 Airbnb Near Jackson Hole, WYNick and I headed up to Bondurant, WY near Jackson Hole, WY for a quick weekend getaway. And let me tell you about the most amazing stay we had. Normally, when we go up to Jackson Hole we stay downtown at a hotel that accepts dogs and is close to walking distance to essentially everything, but unfortunately this weekend was insanely expensive that I had to be a bit more creative on where we could stay. I broadened my search on Airbnb and lo and behold I came upon a cabin 45 min south of Jackson in the town of Bondurant, WY that was like half the price of all the hotels and in a very secluded/wooded area. The photos were charming and I said hey let’s give it a go! Boy were we beyond blown away by this area! Thick woods, towering mountain sides, running streams and rivers, wildlife everywhere, and beautiful fall foliage! We looked at each other and were like wow this place is magical. The cabin is located on a family ranch that also has another cabin if you want to rent from Airbnb. We stayed in cabin 1 which is a 1 bedroom 1 bathroom cabin that has everything you want and need. As you enter the cabin, you’re greeted with a open concept that has a ranch style kitchen and dining area, inviting living room, huge windows that overlook the back yard and wooded landscape, plus a cozy bedroom and spacious bathroom. Even though we were on the family’s ranch we felt so at peace and the deck off the back was such a great space to relax on every night watching the wildlife come up to the pond and stunning sunsets! This place really took all our stress and worries away. In relation to everything else, like I said you’re 45 minutes from Jackson and a little longer to Grand Teton national park, but only a couple of minutes from the hoback river for fly fishing. We ended up picking up food to eat at the cabin since there aren’t any restaurants near by but honestly it was perfect so we could enjoy that fabulous deck longer every night. If you’re looking for a truly unique experience out near Jackson hole, I would highly recommend staying at this cabin. Quiet, secluded, wildlife viewing, and some of the best nights rest you’ll ever have! Xoxo Kimmy
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Places to go to in Island Park, ID besides YellowstoneIsland Park, ID is know for a great place to stay at just minutes away from Yellowstone National Park, but there are other great attractions that you can see right in Island Park that my husband and I have explored worth talking about. Now there is much more than the 2 places that I am about to talk about but I think these 2 are worth checking out if you have the time. Part 1: Harriman State Park I honestly did not have crazy expectations for this state park but man did it end up blowing me away! This state park has a bird sanctuary that is out of this world! We did the Golden lake loop trail and added a few extra miles to it from taking a different route down which made the round trip just over 7 miles and only 500 elevation gain so it was definitely a more easy/moderate trail. But let me tell you! The views insane! The trail goes by 2 lakes and 1 river, an old ranch, horses/cattle, and then into the deep woods. No joke within the first mile we saw 2 bald eagles! Once you get past the ranch and cows/horses for the first 1-2 miles; you reach golden lake where the trumpet swans, ducks, and cormorants play. Nick and I stayed at this lake for a good 30-45 min watching these amazing birds. There clearly was some drama going down between the swans so naturally we had to stay and watch the reality show! We also learned that they’ve been trying to bring back the Yellowstone trout here but other trout have been taking over so they’ve been trying to rebuild them but are struggling. The lake was just so active and fun to watch, someone also told us you can usually hear/see elk and potentially bears too but we didn’t see any that day. As you continue your journey you go through more dense woods and eventually land at silver lake which has more pelicans and cormorants. I forgot to mention when you first park there’s a river that has lots of ducks and geese. This trail really has the wildlife that is so much fun to witness. I would say it’s a great kid friendly and family friendly trail that everyone could enjoy. Even if you just went out to golden lake it’s sooo worth it! Also, if you didn't want to hike it then I would recommend biking too. Note: There is a small fee to get into the state park. Part 2: Upper and Lower Mesa Falls After we got done with Harriman State Park we drove over to Upper Mesa Falls! A very popular spot to drive to and witness some of the most beautiful waterfalls in Idaho! This is paved trail down to the falls where you get amazing views of the falls and Henry fork river. Once you’re done viewing there you can either drive to the lower falls or take their nature trail down which is a 2 mile trail down and back trail. We hiked down to the lower falls but I will say they were much smaller than the upper. Still beautiful as ever though! This is a very easy spot to go and check out. Definitely recommended for all ages to attend and witness such a beautiful site. There is a small fee to park at the falls just as a heads up. If you’re needing a little extra bonus while staying in Island Park, add these spots to your list! Xoxo Kimmy Riverside Campgrounds Near Yellowstone NPAnother camping trip in