Today was a hiking day however it began a little differently and for a while it looked like we might have been off to emergency. Helen awoke very early with bad sinus and difficulty breathing. She had some medication which fortunately eased the problem. In the meantime a phone call to our travel insurer, enquiries re local doctors etc took up a considerable amount of time. It turned out that the local doctor accepted “walk-in” patients so we decided to wait until late afternoon before paying him a visit as Helen was quite comfortable and sure she could handle what we had planned.
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| Cascade Canyon |
The hike we had planned was up Cascade Canyon. This began with a 10 minute boat cruise across Jenny Lake. From there it was steeply uphill for 1.6 km. A mountain goat would have found it tough going. As we had caught the first boat for the day (10.00 am) we were able to walk in the relative coolness of the morning – not that that made it any easier.
After reaching the top of “billy-goat hill”, otherwise known as Inspiration Point, the trail levelled out a bit as it followed a delightful creek along the base of the canyon. It was a very pretty walk with the autumn colours of the foliage standing out in many places and the towering mountains on both sides. High up on the northern face there was quite a bit of snow and a few small glaciers. It was a very rewarding walk and quite exhilarating.
Animals are an important aspect of Grand Teton NP and again we were rewarded, although only fleetingly when we disturbed two moose who thundered off down through the trees, too quickly for us to obtain visual proof. A few chipmunks and a squirrel also made brief appearances.
Altogether we walked about 8 km with the walk down the hill almost as difficult as the climb up. Allan returned with a twisted ankle, an arthritic knee and a few abrasions and dented pride after slipping on some loose gravel. Needless to say we were pretty tired by the time we got back.
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| The buffalo who walked in front of our car. |
Helen’s visit has to the doctor was quite profitable (for him and her) and she now has medication to assist with the sinus. The doctor? He has $99 for his consultation fee. Proof positive that medical services in USA are very expensive. Perhaps that’s why there was no one else in the waiting room.
