Final Lessons from the Tetons

"We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part 

if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of 

its good fortune."

- Theodore Roosevelt

Leaving Jackson Lake and The Teton Mountain Range

I am home.     

Having driven, miles-deep, across Wyoming plains and Nebraskan cornfields I found myself on a sentimental return of sorts.

1885 Home of John Cunningham - Historic Landmark GTNP

I couldn't help but look back at the Teton mountains in my rear-view mirror, along with my longing to stay with them, and watch them begin to fade.

Ahead were new yet familiar sights - acre upon acre of wide-open plains, the vast sky at sunset which was distractingly pretty, so much so that I missed the unmarked police cruiser on Rt. 287 heading toward Cheyenne.  

There are many things to be thankful for, I came to see, in my return.

Heading East and Heading Home

The luring views facing East that Saturday night, that simple "warning" the Wyoming police officer gave me, and the understanding I achieved in
these jagged and lovely peaks, name only a few.

Most important to me is the deeper appreciation I have come to have for The Tetons and our National Parks.  

The idea of a "national park" was born over 140 years ago when President Ulysses S. Grant signed Yellowstone into law.   Years of conservation efforts lead to the making of 58 national parks - each unique - offering resources, inspiration and ideals for generations ahead.  (National Geographic Traveler)

The Idea

The land and wildness of each of these parks speaks for itself.

The Tetons offers its own-  the appeal of its young mountains, elk herds at dusk,  glacier-fed lakes, wildflowers adjacent to snowfields, the courage of Native guides, homesteaders and mountaineers.

 (I have found a place here to insert the legend of the 2nd woman ever to summit "The Grand":  58-year-old divorced, retired NY school teacher, Geraldine Lucas, who by 1908 broke all sorts of rules and barriers).

Pioneer Geraldine Lucas 

Female Elk - Forest Habitat

August Days

It is in the Tetons I learned that Mountains bring certainty.  They are powerful, alluring and inspiring - in our greatest and smallest of moments.

It is here I learned about investing in protecting wildlife.

No Herculean effort by Teton Park Rangers, day two of being a Park Ranger, was to bring back the male grizzly cub struck by a distracted motorist - but the Park's immediate attempt to do so and then to track and learn about that bear - with its intent to educate itself and the public of safety and wildlife protection -  were profound.

It is in these mountains I learned
that life is dynamic.  Climate, weather, ecology, habitats, resources, demographics are constantly changing and, as a result, redefine our Parks and what exists in them.  Then the question remains - how will we continue to exist within them?

This force of change is greater than any need we may feel to control it.

Ranger Brassard introducing the  Teacher Ranger Teacher Program
 and Grand Teton National Park
CTDVC

And it is in The Tetons I learned that Parks  - protected, preserved, unique spaces -  cannot survive alone.  They depend on engaged partners - land and water conservation programs, foundations, youth conservation programs, educators, outreach programs, philanthropists and "us" to expand their mission - all in an effort to teach and to give to the generations that will follow.

Thank you to CEEF - Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation - for sponsoring part of this summer educational experience.  

You guys in "The Fishbowl"!  You know who you are - and all Grand Teton Park Rangers and Volunteers - who do such important work!  Thank you for showing me the ropes and the trails and inspiring me with your stories along the way. 

And a quiet thank you to my mother and that avocado-green travel journal she left me from her days out West.

Elaine Brassard

August, 2012

Locker # 11 - Brassard

The Fishbowl - A Lesson in Folding the Flag

The Purpose

Home 
(the dog makes the blog)

Descending

Teton Wildflowers

I am on borrowed time.  

Everything from the hours remaining before Justin, my lead supervisor from the Park, inspects my shelf in the refrigerator, my side of the closet, and three-drawer bureau to turning in my badge and Park keys, to the 28 minutes left as a "guest" on this Signal Mountain Lodge computer.

It is 9:00 am and the day has already been complete.  I just cast my line at Oxbow Bend having woken up, unexpectedly, four hours earlier.  I opted to put on my alpine rated parka (it was 40 degrees this morning) and head out to Gros Ventre/Antelope Flats to photograph a famous rising sun on the Moulton Barn.  This area northeast of Blacktail Butte opened for homesteading in 1908, as a number of Mormon families filed claim for land out West.

Waiting For....

Morning Light

Here, the sky beforehand casted colors of lavendar on the Tetons -  all else waited knowingly in shadow.  I really cannot convey how quiet and spectacular it was. It was much more than an image. 

Being in these Mountains has been no different.  I learned to step deeply into them, accepting the challenges and gifts they presented me each of these summer days.

Two days ago I took the Tram up to the top of Rendezvous Mountain with hazed views due to a western Idaho fire and unusal strong western winds.  I was left at 10,450 feet with a planned descent to what was to be a spectacular alpine Marion Lake.  Thanks to what I knew were becoming blisters I reluctantly opted to descend a shorter 12 mile hike through Granite Canyon.  At the sub alpine levels I touched wildflower fields like I had never done before. And then there was that cooling, healing snowfield that offered my feet respite.

That day, for me, was a reminder that I had to let go of the trail I had hoped for and embrace the one I was on. 

