Teton Valley Trail Runs

Victor and Driggs Idaho are surrounded on three sides by some truly amazing mountains.  The Tetons and the Big Holes offer great recreational opportunities.  Hunting, Fishing, Horseback Riding, Mountain Biking, Hiking, Backpacking, Camping and Trail Running literally surround the valley.

In just minutes from anywhere in the valley you can find yourself in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, great trails leave from every major canyon all the way around the valley.  North Leigh, South Leigh, Teton, Darby, Fox Creek, Moose Creek, Pole, Horseshoe, and many more all offer excellent trail heads.  All these access points make Teton Valley a great place to recreate, and while I love to hike, fish, ski, bike, lately I have been doing a fair amount of trail running.  Whether you are in for an all day endurance effort in the Tetons or a quick after work run, Teton Valley has a trail for you.

A couple of weeks ago I did an 18 mile run from Darby Canyon to Teton Canyon, using the Teton Crest Trail to link up the two drainages.  It was a great run and amazing to get that far back in the Tetons.  This afternoon I did a quick after work run on the Aspen trail just East of Driggs, it’s nice to escape the computer and cell phone for at least an hour a day.

From Teton Valley to Gooseberry Mesa…Quick

If you live in Teton Valley Idaho or know somebody who does then you know what kind of winter we have been having.  It has snowed pretty much every 36 hours since October 26th, sun has peaked out occasionally but there has just been a lot of snow and clouds.   I like winter and have done a ton of skiing this year, averaging at least two days a week if you include morning laps up Glory on my way to work, but when April rolls around your mind starts to switch gears.

My brother planted the seed, sending me an email and asking about at desert trip.  Then the next question backpacking or moutain biking?  We decided on mountain biking and the destination, Gooseberry Mesa, located just South of Zion National Park in Southern Utah.  I have heard about “The Goose” for years from various friends and mountain bike enthusiasts and even tried to make down there a year ago but we were forced to stay off the mesa due to weather and chose to ride at lower elevations closer to St. George.

It’s a long haul from Driggs to Gooseberry Mesa….over 10 hours according to Google Maps, and that’s just about right, but with a forecast for 80 degrees and full sun it was just too tempting.

We camped and rode up on the mesa for the weekend and the weather, camping and trails met all expectations.  The riding was spectacular with lots of fun little challenges and long winding single track.  We rode all the trails on Gooseberry and several of the choice trails two times.  Needless to say “The Goose” rocks!

It only took 45 minutes North of Gooseberry before we encountered snow and now a week later I have seen snow falling everyday since.  Makes me miss the desert even more….maybe another trip down is due again this Spring.

Base Camp

Sage Realty Group

Unless you have been living underground the last couple of years you already know  how tough the real estate market is both nationally and locally.  Working as a Realtor the past several years means you are working twice as hard for half the pay, but the hardest workers have managed to stay on top.

Last month I joined Sage Realty Group in Driggs.  My previous office was located in Rexburg and I was their only agent in Teton Valley.  It has been great to be working in an office right in Driggs.  I have been “The Lone Wolf” up here but now I feel I am part of a great team.

Sage Realty Group has maintained a strong presence in our market during the recession by providing both buyer and sellers with knowledgeable, friendly, and fair services.  I look forward to upholding the high standards they have set.

I have included the link to one of the best things Sage puts out every month and easy to understand and use market report.

http://www.sagerg.com/market_report_display.php

You can also search all the properties currently for sale here.

http://www.sagerg.com/mls.php?mls_sort=officesearch

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact the Sage Realty Group office at:

info@sagerg.com

cjensen@sagerg.com

www.sagerg.com

189 North Main, Suite 100 Driggs, Idaho, 83422 208.354.9955 | 888.750.9955 | 208.354.9956 fax

Teton Pass: “Get Over It!”

I have been a Teton Pass commuter off and on since I moved to Teton Valley.  Years ago I had a few bumper stickers made that read “Teton Pass Get Over it”  it was a little play on words, I was tired of people asking me how “the pass” was everyday when I got to work, usually by somebody who was fortunate enough to be able to afford to live and work in the same valley.

