12,804

Early this morning as the sun rose above the mountains turning the rocks that special morning rose color, thats what crayola would call it, we began our ascent. By 6:30 we were passing the sign for the lupin meadows trailhead. hiking up to the meadows we ascended a ridge and just as i thought we were in the middle of nowhere the crowds came into view. As a jump off point for most hikes and climbs up any of the tetons the meadows are a busy place. we passed the climbers still crawling out of tents and scrambled up talus slopes. we followed a couple who were most likely as lost as we were across a snow field and up to the saddle between the southern and middle tetons. it was there matt decided to nap and i continued my ascent up the middle teton. Its interesting the way sound plays off the rocks in the wind. you can hear conversations hundreds of yards away one moment and nothing the next. pulling myself over a ledge or slipping on loose rocks i, for just a second, wondered what i had gotten myself into. an hour later i was clinging to the highest rock i could find. two inches from my face a metal disc bolted to the rock by the USGS named my summit the middle teton. Bagging summits is more of a competitive sport than simply enjoying walking up and down in the mountains, but the view is uncomparable and occasionally it feels pretty good to ascend a well known name. one feels totally in control and entirely helpless standing atop the rocks. W.W. is receited in a whisper. For a few moments i clung to the rock like a cat up a tree contemplating my climb down.
descending back to the saddle it began to rain and matt and i slid and climbed as quickly as we could down the wet rocks and snow. luckily the rain didn't last and we survived our hike down with only sore bones.