the books! Nick and I went up to Island Park, ID from September 4th- 7th and stayed at Riverside campgrounds. We booked our rv spot on recreation.gov and got a spot right next to Henry Fork River. All of the campsites are standard non-electric spots so that means no water or electricity. (Tent or RV is allowed in any of the spots and they are pull through or back in) We filled up our rv with fresh water and if we needed electricity we brought our generator to plug into. The only time we used our generator was when we left our site to go hiking and needed AC for our dogs since they weren’t allowed on the hikes we went on. Honestly, we didn’t even use up all our water we brought and used very minimal of it. We were being pretty conservative of it since we were there for 4 days but we definitely had enough for another day or so. This was also our first time without hookups for our rv so we were very cautious of how much we were using. We also brought big jugs of water that we would use to clean plates outside and the dogs drank from them so our rv water was really only used for bathroom times. And since the weather was cool in the mornings and evenings all we had to do is open our windows at night to cool down the rv. It worked out so nice and now we feel more comfortable with spots like this. Riverside campground is really beautiful! Like I said, lots of spots next to Henry Fork River or in thick woods so no matter the spot you can’t go wrong. It was also very quiet and really peaceful. We lucked out with having almost full moons every night too. Our views consisted of the river, thick forest, wildlife, and people fly fishing in the river. Bonus: Did you know Henry Fork River is world wide famous for their fly fishing?! How cool! So if you’re looking for a place within 45 min of Yellowstone np, seconds from the river, 10 minutes from Harriman state park and much much more then book yourself a campsite at Riverside. We would definitely come back again. Xoxo Kimmy Oh Canada!After Glacier National Park, Nick and I drove up to Banff, Canada to explore the National Park. Here's a break down of our trip day by day!
Day 1: O Canada!! Our home and native land! Ok ok yes I know I’m American but OMG Canada! I can see why people live here now! I actually cried when I came into your country it’s so beautiful! The first hike we had planned was recommended to us from one of our customers back in Utah! It was actually the only one I had saved and then we figured out the rest as we went. It’s the Tea Houses trail at Lake Louise in Banff NP. This area is very popular so you have two options, either get to the trailhead super early (6:30 am or sooner) for parking or you have to take a shuttle from Lake Louise Ski Resort. We got up super early and got ourselves a parking spot. You still have to pay for either one but we were glad we got a spot so we didn’t have to worry about catching shuttles and could take our time. You first walk up to the beautiful Lake Louise which is a bright teal color with huge mountain sides surrounding it. Lots of people just come here and take photos but if you continue to walk to the right of the lake it will eventually lead you onto some amazing hiking trails. The tea houses trail is a loop trail that took us 11 miles and just over 3,000 elevation gain. It passes 3 lakes, goes to 2 tea houses, passes a couple of glaciers, tons of wildflowers and wildlife, waterfalls and streams, and honestly just takes your breath away the whole time. It’s views after views after views! Just some side notes, the tea houses were built to serve as rest houses and stops for hikers and hotel guests back in the 20th century. They look like little Swiss homes too! Also, if you’re wondering why the lake looks milky or cloudy it’s because the glaciers press down onto the limestone and make silt that essentially then comes down off the mountain side into the lake. Boom just some little fun facts! Today, you can still get tea and treats at the tea houses as you hike through the area. It’s so cute and charming! I am so glad our customer referred us to this trail because I would recommend it to anyone visiting Banff NP! Day 2: This time we’re off to Moraine lake and Sentinel pass trail! To get to Moraine lake you do have to take a shuttle since the park is strict on how many people can be up there at a certain time. It got overly crowded so they made it mandatory to take a shuttle there now. You can get tickets at Lake Louise Ski Resort and the shuttles I believe were every 15-30 min. (Note: They are a bit pricey but again this lake is so worth it in my opinion and this trail was ah-mazing) We got on our shuttle, our driver was so sweet and told us some fun facts along the way and then we arrived at Moraine lake! This lake has been on my bucket list for years so I was so excited to finally witness it in person. We decided to do the sentinel pass trail first and then explore the lake after. Here again the trail starts to the right of the lake and has a pretty steep incline the first mile or so. The trail goes through a very wooded section, and then opens up to a meadow where you can see the 10 peaks surrounding the area, the trail then goes up to 2 lakes and then boom the wall! You can see the trail’s switchbacks up to the pass and yes it’s a bit intimidating but you know it’s going to have some of the most stunning views up there. We made it up to the pass and you could see down