Onward to Yellowstone!

July 17th

Today, we broke up camp and headed to Yellowstone National Park. On our way out of the Tetons, we stopped at the Colter Bay Visitor’s Center. There, I saw a most interesting book about Glenn Exom, a famous mountaineer. I stood like an island in the stream of passing visitors and devoured most of the book in a little less than an hour.

Glenn Exom came to the Tetons as a musician, playing in a band at Jenny Lake. He loved exploring the Tetons in his spare time, and his mentor discovered that Exom had a natural aptitude for mountain climbing. Quite accidentally, Exom climbed the peak of the Grand Teton using a historically impossible route. He didn’t know it was impossible—he was just determined to not allow any looming challenges deter him from reaching the summit. The route he took was dubbed the “Exom Route,” and the rest of his life was linked to the Grand Teton peak. He conducted a successful climbing school here and raised his family in the shadow of the mountain. He led many people to the summit of Grand Teton, but I thought his most interesting expedition was when two of his clients were dogs.

One day, two Labradors from a neighboring ranch met his climbing party at the base of the mountain and proceeded to ascend with them. The adventurous dogs refused to turn back or be left behind, and the men became attached to the dogs. They christened the two dogs “Billy Owen” and “Lord Mallory”, after two legendary mountaineers, and they became official members of the climbing party. The dogs were hoisted or carried where they could not climb. In fact, his lordship Lord Mallory, who did not find climbing to his taste, was carried most of the way to the summit. After the descent back down the mountain, Glenn Exom presented two certificates of ascent to the dogs’ baffled owner and requested a climbing fee. Orange paw prints of iodine on the summit of Grand Teton are proof of the accomplishment.

Glenn Exom had a long and fascinating career, making his last ascent of the Grand Teton when he was seventy-one. A contrast to the maverick hippie types who are often attracted to the freedom and daring of the mountaineering lifestyle, Exom was both spirited and responsible. In fact, one person commented that Glenn Exom lived the adage of Saint-Exupery: “Freedom is the acceptance of responsibility.” What a stunning paradox!

I regretfully put the book back on the shelf when it was time for us to continue on our way. Yellowstone is adjacent to the Tetons, so our journey today was short. We are camping at Fishing Bridge: prime territory of the bears, so only hard-sided RVs are allowed. Other “bear aware” rules are strictly enforced: no cooking, no food, no water, and no cosmetics are allowed outside the RV. Undoubtedly, at least one bear passes through the campground each day…camping here is life on the edge!

After setting up camp, we drove around the park. Yellowstone is immense—over two million acres—and is absolutely teeming with wildlife! We saw two enormous elk with velvety antlers in a lush green field. They both lay down in the grass, completely pooped from watching so many tourists. We spotted a coyote slinking stealthily through the woods. And everywhere we saw the huge, lumbering bison—grazing in the sagebrush, sipping water from the Firehole River, strolling slowly across the road.

Even the land itself is living and breathing. Like air blasting from nostrils, steam emanates from deep within the ground and dissolves into the sky. Steamy geysers shoot high into the air; small pools of turquoise and green water boil; mud pots seethe and spit. It is easy to see why Yellowstone became the first national park in the United States and first of its kind in the entire world. This is a magical place where everything has life.