Death Canyon hike with my cousins

So, after a week of helping out Rebecca recover in Jackson, my cousins came to town and invited me out for dinner.  During the table talk, they invited me to join them on their back country hike.  After all, they had the permit for up to six people and there was room for me to go. 
So, Rebecca and I talked it over and she really seemed like she wanted me to go and spend time with my family.  So I dug my big backpack out of the trunk and got it all packed up.

We met up near the Death Canyon trailhead.  On the way in, I spooked a black momma bear.  One of her cubs was intent on digging something out of the log near the road, so I got several pics of him and watched for a while.  Reminded me that the bear spray was a must for the overnight trip.

I haven't sat down to calculate exact mileage,  but I think we were somewhere around 7 or 8 miles from the car.  Good hike with beautiful views and I was ready to get my heavy pack off when we reached out camp site.  And what a beauty it was.  More of an open, rocky area, and the views in every direction were wonderful.  After a quick recuperation nap, we walked about another half mile farther back into the canyon.  Tons of gushing waterfalls roaring down the canyon.

After dinner we wandered back down the trail again to hunt for moose.  We didn't even walk a quarter mile and there was a bull and a cow.  Nice!  My camara battery died, so only a few pics of them, which bummed me out.

It was a chilly night, since fires were not allowed in the canyon.  But I put all my clothes on, and pulled my stocking cap over my nose and survived.   The marmots were stinkers and chewed on my tent footprint during the night,  but that is repairable.  We had a nice breakfast and then got packed up to go.  While packing up, the moose pair wandered by, so we watched them for a while.

Tough hike and my feet and hips were pretty sore, but well worth it to spend time with my cousins and enjoy the back country of the Tetons.  Happy girl! 😄