into both valleys just full of mountain tops, lake views, lots of rocks and boulder terrain, and you honestly just feel like a little ant in the Rockies. We made a little chip monk friend up there and sat up there for awhile enjoying the views and having a snack. On our way down, we saw a path that went to a waterfall so we stopped there for a bit. We made it back down to Moraine lake and walked around to see the lake in its full extent. There is a path that runs along the side of it so we tagged that on to our hike. It was definitely a bit more crowded by this time but since the sun was more up you could really see the colors of the lake better and the mountain sides w/glaciers. People take red canoes out here on Lake Louise so you can do that as an extra bonus. The sentinel pass and lake moraine hike ended up being around 10 miles and just over 3100 elevation. Day 3: Last full day in Canada! By this time we had already done over 40 miles hiking on this trip (Glacier included) so we decided to do an “easier” hike for our last day. It was a very rainy and moody morning hike and both Nick and I could tell our bodies were pretty worn out but we got up and headed to Johnston Canyon. This trail is off the old Banff NP road and is a really beautiful drive through the park. We got to the trailhead around 7 am and actually had tons of parking available which was great! The trail is paved for a good portion of it but really it’s because they had to build the trail through this massive canyon so it was pretty cool to be kinda dangling off the canyon walls while viewing all these waterfalls. It was a really fun traverse! You hike past multiple waterfalls, huge canyon walls, forest vegetation, teal blue water, and of course the canyon river. After the last waterfall the trail turns and you go onto an actual hiking trail for another 1.5-2 miles to the ink pots! What’s an ink pot you ask?! An ink pot is a cold, colorful, small pool that forms in certain valleys. They also bubble, and form from mineral water that seep up through the ground! They were super active when we saw them and kept bubbling a lot. The colors reminded me of the geysers you see in Yellowstone. So colorful! The ink pots were in this amazing valley that just opened up to towering mountain sides, large river, and fields of rich forest vegetation. It was fun to walk around and take in all the views. This trail ended up being around 9 miles out and back and 2200 elevation gain. Ok so maybe not the easiest but it felt easier compared to the other hikes we did that week! When we were hiking back a lot more people had come into the canyon so it does get a bit crowded but it mostly just by the waterfalls. It was a great one again and a great one to cap the trip off. Canada will always be in my heart now, and I honestly can’t wait to come back again. You’re one amazing neighbor! Xoxo Kimmy *To see photos from our trip head to my Instagram page @getlostoutdoors2023* 2 Days in Glacier NP!I'm going to break this trip down on a day to day basis of what we did so let's jump in!
Day 1: Our first day in Glacier NP and boy did we learn a lot that first day about the park! First, let me tell you when they say get there early, they mean get there early!!! Nick and I wanted to do a bunch of trails and when we rolled into the park at 6 am the parking lots were already full!! Every hike we had pinned we kept passing because we couldn’t find a spot to park. We drove up the "Going to the sun road" passed Logan’s pass which again was full and we both looked at each other and said whichever parking lot we can find, let’s just take it and hike! We were done driving and trying to find anything so next spot open, we took it! What’s so great about going with the flow is you never know what you’re going to get and the trail we ended up on was so epic and wasn’t even listed as a top hike in Glacier! Sometimes you just have to roll with it and in this case it ended up being amazing! We ran into a lot of people on the trail to see which way they were going and most kept saying Siyeh pass so we decided to follow! You start near beautiful falls and a river that then takes you into a forest bed, eventually leading to beautiful meadows, and then bam you’re surrounded by mountain sides, more waterfalls, glacier lakes, and tons of prairie dogs! You continue your ascend up and up till you get great 360 degree views of both sides of the park! Then once you hit the pass you descend down into another canyon but this time with tons of wildflowers, waterfalls, another glacier lake, and long horn sheep! I mean come on, this trail has it all! This trail was actually a point to point trail because we learned that you could take a shuttle back to our cars which was clutch because the trail one way is over 11 miles and 2200 elevation gain. It ended up taking us over 5 hours to complete. I would rate it hard just because of the distance but it really wasn’t too steep which was nice. If you need a plan b or c or d to Glacier NP then I would 100 % add this one to your list if your other hikes don’t work out. It’s less touristy and worth all the rewards! Day 2 Part 1: First stop of the day, Avalanche Lake in Glacier NP! This is one of your iconic and well known hikes in Glacier NP. It is a very touristy spot but the views don’t disappoint and it’s definitely worth going to. If you go early in the morning, you can beat the rush and enjoy the lake peacefully. When