Facing West
Descending Rendezvous Mountain

My Descent into Summer Snow

The Trail 

With less than six minutes left before I "expire" (on this computer), even more difficult, the less than six hours I have before I leave these Mountains behind, I am really humbled by all they have given me.  They are things - tangible and intangible - I can always call upon and choose to carry with me. 

Yes. I am ready to head home.

Wildflower Fields
Granite Canyon

Big Sky

A favorite drive of mine out West this summer  (and, yes, the jeep is holding up just fine) has been from the Teton Range through West Yellowstone to Big Sky, Montana. 

On the return trip this past Thursday evening through West Yellowstone, a late setting sun heightened everything.... its already golden colors, the dark blues of its rivers, the steam from geysers and the unpredictability of its wildlife.

Grizzly West Yellowstone

Geysers and Sunset in West Yellowstone

Just around the west river bend were fly fishermen waist-deep in their craft and a large grizzly feeding off vegetation near the stream. I stopped for photos, mindful of the 100 yard distance we advise others to keep.  It was a moment to just take in. 

I was in awe of the vastness of space that the grizzly both had and needed.

Further out there were herds of elk and a bald eagle perched on what remained of a conifer. 

As the night sky opened up I opened up my jeep's moon-roof, turned up the heat and drove under a half-moon that lit up the Mountains and its valley below.  I tossed the map.  Everything ahead fell under a dark blue.  All I had to do was follow the strong sillouettes of the Teton peaks and let them lead me home.

There was a purpose for going to Big Sky. 

Thanks to an invite from Scott Kuipers, Wilderness Survival and Skills Instructor and Guide, I had the chance to participate in the 26th Annual Wilderness Medicine Conference in Big Sky - which draws outdoor enthusiasts and people in the medical field from all over.  It was an opportunity to learn and practice wilderness medicine and an exposure to the medical and outdoor expedition communities.

Scott and fellow instructors, Philip White - Fire Chief of South San Francisco Fire Dept and FEMA instructor, as well as Gary Kibbee, Navy Seal and Special Forces Survival Instructor,  asked me to assist with the instruction of Wilderness First Aid to kids ages 6-12.  The hope is that teaching and repetition of hands-on material to young children will help establish a basic foundation of medical emergency awareness, vocabulary, and responsiveness to others who are in need.

The opportunity was mine to take in Big Sky - applying last year's Wilderness EMT training, my love of outdoor expeditions, and years of teaching.

Helping Teach Wilderness First Aid in Wilderness Medicine Conference Big Sky, MT

Philip White, Fire Chief S. San Francisco FD and FEMA

Scott Kuipers, Wilderness Survival and Skills Instructor

The Nature of Relationships

Afternoon Yoga
at the National Museum of Wildlife Art
Jackson Hole, WY

A day off.

It brings a gentler focus in the Tetons...and a warm, July afternoon at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson Hole.

A summer series of free afternoon yoga classes on the Museum's newly built three-quarter-mile Sculpture Trail drew me in that Thursday -  allowing me and others an opportunity to connect to the uniqueness of this place and to forge our own connections between nature, art, and health.

The class was designed with a mindfulness to overlook the National Elk Refuge and the distant Bridger- Teton National Forest, just East of the Tetons.

In 1984, 10 founding trustees chose Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with its abundant wildlife, amazing mountain setting, and proximity to National Parks as the stage for art that focused on images of wildlife.

It was just as easy to get lost inside as it was outside.

The Jackson community itself with its old western flare ("Cowgirl Up"), its wild natural access, it's powerful hold on outdoor health and fitness, and the obvious draw toward arts and culture forges relationships between all of these resources.

The concept of that interdependency carries over.

What defines our communities?  What resources exist within them?  Can we see the potential of linking these resources to benefit our existing communities and local economies?

I live in a Town and a State that is rich in local, state, and natural resources and strong in tradition. With exposures to the Maine ocean, lakes, and mountains, as well as extensions into farming, fishing, the arts, conservation, healthy living and outdoor recreation - my home seems ripe for such a formation of partnership.

Is yours?

Healthy Living
Outdoor Trail

Wildlife Art Museum - Jackson Hole, WY

Time Off and 
Hiking through the Tetons

The Newly-Designed Sculpture Trail 

A Perfect Specimen

No sunset is Ever the Same

New Altitudes

GTNP Badge

That first step was all about precision.

My first week of induction into the Federal Park System meant learning to press my Park Ranger uniform correctly, centering my badge, and aligning my nametag a nickle's width above my right pocket.

Step two was getting "comfortable" being in that ranger uniform - assuming authority to patrol a "bear jam", instructing kids chasing two black cubs for photo ops at Signal Mountain to get back into the Suburban, suggesting an equally clear message to their parents.

Then there was a "rise" to learn to field visitor's questions - being familiar with the hiking trails, historic Park landmarks and correctly identifying wildflowers of Columbine, Sticky Geranium, red patches of Indian Paintbrush and delicate lavender Harebell.

My first patrolled hike I covered three miles of trails at Phelps Lake.

