had to the the ring in his left and then take off.

I'm sure Brian is doing something important here. He looks very serious. 

I don't have a photo of B actually under the helicopter, but here are a few others from his crew. 

Sometimes patients are flown off the mountain by themselves in what is called a "screamer suit"-- looking at this picture I don't have guess where it got it's name. 

This training site is in the Gros Ventre mountains on the east side of Grand Teton. 

*all photos by Peter Stalker

Middle Teton, SW couloir

There are two mountain goals I made this summer:

1) climb the Middle Teton

2) backpack the Teton Crest trail

Checked #1 off the list yesterday with Sven and Brenna. It was great not needing to wake up super-duper early for this one-- we left at 6:30am. The weather looked great and while it's the 3rd highest peak in the range, it's still almost 1,000ft lower than the Grand and way less technical (no roped climbing here). It would have been a hike, but the early season snow made it crampon/ice ax worthy (which I prefer anyway. . . easier on the knees going down and I am terrible at manuvering over boulder fields in general, but even worse pregnant). 

Brenna and I leaving Sven in the dust. . . we look good in a fake run. 

Sven and I makeing our way across the meadows. The Middle is the obvious mountain in the photo and we are so not even close to the saddle here. . . still 2,500ft of snow and boulders. 

still climbing to the saddle . . .

still climbing to the saddle . . . switching from snow to boulders means ditching crampons and axes and gracefully (or not so gracefully) tip-toeing across the rocks like some kind of alpine ballerina. 

hello Idaho! and at the saddle. Iceflow lake is below us just starting to thaw. 

Quick break on the tundra. Gummy bears, trisquits, cheese, gulp of water, marmots, bathroom break and photos. 

Then up the SW coulior:

Nothing like couple photos and Sven singing songs about how everyone should be like his wife to make you feel like a third wheel. . . kidding. I love being a third wheel! Especially if it means getting out in the peaks while Brian watches Liesel all day . . . maybe I should sing a song about how everyone should be like Brian. 

Obligatory summit shot. Me + 5 month old-baby-in-the-womb. . . won't be too many more days like this for me in the next few months!

heading down at 1:30 from the saddle. . .   

Me and Brenna descending. All 6,000ft back to the car and back to basecamp. 

Good day. Good friends. Good man to watch my good baby. Good spaghetti and good ben&jerry's 

(I found out on my emergency ice-cream run that the Jenny Lake general store prices each flavor of Ben and Jerry's differently-- is it legal to charge $2 more for Phish Food than Chubby Hubby)? 

first things first

Temperatures in the Tetons can range between 40 degrees every day. It will be 44 degrees in the morning and 84 in the afternoon. Our cabin follows a similar pattern, so all baking needs to be done first thing in the morning. We go through a lot of bread, granola and oatmeal cookies. Liesel loves 'helping' me make bread. She holds the mixer, grabs handfuls of flour and repeats "touch! touch!" or "hold it?" the whole time I'm kneading (she likes for me to give her a lump of dough to hold). 

The entertainment factor (as well as the clean-up factor) goes way up when making bread with a one and a half year old. She is a sponge these days. She wants to talk and repeats words all the time. She wowed the world at Jenny Lake with her impressive knowledge of stuffed heads on the wall (Bison, deer) and wildlife (bird, chipmunk). 

feels good to be growing something so great. 

a visit

me taking a picture of allison taking a picture of sarah under the old patriarch

Sarah (B's sister) and Allison (B's mom) came for a blitz visit this week. They showed up Monday evening just in time for Liesel's post-bath pre-bedtime shenanigans. I mentioned that she had become much more sassy these days, to which she ran up and said "SASSY!" and started laughing. The next morning we hiked to the Patriarch. Brian's family has a legacy of working and National Parks and Allison had worked here before the road was re-routed. The Patriarch (the massive tree) was a popular photo destination and right on the side of the old road. Now, it's a little hike through sage brush and you have to know where you're going in order to find it-- but quite a gem!

we did the grand animal tour and saw lots and lots of bison (much closer than the photo on the left), pronghorn antelope, a few bears and 3 moose. Not bad for one day! 

I love this picture of Liesel holding a butterfly in one hand, clutching a rock in the other with dirt on her face.  

