June 27th, 2011 - One Last Look and the Folks from Texas

Once more the Loll Staff was on its way to Camp. This time a group of the Staff were headed to Colter Bay in Grand Teton National Park, to meet troop 17 from Austin Texas. The Texas troop had signed up for our cancelled first week at Loll and spent many thousands of dollars on un-transferable airline tickets. The plan, for Texas, give them a week of Scouting in Wyoming, even with the best part of Loll, our Staff.
We also sent off ten of our Staff to Camp Hunt to help them with some clean up projects for a couple of days. It's not being in camp, but it's good to be at work.

In route, we stopped at Hopper Springs in Soda Springs Idaho. Left to right: Leonard Hawkes, Paul Parker, Christian Lippert, Ian Crookston, Jed Powell, Tanner Johnson, and Aaron Bott.

Tanner takes his first taste of Hooper water, he will crave it for the rest of his life.



Aaron gets ready to take another drink.

I didn't take any pictures of the Texans or of John Darrington who met us in Teton Park. I am confident we will have many pictures of them all by the end of the week.

We kept Ian with us and Paul, Leonard, and I headed for Loll over Teton Pass. Here we stop for a pose before the snow covered Teton Range.

Many miles later we were once again passing Indian Lake. The lily pads are coming.

We made it about 3/4th of a mile beyond where we got to last Monday, but this time there was a lot less snow. It was 985 Conner strides from truck to snow pole. Most of these strides were over wet, but hard ground.

The snow at the pole read less than a foot - but it was even better a few feet away, where the road was bare.

The trouble began on the other side of the summit of Calf Creek. Here Ian stands on the beginning of the drift that leads down the shaded hill. There was little open road, and plenty of snow down to the bottom.

The look down the long drift.

From the bottom of the hill, right by the bridge over Calf Creek, looking back up the hill toward the Calf Creek drift. Pretty discouraging - but a look the other way was more helpful.

This is the view looking toward camp. A week ago this was under several feet of snow.

We headed back to the top of the hill. Here is the speed limit sign which was conpletely buried on the 11th.

Here we are headed back to the truck. You can see the downed tree, and the truck in the distance. One can also see how fast the snow is melting.

The drift that stopped our drive. However, the temperature promises to be even higher over the next two days, with warm winds on Wednesday, and more sun, and temperatures in the 80's promised for Friday and into next week.

One last view of Gibson Meadow. No bear this time, although there were two at Ox Bow Lake in Teton Park. There were the first buds of Camas Lily.

The Camp Loll Staff will be headed to Camp Saturday July 1st. Three weeks late, surely the latest opening in my memory, but we are full of promise for the best, if the shortest summer ever.

The Road to Loll - June 24th 2011

Here are some pictures e-mailed to us by John Darrington this morning.


John lables this picture: "Place where we stopped. "


This is several hundred yards past where we got on Monday. John says the snow is broken by patches for about 3/4 of a mile beyond this point.

The snow is solid but much reduced on the road.

More evidence of melting.

The road up the west side of Calf Creek.

This is a shot of the place we were stoped by snow on Monday.

This is looking back down the road for our Monday stopping place.

I also got a call from Ranger Davis. He says the snow is melting at Grassy Lake at about four inches a day. It was at two feet when he called this morning. It was a warm day in Ashton and we have hope that things will move faster as the depth of the snow drops.

Mid Summer's Eve 2011 #2

We got about three miles further up the road than we had on the 11th, and were very hopeful that with some shoveling we would soon be bringing our staff to Loll.

Jody, Emily, and Ben at the point were got to in the truck, we are about six and a half miles from camp.

For a short while the road as only blocked by drifts that looked like we could easily push through, but we were soon, with in half a mile, walking on snow.


At the snow pole we found the snow level down two feet from the 11th, but still at about three feet.

The crew at the snow pole. We were determined to make it to camp, stay over night if we had to, and see what Loll was really like.

This is the view down the east side of Calf Creek.

This is the point of the Calf Creek Divide were we usually meet the deepest and longest lasting drifts.

Still on the east side of Calf Creek. At this time I was hoping that we would hit open road as we started up the next west facing slope. It was not to be; we would never see a stretch of open road.

Just over the bridge we ran into a set of grizzly tracks. He was headed west, we were going east. Thank goodness never did we meet.

I would call this a big bear. I remembered how E. T. Seton wrote that the exciting thing about a set of tracks is that the maker is always at the other end of the string.

At one place a stream of run-off cut across the road. This shows quite clearly the depth of the snow on the road.

We stopped for lunch at noon - a few hundred yards below the turn off. We looked up into Yellowstone, just across the week.

Looking up the turn off road.

There was a lot of "water mellon" snow.

The upper lot - not so hot or so dusty.

This is the road down from the parking lot into Loll.

Our first view of Lake of the Woods. As always, my heart skiped a beat - but perhaps for reasons other than joy this time.

The lodge at Loll.

The parade ground and the lodge under snow. You can see some minor damage along the overhang between the two halfs of the building.

Some more minor damage on the lodge. One can only imagin the forces these building face through the long winter months.

The north portch.

The east porch.

Off the south porch. This bank of snow is as high as the porch and blocks the entrance to the basement.

View inside the lodge; looks good to me.

The view from my beadroom wondow of the parking lot. Note the broken pine on the trail to the lake.

Emily in the kitchen. All we need is a staff to feed; well some food and fule would be nice too.

West door.

This tree went down on the north end of the parking lot.

The new roof on the old office. You can see the broken tree and where it hit the edge of the roof when it fell.

The danger lodge - in danger. This picture was taken from the parking lot.

Looking down from the snow drift to the door of the Danger Lodge.

Jody on a "hot" tin roof.

The new bridge. This picture also shows how much snow is in the camp sites.

The Nes Pierce KYBO.

The Rifle Range.

Jody at the Rifle Range. Some slight damage can be seen along the ridge line.

This is a snow drift in camp Nez Pierce.

This broken tree just missed the Staff KYBO, one chunk fell to each side.

Very big moose tracks on the trail to the landing.

At the landing.

Just some proof I actually made it.

Lake on ice.

The waterfront.

Ben easly reached up to top of the Pioneering Area bear pool.

The hike crew and the lodge on Mid Summers Eve. To quote from Through the Looking Glass:

From "The Walrus and the Carpenter:"

If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose," the Walrus said,
"That they could get it clear?"
"I doubt it," said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

The view of Yellowstone from the road out of Loll. I didn't take many pictures on the hike back. My left knee was hurting so badly I was beginging to wonder if I was going to make it. I farmed my pack and camara off on the "young ones" about three miles from the truck. It was carry my camara or carry me.

Once more at Indian Lake . . . like summer, the lilly pads are just peeking out.

At Indian Lake, Jody bagged the first mosquito of the summer.

On the way out, a black bear posed for us in the middle of the road. By time I got the camera out, the bear was on the run.

Enlarge the picture with a click and see that this bear is really running very fast.

Our big adventure passes through Big Jud's. The "Big Jud" will also pass, thanks to Ben.