Stepping up meant "signing up" for the Exum Mountain Safety Class offered to Park employees.  By saying "yes"to a challenge it gave me an amazing opportunity to reach new heights, plunge, and practice self-arrests.... several of them head first, bracing with an ice-axe, in declining snow fields.

Exum Mountain Safety Class for Park Employees
June, 2012 - Tetons

No one said any of this was going to be easy.

Another participating ranger, with an adventurous gleam in his eye, reminded me, without ever telling me, to not over-think those self-arrests.  Thank you, Justin, for letting go of my feet before I even had the chance to say "release.   I performed a near-perfect stop at subalpine heights.

Indian Paintbrush on Phelps Lake Trailhead

This week I think I reached a new height -  an elevation of 9035 feet.

The 16-mile RT trek to Lake Solitude through Cascade Canyon was amazing.

The ascent could not have fallen on a more perfect July day in these Mountains....75 degrees, blue morning skies, cumulus clouds to cool off under on the return.

More impressive was the experience of depth and dimension I had being in these Mountains and in that canyon - something you cannot fully appreciate until you "step into" the Grand Teton range.

Five weeks ago I wasn't sure I could do any of this - never even scanned the topographical map for anything considered strenuous level.  A flatlander covering a 3000 feet elevation increase to close to 10,000 ft and sixteen miles in 7 hours?

The bull moose that day in Cascade Canyon at the base of a waterfall, me kicking through a melting snowfield, identifying sub alpine flora of Moss Campion, Subalpine Spirea and Sulfur Paintbrush, and the one-hour nap at Lake Solitude - where nothing could stir me (although the Marmots got close)...were amazing.

These are "ascents" I will always remember....and they are ones that go well beyond the climb.

Cascade Canyon

Wild Columbine

July at Lake Solitude

Hiking the Tetons

Global Awareness

Twenty-three Ambassadors visit GTNP

Experience America 2012

With their love of politics, I am pretty certain our colleagues Beth Mylroie and Ted Jordan will appreciate this entry and the opportunities the moment I experienced presented.

While working at the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor's Center this past Satuday morning, I met 23 ambassadors from five continents visiting Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. 

The trip was arranged by the U.S. State Department as part of the "Experience America 2012" program with the intent of educating other nations about our country.

The aim of this program is to generate cultural exchange, international good will, and can launch mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses, organizations, and local governments.

I took advantage of being on the clock that Saturday morning and, in uniform, greeted several of the ambassadors.  I introduced them to Grand Teton NP, explained my position as a Teacher/Ranger and the educational and personal exchange this TRT program has created between National Park Programs and students and adults from the town I live and teach in.

With a brief description of lobstering and kayaking ocean waters and Portland Headlight and our own Acadia as well as my jobs as a Cape Elizabeth teacher and an LL Bean Outdoor School Instructor, Maine was hopefully embedded in their memory and geographical maps.

Featured in the photo below is Ambassador Dhanojak Obongo, the first Ambassador of the Republic of South Sudan. 

My immediate thoughts about this experience?

I now have even a stronger conviction that our "educational systems" need to believe in the value of outreach, exchange and professional opportunities to benefit both teachers and students and to enhance our public schooling.

I need to ask  - from both this brief window of summer opportunity I have to serve and teach and develop curriculum in our National Parks, from this random Saturday morning exchange with 23 ambassadors -  what good, what value, what ideas and consideration of standards have potentially been created - for me as a person and teacher, for our classrooms, for our children, and for the conservation of our National Parks?

I know the answers.

Ambassador Dhanojak Obongo from South Sudan

Elaine Brassard Teaching in GTNP

A Favorite and Newly-Inducted Jr. Park Ranger - Sammy!

The Unexpected

Delta Lake GTNP

Time is always limited it seems.

In the moments I take to write this Sunday morning, when I should be writing my curriculum ideas for Grand Teton National Park, I want to talk about this phenomenal hike I went on this week to Delta Lake.

It is kind of a sacred hike to Park Rangers here - partially marked on the topographical map and partially unmarked.  I would not have been able to find it on my own - but with the help of another ranger and the cairns (mounds of rough stones piled as a landmark) we were able to get there.

Delta Lake is about a 10 mile hike with an elevation increase of over 3000 feet.  It starts at the Lupine Trail Head and has over a dozen switchbacks.

It was truly amazing - sub-alpine setting, turquoise blue water under the Grand Teton Glacier - with a water temperature cold enough to make my calves ache within about 5 seconds.  To submerge the rest of my body was unfathomable, though others have done it.

Most interesting to me was the pretty extreme turn of morning mountain weather we experienced by 11:30 am at the Lake.  We had arrived by 11:00 am, in almost full sun, but quickly winds turned and a churning dark cloud bank came from behind and the South of the mountain along with a humidity level that talked of change.  By 11:30 we were in a pretty decent lightning storm.

Our choices were to hunker at fairly high altitude, just under 10,000 feet, in clusters of pines or to descend and scramble over boulder fields.  We opted to descend and to get over the rock fields before they became slippery from rain.

Ultimately, it was a good decision - and a lesson on powerful mountain weather and preparation needed for the unexpected.