Teton Pass is pretty much the same everyday during the winter, its snow covered and/or icy, a majority of the drivers are not prepared and are not good at driving in the conditions.

Here is what I have learned so far in driving over “the pass”.

-All wheel drive or four wheel drive will make your commute a piece of cake.  Sure you can make it over the pass with a two wheel drive vehicle especially with newer models featuring traction control, but when things get really nasty, cars off the road, large drifts, snowplow plows you in while you are out skiing, you will be glad you have the extra traction.

-Snow tires!  If you are only going to do one thing to prepare for winter driving on Teton Pass then buy a pair of snow tires.  A good set of dedicated snow tires will do amazing things to the traction and handling of your vehicle.  Every aspect of how your vehicle handles will be improved, acceleration, braking, and cornering.  With a set of snow tires I feel comfortable driving the speed limit no matter the road conditions.  If it were up to me everyone driving Teton pass would be required to have snow tires on their vehicle.

-Emergency kit.  At the very least carry some extra water, clothing, and a shovel in your vehicle.  If the weather forecast and driving conditions warrant throw in a sleeping bag, flashlight, extra food etc.  All of the above have come in handy for me at some point.  One night coming home late an avalanche blocked the road just minutes before I got there and I ended up having to sleep in a parking lot, but I had my sleeping bag in the back otherwise that would have been a long night.

-Turbo.  Ok this one is just personal preference.  I am on my third Subaru that I have used to drive over (95 Legacy, 2000 Outback, 2005 Outback XT)  The latest Subaru is a used 2005 XT Limited Turbo Outback it is by far the best car I have owned for driving over Teton Pass.  As all Outbacks it features all wheel drive, but the standout feature for me is the turbo charged engine.  My other Subaru’s were “adequate” for getting up the hill but the XT is amazing, it is so much better than my previous cars that it doesn’t even feel like it is made by the same company.   Other nice options for winter driving that the XT has are heated wiper blades, no more flicking your wipers against your windshield while driving and rear locking differentials.  I have some experience with rear lockers on my truck and think that now truck or SUV should be without them but was surprised to see them on a Subaru, but man are they great. No matter how deep or slippery it gets your rear wheels just keep on turning.

Thats my two cents about winter commuting on the pass.  See you up there.

2005 Subaru Outback XT Limited with winter wheels and General Articmax snow tires

Plowed in at the top of Teton Pass

Tele or AT? The Backcountry Ski Question

Like most people my first “backcountry” skiing experiences involved boot packing in the “side country” adjacent to major ski resorts.  As time passed I wanted more and at the time (1996?) the best way to explore the backcountry was on telemark gear.  Or at least that was the equipment everybody I knew was using.  I started telmark skiing at Brighton ski resort while I was working as an instructor there.  I was very fortunate to have some excellent telemark instructors as friends and mentors.  It wasn’t long before I fell in love with the telemark turn and I too was lining up to teach the popular telemark workshops each weekend at Brighton.

It was a great time to be teaching telemark, the sport was growing leaps and bounds with stronger bindings, plastic boots and shaped skis a lot of really strong alpine skiers were looking for the challenge and grace of the telemark turn.  I don’t really want to boast too much but I got pretty damn good at telemarking, to the point that I could ski just about anything on my tele gear that I could on my alpine gear.

In 2001 my wife and I moved to Teton Valley, ID and I gave up alpine skiing completely, pretty much gave up resorts too.  I met new friends in the Tetons some who were on Tele’s and a few who were on A.T. (Alpine Touring) also known at Randonee gear.  I had a sticker that said “Randonee…French for can’t Tele”  that pretty much summed up what I thought about A.T. gear at the time.  I thought it was for people who wanted to backcountry ski but who never learned how to telemark…losers..hahaha.

