Hiking the Middle in the Teton Range

We hiked the Middle of the Teton Range (it is the peak on the right) this last Thursday. Nate hiked it two years ago and then the Grande last year (the peak in the middle). He talked me into training with him this summer and to be honest... I consented but did not think I would ever be in shape enough to actually hike the Middle with him. But... the more I trained the better I felt and the hike became MY goal. We kept having to push our hike date out further due to weather issues but finally had a good day on Thursday. We went with our good fried BP who knows the trail pretty well.  We left our house at 2:30 a.m. and got to the trail head by 5:30 a.m.. We listened to the elk bugle and watched the sun rise as we hiked up. It was an amazing view. We saw 7 deer and elk and a couple of other animals. A good chunk of the hike is full of large boulders that you have to hop (which is very pleasant for the knees). Towards the end there is a pretty steep assent to summit. I am not usually afraid of heights but this really freaked me out. We also had gusts of wind of up to 75 mph... that was probably my least favorite part about the hike. We reached summit at 2:00 p.m.. Watched the sunset and listened to the elk bugle as we descended and got back to the car at 8:30 p.m.. It was 15 hours of constant hiking. (The guys can do the hike a lot faster than that but I slowed them down. They were very patient with me and I thank them for that.) It was a wonderful and miserable :) experience all at the same time. We got back home at midnight and I have been "in recovery" ever since.

Here is our little hiker once we got home. There is nothing better than coming home to this little guy!

First Cello Recital

I had my first recital a few weeks ago. Overall it went pretty well. It is interesting to learn an instrument as an adult. This picture shows more of the adult section of our group but the majority are little kids. It just feels funny to be playing in a group with mostly young children that are much more talented than I am with their instruments... makes me feel a little out of place. It is never too late to start though and I am really enjoying it.