we got to the lake, there were only a handful of people there but by the time we started heading back the crowds were rolling in. This trail is very beginner friendly and great for families! It’s 5.3 miles out and back and only 730 ft of elevation gain. I know we don’t typically like the overly touristy spots but there’s a reason they are this way. This lake is incredible! The trail going to the lake is in very dense forest vegetation but then once you get to the lake it opens up and bam! You feel like you just got transported to a whole new world. Beautiful teal blue water, towering mountain sides, multiple waterfalls, cute ducks, rich pine vegetation, and a luxurious beach side. We walked up and my jaw just dropped! I’m convinced this might be the most beautiful lake I’ve ever hiked to. Now remember, this is bear country so please pack your bear spray and stay alert. I forgot to mention that before, but seriously this place and Canada is no joke for bears so be prepared, even on the most touristy sites you just never know! Day 2 Part 2: After avalanche lake, Nick and I hopped on the shuttle and went up to Logan’s pass to do Hidden Lake trail. Another touristy trail but again so worth it! I will say a lot of people just hike to the overlook and then turn back so if you continue to the lake then it gets less crowded. We went all the way to the lake and I’m so glad we did. It is absolutely magical! I even stepped in for a bit to get my feet wet and it felt so good. Then chilled and snoozed for a bit. The trail starts with amazing views of the mountain sides, beautiful meadows, luscious wildflowers, and lots of wildlife. Yes this trail had the most wildlife we had seen on a single trail. Mountain goats, long horn sheep, marmots, prairie dogs, chipmunks, and different birds. You eventually get to the overlook and boom! Beautiful views of hidden lake and all the mountain sides surrounding it, plus some glaciers. It is so stunning and again I can see why so many people do this trail. If you do the full trail to the lake it’s just over 5 miles out and back and 1300 ft of elevation gain (the trail going down to the lake goes very low so this is where you gain all your elevation, when you come up from the lake). I would rate it moderate and if you just go to the overlook then I would say it’s an easy trail. If you need a quick hike with great views in glacier then add this one to your list. Advice: In regards to parking if you don’t want to deal with missing out on a spot then I suggest taking the shuttle around, the only downside to it is it starts at 9 am so if you’re an early bird like me then it may not be ideal to wait. But if you’re in the park and then need to get to another place then take the shuttle, they run every 30 min at each location. We only had 2 days in glacier and I think with the 3 hikes we got in, we hit it well but there’s still a lot of trails I want to do there. Looks like we’ll have to come back again! xoxo Kimmy *To see photos from our trip head to my Instagram page @getlostoutdoors2023* The Subway Hike in Zion NPYours truly won permits to the famous Subway hike in Zion National Park!!! One day in May, I just happened to be on recreation.gov and casually looking at what permits were available. I saw that the subway was up for grabs so I put in 3 different dates in July for my husband and I. I honestly did not think we would get them, but sure enough a couple weeks later I got the email confirming we were accepted! I did a double take and was like omg it’s happening! We booked our trip and started to do our research plus talk to friends who had done it too. We made a gear list and made sure to have everything in order for this hike. This hike is just over 10 miles (sorry AllTrails you were way off!) out and back and over 2,700 ft of elevation gain. I would rate it hard and I’ll explain why… First, you start your hike on a pretty smooth trail and then boom big vertical drop down to the water, and I’m not joking, it’s a steep trail and guess what you’ll have to climb this back out so just remember that! Once you get down near the stream, the fun part begins! Up, down, and around the boulders. This trail is all over the place so you need good navigation skills and or a downloaded map because it can get tricky in spots. Best advice is to stay close to the stream the whole way up. This trail was a full body workout, but I will say the views were amazing! The canyon views, wildflowers, wildlife, dinosaur tracks (yes you heard me right!), the flowing stream, endless waterfalls and pools and of course the main event! With only .3 miles left to the subway, we switched into our neoprene socks and got out our hiking poles for stability. We hit the deeper water section and you just can’t avoid it. Embrace the wet shoes and feet! We walked up to the subway and it’s just a magical site. Cool teal pools with walls engulfing you. We even came up to some really cool birds wading in the water. It took us 3 hours to get there and we started early to try and avoid as much heat as we could since we did this in the summer. We hung out near the subway for a bit and then headed back through the obstacle course! Again, that descent in the beginning was a tough climb out so just be prepared and take your time. It ended up taking us just over 6 hours to finish and boy what a wild ride it was. We would absolutely do this one again since it was so fun and different from