An amazing thing happened over the years.  In summary A.T. got cool, but seriously A.T. equipment got lighter, more efficient.  You have features on modern A.T. gear that simply isn’t available for telemark skiers, how about releasability, step in bindings, frictionless touring, ski breaks?  Sure there has been some great advances in the free pivot tele bindings and there is the ‘holy grail’ NTN tele biding that nobody uses.  But the more I skied with people on A.T. equipment the more I realized how much better A.T. gear is for efficient backcountry travel both for skinning and skiing.

Well the winter of 2010/2011 is the year for me and A.T.  I finally upgraded my equipment with a new pair of Black Diamond boots, skis, skins, and a pair of Dynafit bindings.  I got out for my first turns on the new gear this morning, two quick runs on Teton Pass before work.  How did it feel?  Kind of like cheating, do recall that I said I fell in love with the telemark turn.  The A.T. gear felt almost too easy, with my heel locked securely on the downhill I was a hero and the frictionless low weight Dynafit binding makes the uphill pass like butter.  With the upgrade in equipment I have lost a couple pounds of weight and gained much more control and efficiency.

With a couple of quick runs a lot remains to be seen.  I may have gained a lot of efficiency and control but definitely gave up some style and grace of the Telemark turn.  More turns will have to be made.

Stay tuned.

In the meantime here is an absolutely hilarious video about the great backcountry debate…Tele or AT?

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4729727588189988961#

Catching up to do.

Summer turned to Fall, and I wonder why I am always apologizing for not posting often enough?  But the blog changes along with my life.  Here’s a no so quick recap.  I had a great summer guiding for The Lodge at Palisades Creek.  I guided all of my (excellent) return clients and made some new friends as well.  The South Fork fished very well this summer thanks to lots of snow over the winter and the resulting full reservoir.   I feel blessed to have such a great river to work on, clients that keep coming back, and a lodge that works hard to create an excellent environment for guests and employees alike.  If you want to come visit for 2011 contact Justin or Rayna at www.tlapc.com.

For those of you who know me or have kept up with the blog over the years you know that guiding is only one of three or four jobs I have at any one time.  My family also owns the car wash in Victor www.victorcarwash.com,  and since I am the only family member that resides in Teton Valley, well you guessed it, I run the place.  The summer of 2010 was our second full summer of ownership and from a maintenance standpoint the car wash did excellent.  We had almost no down time all summer.  My Dad took charge of the only downtime I can remember when a few critical high pressure hoses needed to be replaced.  Geno had the place up and running again in short order.  Thanks to all our customers, if you all keep coming by we promise to keep the car wash clean, safe, reliable, and effective.

Real Estate was slow for me this summer.  It’s a catch 22 as I don’t really have a lot of time to devote to it and the time I have spent doing it has not been paying the bills.  It’s hard because the real estate work I have done the last few years has been really enjoyable but I just haven’t been putting enough deals together to do it full time.  So I continue to help friends and family if they have real estate needs and I get the occasional referral.  I will keep at it and when the market starts to return I hope to be able to do real estate full time.

So what to do for the winter?  Thank goodness for my old employer and friend Michael Lynch at www.intheholegolf.com.  I first worked for Michael the winter of 2004-2005 helping him run his then small e-commerce site.  Last year I helped out in customer service a whopping 12 hours a week, but this winter I will be there full time.  Michael had a full time position open up just as my guide season came to a close and I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.  In The Hole! Golf has grown leaps and bounds since I first worked there, pretty amazing what Michael has been able to accomplish.  So if you need help with any golf supplies check it out www.intheholegolf.com.

Our son Grady continues to grow up fast and amazes us everyday.  He has a great sense of humor.  We had some good times this summer.  I think if he was writing this he would want me to mention riding in Pat’s dump truck, going on bike rides on his new “Strider” bike and going over to our neighbor’s house…he loves Ken and Lois!  Too much fun stuff to mention but I will be sure to post some videos and pictures.