I was this close to joining A&S on their cross-country road trip all the way to the east coast (they started in California!) . . . but when we sat down to look at the calendar and realized I would have missed Frank's visit at the end of the month-- we decided to stay. We'll see these guys again before Sarah takes off for her mission in Denmark in August! 

summer solstice

Summer is here! Solstice is here (today!) This is what we're doing with our longer days:

throwing rocks in the lake 

throwing leaves in the lake 

throwing feathers in the lake

throwing sticks in the lake

throwing pine cones in the lake

retrieving lunch from the lake 

meeting new friends. [On our way home from a hike, Liesel and I stopped in to see Brian who was working the station. Someone had "freed" their pet rat in the park and another savvy visitor witnessed it and retrieved it. . . then brought it to Brian. If it I didn't have serious prejudice against rats, I may have considered keeping this guy as a pet. He was so sweet and lovable. . . it also kind of feels wrong to keep him as a pet but kill his little rodent cousins every night].  

hanging out in our puffies. . . this was last night and it was in the mid 30s. To pregnant and always hot me, this feels great. 

Breaking 80s for the first time (tomorrow according to the forecast)! Looks like the Tetons found out it was summer. . .  

hiking, hiking and more hiking. Phelps lake and Cascade Canyon were last weeks fun ones. 

identifying wildflowers,

having picnics

watching helicopters (ha-po's if you ask L) 

making bread and 

 picking flowers in the park (whoops)

meeting other new friends. 

photographing those friends in the early morning light

scaring my mom with this photo 

seeing a mom and 2 baby moose outside the cabin

answering questions about climbing conditions

Grilling everything.  . . I LOVE summer for this reason alone. Pizza on the grill is 100x more delicious.

eating outside

making smoothie popcicles

branch cookouts at Colter Bay

getting bigger by the day (I swear I'm growing 2x faster than last pregnancy)

soaking our feet in String Lake

collecting bugs

and generally just being outside 

paintbrush canyon

I love this one. The M&M perched on the edge of her mouth. . .haha!

I've had a lot of friends/relatives ask me lately what I recommend buying when you have kids and still want to get outside . . .  well, I only have one (things will probably be different in a few months), but I've decided to share a little bit of what I've learned the past 18 months. 

best kid-friendly hiking purchases we've made:

Camelback-- I used to despise Camelbacks. I always seemed to crush the nozzel; sitting on it, stepping on it, loading it wrong in the car etc. In cold weather the hose would freeze and it was worthless. Now, I L.O.V.E it. When L falls asleep in my pack, I don't need to set her down and fish around for a water bottle with a dry throat. I drink consistently all day long and the best part is, she learned to use it too at 9 months. And with a pack as monstrous as the one I carry, it's impossible for me to sit/stand on the hose. 

Steri-pen-- uses ultraviolet light to sterilize water and weighs only a few ounces. This wouldn't really work in Southern Utah where there are tons of floaties or silt in the water. But in the Tetons, the water runs clear and gunk-free. I rarely need to carry more than 32oz and since I'm always hauling at least 27lbs, I love saving however possible. 

Dueter Kid Comfort II*-- Brian and I went through dozens of kids backpacks trying to find the perfect one. We tried LittleLife, Phil&Teds, Kelty and they were all junk. Honestly. This one has enough storage without going crazy, is comfortable for baby and parent and has all the bells and whistles (sun shade, wind shield, rain cover). Downside: the pack is heavy and you have to buy the extras separately. Osprey just came out with a kid backpack that looks a lot like the Dueter but possibly lighter. I'd check it out. 

Ergo Kid Carrier*-- This is kind of like the Baby Bjorn's except it can be worn front or back and you could carry a 4-yr-old in it. A front carrier is essential for little babies if you want to get out (until they can sit up well in a carrier which is usually around 6 months).  I have really fallen in love with this thing. It is so much lighter to carry (weighs a few pounds) and is really durable. I also love that you can snap a cover over their head when they fall asleep. The bummer about this is, it's really only good for less than 5miles. There is (very) minimal storage (I have to carry my water bottle) and she is right up next to your body so it gets nice and sweaty (in Brian's case, you could wring out her clothes). 