a lot of the hikes we do. I hope you can snag a permit for this hike because it is so worth it when visiting Zion NP. XOXO Kimmy Recommended: Bring at least 3 L water (You can not filter your water there since it has a bad algae in it), snacks, hiking poles, and neoprene socks (Here's the ones we bought off of Amazon: https://amzn.to/46Ha2zc . Of course look at your 10 essentials list for hiking anytime you go out. Our Grand Canyon Adventure!Overall Experience: THE Grand Canyon trip! And let me just say what a wild weekend!!! Between the gnarly weather, rv problems, rough driving conditions, and long hikes; this trip was truly an adventure. Nick and I didn’t realize that the south rim is at 7,000 elevation! Which meant we had to stop more along the way to fill up on gas since we were climbing with our rv the whole time and when we got to Trailer Village RV Park in the national park the weather was pure snow and ice coming down! Just when I thought going south for my birthday would be smart; it was worse conditions than where we came from. We have lots of stories from this trip but let’s just say we made it in one piece, had to deal with a lot of rv problems but eventually solved them all throughout the weekend, and still had a great time hiking on top and throughout the canyon with our friends and pups! I will say I did really love seeing the grand canyon in the snow and I couldn’t believe how much wildlife we saw too! It was a great birthday trip that I’ll never forget and I’m so grateful my friends from AZ were able to join even with the harsh conditions they had to endure to get there too! Overall, I do recommend going to the Grand Canyon, just be aware of the weather conditions, pack all essential gear to be on the safe side, and honestly it was nice going during the off season since it was less crowded! Listed below are the trails we completed so make sure to add these ones to your itinery. Upper South Rim trails and Ohh Ahh Point: Since you know we had a gnarly night with horrible weather and rough driving conditions we ended up sticking to the rim trails at the Grand Canyon National Park for the first two days. The rim trails allowed us to bring our pups on the trail which was fun! Normally, you can’t bring your dogs into a lot of national parks so this was nice that we were able to do this. The rim trails are paved and easily accessible for all ages and all hiking ability. You get great panorama views of the Grand Canyon and you can get a good amount of mileage in on this trail. It was around 12-13 miles total to do the whole south rim at the top overlooking into the canyon. After our friends departed, Nick and I squeezed ooh ahh point in at the end of my birthday on Sunday. I really wanted to get into the canyon so we strapped on our spikes and did a quick hike to ooh ahh point off the south kaibab trail. This was only a 2 mile hike so it wasn’t too bad after already hiking 6 miles that morning. The rim trails are great but once you actually get inside the canyon it really changes perspectives and you seriously feel like an ant. The canyon is so massive and so deep! It has sooo many layers and it was amazing to see. We were super excited that the next day we were going deep into the canyon to fully experience which I’ll share on my next post. *Note if you do go to the Grand Canyon when there’s snow and ice please please please bring spikes to throw on! You can’t believe the amount of people we saw going into the canyon without them and they had no grip, kept sliding around, and or even falling over! And let me tell you, there’s no railings in there! So be smart and safe yall and or just stick to the rim trails if you don’t have spikes!* Ooh ahh point was a great trail if you want something easy and actually a trail that takes you into the canyon. Just remember to bring the right gear with you. These hikes were great and fun to do that were more easy and yet had amazing views of the canyon so add them to your list if you plan to go there soon! Bright Angel Trail to South Kaibab Trail: Nick and I wanted to really explore the canyon before leaving the next day so we decided to do the Bright angel trail. Which is normally a 16 mile trail that goes out and back but unfortunately we ran into a hiccup….Construction! Say what?! In the canyon?! Yes! They had multiple trails closed off which meant we had to take the detour route which actually was nice too and made it a loop trail. We took bright angel trail to east tonto trail to south Kaibab trail. This ended up being around 16 miles and just under 4500 elevation gain. We went from ice/snow to muddy conditions to dry desert, and right at the end we got 30 mph winds! It was a wild ride weather wise. Luckily we had all the right gear with us because the amount of tourists we saw without it was nail biting and made us so anxious at the top because everyone was slipping and sliding on the ice! (And let me tell you there aren’t any railings in the canyon!) We did this trail in 7 hours and I will say though the views were incredible! We even saw a long horn sheep too! This was definitely a tough trail for us and we were sore for a couple of days afterwards but to really get a great understanding of this canyon I'm so glad we knocked this one out! So what's it going to be? Are you willing to take on the Grand Canyon and add it to your list of trips?! XOXO Kimmy |
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