I promise to update the blog a little more now, besides I have more stuff to share, I just got some new skis and have a little discussion to start about the difference between Alpine Touring gear and Telemark gear….stay tuned.

Grady’s first ice cream cone all to himself

A nice fish!

Rainbow at the Car Wash

Family day on the Teton River

Salmon Flies, Fishing and Weather

I guess if you read back through some of my blog posts several of them are about the weather.  And most of them are about bad weather, because if the weather is good around here I don’t want to sit in front of my computer.  I want to be running, biking, fishing etc.  But man the weather has been shitty up here, woke up to snow again on Saturday and there is a “Winter Weather Advisory” tonight through tomorrow….come on winter weather in late May?

Anyway it seems the insects don’t care if Mother Nature still thinks it’s winter they have to do what they have to do.  The Salmon Flies have started their great annual emergence on the Henry’s Fork and when I was invited to join some friends for a float down the Lower Mesa Falls section I grabbed all my warm clothes, some Salmon Fly patterns and hit the road.

Here’s a video or two and some pictures….

Ready to float

Doug and Randy with two nice fish caught just minutes into the float!

Escape to the Desert

Is it May in Teton Valley?

Ok those of us who live in Teton Valley know that winter can drag on but seriously 2010 is a doozy for dragging it out.  So far it has snowed at least a little each day the past week, it hasn’t really stuck around except for up in the mountains where the skiing and snowmobiling continue to be excellent.

We decided a few weeks ago to try and make a quick family camping/biking trip to Southern Utah while the weather was so poor here.  The weather was nicer in S. Utah but not by much…54 and windy, with occasional showers, but that still beats 36 with snow.

My visions of riding my bike through desert sand and slick rock came true though even if I was wearing knee warmers and a wind breaker and we all had a great time camping.  Props to my in-laws from SLC toughing it out with us.

Here are a few pictures from the trip and here is to warmer weather!

Grady picking flowers with his cousin Delcia

That truck is loaded with toys!

Camp Life

Grady loved riding his bike!

Super Camping Dads

Thank You Grand Targhee

Jenny and I took Grady up to Grand Targhee for his first day of skiing.  Thank you Kim, Frank, and Tyler for letting us borrow Tyler’s skis!  Grady did well but was far more interested in the snowmobiles and the ambulance that drove by.

Grand Targhee lets anyone ride their “magic carpet” for free, which works out perfect for a two year old, after 3 runs he was toast.

Good times….

Sunday Morning Crust Cruise

I know that I have written in about “crust cruising” on more than one occasion, but each Spring (or almost Spring) it’s hard not to post something about it.  Like Spring it is liberating, refreshing, and so much fun.  Also it really helps you embrace the last of the snow.  Crust Cruising is so much fun that I am sad to see the snow melt in the fields around our house each year.

Here is a short video I shot with my phone while heading out this morning.



This is why we live here!

Wow! Winter showed up this weekend for sure. I got to ski both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday with some friends who were staying at the Baldy Knoll yurt, I helped them get some gear in there via snowmobile on Friday night and we all skied hard the next day.

Sunday I got a text from Frank that I should come over for breakfast and then we would snowmobile to the base of Beards for a few laps. The French Toast was great, the snow was deep, & the trail breaking was tough. But as you can imagine the turns were great.

Here is a short video I took while holding my iPhone in my hand.

Teton Yurt Trip 2010

Just returned today from our annual yurt trip in our “backyard” here in Teton Valley.  This year we went to the Commissary Ridge yurt.  There were six of us, 3 couples.  Stephen and Sara Adamson from Wilson, WY,  just over Teton Pass, and our neighbors Frank and Kim Trotter.   Commissary Ridge is very close to where we live just North of Driggs so Frank and I actually rode our snowmobiles from our houses and hauled all of our food, beverages, and sleeping bags right to the yurt.

Having the snowmobiles makes yurt living plush, you can pretty much bring whatever you want, if we can fit it in the trailer or strap it to a snowmobile it can go.  Frank’s wife Kim is 7 months pregnant she is hardcore, but we hauled in a huge pillow and a yoga mat for her.  The trip wouldn’t have been possible for her without the snowmobile assist.