Patagonia puffy-- this is (almost) the sole clothing item we've had to buy for Liesel so far. It was $50. Which is crazy that we paid that much (full price is like $80)-- but it has lasted for over a year now. The puffy bands can compress when she was little and she won't grow out of it until probably this fall. That is 18months of use. It weighs as much as a piece of paper and keeps her super warm. In the Tetons where the weather is a little unpredictable the higher you go, I almost always throw it in. The only downside is that she's wearing the same jacket in 50% of the photos we've taken since it has fit her for so long and since we tried to go with a gender-neutral color everyone called her a boy until her hair grew longer.

disposable diapers-- I don't mess with cloth on the trial. Too heavy. I think if we were going out for more than an overnight, I might consider bringing 3 inserts and 2 diapers (diapers dry faster than inserts) if it was sunny and they would dry out after washing. 

other tips:

--get a REALLY wide brimmed hat for sun protection and make sure it has a chin strap or they'll probably lose it. 

--In cold weather I would flip one of my puffy coats upside down and put her legs in the arms and pull it up over her body then I'd tie the arms (where her feet ended) in a knot to avoid extra breeze. I'd do this with my rain jacket also if there was a cold breeze or rain. 

--find other people who love to hike too! Hiking with my friends is more fun than hiking alone. 

If anybody has anything else they use and think is awesome leave a comment 

here we go again.

Other than a few bouts of insanity/mental sluggishness and one or two gagging episodes, this pregnancy has been a breeze. I saw a mom today who literally had her 7-year-old son on a leash (boy #1 was leash-less). They had a climbing harness with the leg loops cut off (so just the waist strap) and 4 daisy chains girth-hitched together. I stared. I couldn't help it. She looked at me and said, "trust me, this is necessary." 

Can't believe I'm going to be the mom of two little ones so soon. 

my monday

today while Liesel naps, I run. Forget the ipod, forget the h2o, but do not forget the bear spray. . . or to rotate the laundry. 

Last night Brian and I went to the playhouse in Jackson to see The Ballad of Cat Ballou. Wyoming is the wild west. And pizza is so delicious. Thank goodness we don't eat it every day. I hiked without Liesel on my back and felt light. I love riding the boat across the lake-- it never gets old. 

Ranger wife? Must be nice.

Well, summer has officially started. Which means I assume my position as base camp manager (your pager went off! Fill up camelback! pack food! clean up the mound of gear in the middle of the floor! where is the beanie?! L is naked and just got out of the bath! dishes are everywhere! where's the me-me (pacifer)?! Eek! A mouse!. . . ) whilst Brian is being flown beneath a helicopter over the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone to retrieve a body, help organize a rescue effort to get a broken leg off Albright Peak or warm hypothermic boaters. 

In between all of this he and GR climbed Cloudveil peak, then traversed the ridge over to the summit of the South Teton and did a couple of days of short-haul training (that always seems to happen just in time). 

Here's the view from base-camp; also known as the Hays cabin by the creek. 

Speaking of busy B, this little busy bee has me on the go too! She definitely discovered the joy of Choc-lee! this week (as seen smeared on her face in the bottom left) courtesy of Grandma who sent it in a package. This girl has worse treat-radar than I do, and that is saying something. She has learned that by saying she wants milk, I'll open the fridge and she can scurry inside perusing the racks for what she really wants (and let me tell you, it has nothing to do with her milk). A bag crinkles? She runs in yelling "chips!" The freezer opens, "choc-lee?? Chocl-ee?" We went to two potlucks this week-- one with all the employees of the park and one with just Brian's crew and it is pretty incredible to see how social she is (as long as you don't have a beard). 

We hiked up into the mouth of Garnet Canyon (that's the Middle Teton in the center) to meet Brian on his way down from his patrol and drew an endless amount of comments ranging from "Wow! That's a lucky baby!" to "Carrying that baby is probably no heavier than my backpack." I wanted to say, "Probably not, but your backpack doesn't try to get off your back, yell "touch!!!" every time they see something and put melted snow down your back. . ." but I didn't. 

It's always so fun to run into Brian on the trail. Even though I know he'll be there at some point, it's always a treat to look up and see him hiking our way. Liesel knows it's coming too, because she is always looking for "Dada" when we're out hiking. That and chipmunks, moss, snow and marmots which rank almost as high as Dada.