Our snow pack it pretty thin this year but we found surprisingly good snow on the West face of Beard’s mountain.  We were all a little concerned about the snow, since it hadn’t really snowed in over a week, but we came to the bottom each run with smiles on our faces.

We have to send ‘props’ out to the Grandparents…my parents watched our son Grady and Kim’s parents watched their son Tyler for the weekend so the parents could get away.  It always amazes me that we live just miles away from one our favorite vacation spots, we truly live in a spectacular place.  Here’s a couple pictures and a video I shot with my phone.

Wolf Tracks

The Tetons

Christmas Tree

I am checking out the new wordpress app for my iPhone, now I can update my blog from my phone.

Check out some pictures of us getting our Christmas tree up North Leigh Creek a few weeks ago.

Brrrrr!!

Damn it’s cold right now!

I don’t think anything else needs to be said.

Hunting the other side of Idaho

I have to admit I don’t get to Western Idaho very often, I was there a few years back for a fishing trip on the Owyhee River and South Fork of the Boise and then again to go through my pre license education to get my real estate license.  This time I made the trip west to hunt Chukars and Pheasants.

I am still a rookie when it comes to any type of hunting having only shot a handful of ducks and grouse on day trips near Teton Valley but my friends Stephen and Ben Adamson are very avid hunters and their enthusiasm for the sport is contagious and they are gracious and patient enough to take me in and show me the ropes.   They have had to teach me just about everything from how to load my shotgun properly (It was jamming occasionally if I loaded it.) to how to clean birds.  Kind of nice having friends with an encyclopedic knowledge of hunting.  And did I mention they have bird dogs….wow what a difference…hunting behind a well-trained pointer makes all the difference in the world.

Western Idaho is much drier and lower in elevation than the highlands to the east but the terrain is beautiful, the people are very nice, and the bird hunting is impressive you can hunt ducks, chukars, grouse, huns, quail, and pheasants all in the same day.  We spent all day Friday and Saturday hunting Chukars and I wasn’t quite prepared for how much “walking” we would do.  Stephen warned me that there would be a lot of walking but this is not walking this is steep aggressive mountain climbing without trails and the sidehilling really works your ankles.  Following these birds up and down this amazingly steep slopes is a great work out and I think you have to be a little crazy to actually enjoy it.  It can be so frustrating trying to chase these birds down that after a while it becomes a pure act of revenge and you want nothing more than to kill those little fuckers.

Being so new to the sport my revenge will have to wait until next time, the steep fast flight of the Chukars was too much for my lack of shooting skill, but I did manage to shoot one the first day when one bird happened to fly in front of my line of sight while I was taking aim at another bird…got him and man it felt great.  Ben was curious why I didn’t keep shooting at the rest of the birds but I was so thrilled that I shot one I could have cared less about the others.

On Sunday Stephen and I hunted pheasants after we dropped Ben off at the Boise airport.  Pheasant hunting seemed like a lazy man’s sport after Chukar hunting, we would casually walk the flat fields while Greta, Stephen’s dog, would dutifully and expertly find us birds to shoot.  It would have been really easy if I could shoot!  Stephen shot his limit of two Pheasants after about 10 minutes and we spent the rest of the time trying to get me some birds while Greta worked her ass off.  Greta got me set up on birds time and time again while I proceeded to miss each time, only managing to wound one bird that Stephen helped me find and finish off later.  It was embarrassing and Greta must think I am an idiot.

So before I go hunting again I think more time spent knocking down clay pigeons is in order and maybe some more time running up steep hills getting ready for Chukars.

Here’s some pictures from our trip.

Thanks Stephen and Ben!

End of a great weekend

Chukars

Ben and Elsie getting ready for the hunt

Stephen, Ben, Greta, and Elsie showing how it’s done.

Chukar Country…steep, rocky, and steep.