The 'M' Trail

Monday

We awoke to find the sky blanketed with light cloud. That augurs for a cool day, we thought. It did not take long for the sun to break through making the weather near perfect. From the top of ‘Baldy Mountain’, we watched the dark clouds in the distance encroaching over the mountains. It is a fascinating process as well as very attractive. To the east and moving north, we watched the build-up. We tried to photograph the lightning strikes in the far distance but they did not oblige. On the other side, the mountains were basking in strong sunshine. By 2:30 pm, when we reached the car, the storm began. Perhaps it was a few minutes early but for the fifth day in a row, it has not let us down. Made us wet, that’s for sure. We have noticed many ‘hail-damage’ companies in this city. It makes sense as the icy stones accompany each storm.

The muscles groaned a little after yesterday’s twelve miles. We took cognizance of the protest and decided upon a shorter hike. However, it was very attractive as we climbed the steep slope and continued to the top of the Bridger Ridge, Mt. Baldy, effectively lengthening the ‘shorter’ hike. This is on the other side of our Friday climb, the ‘sheep hike’, if you will. The first part is to the “M”. Students at the Montana University in 1915 built an “M” of stones on the face of the mountain. The first part is fairly steep (1.75 miles) but it does not deter the vigorous people of Montana. Thereafter, it really becomes steep and tricky with loose gravel and stones. It is another mile or so to the top with an elevation gain of over 3,000 feet. Distance does not matter much; rather, it’s the slope that does. When one stands on the top, ones sees mountain range upon range, three or four deep in places. Sometimes a person must pinch oneself to realize where one is standing. One should count one’s blessings at that same moment.

We mentioned the symphony and the ballet of this city yesterday. (Bozeman) We did not mention that over Shabbos and Sunday, they had the ‘Sweet Pea Festival’ and the ‘Stampede Rodeo’, not to forget the bikers passing through on their way to the Dakotas. We were obviously excluded but we’ll get over it. By the way, the ‘Sweet Pea Festival’ is not about flowers but rather, the performing arts.

Who knows what the morrow brings? However, we are enjoying this town and Montana; so we have extended our stay for another day. We hope to extend it thereafter.


In the composite, pictures 2 & 4 of row 1 are directly above the “M”-pictures 1 & 5 of row 1.
The picture above shows the rainbow over the “M” plus the bonus of ‘shooting’ the bird.

The Big One!

Hello from the Treasure State,

Montana is quite a state. Three months of summer and the rest of the year, a combination of winter and…more winter. I suppose that keeps the skiers happy—good for them. We are in a small city, Bozeman, some 100 miles north of Wyoming. Wait for this. It has a ballet company and the symphony. We might arrive back in San Diego quite cultured. The beauty of Montana captivates us or, at least this area does. You have heard us mention beauty so often. However, when you see it, enjoy it.
We have decided to put down temporary roots for at least two more days or so in Bozeman but we hope longer. We also moved accommodation because we found something more suitable. People might think it is painful moving so often. However, we are used to it by now. Our editor carries all the heavy bags and bins and we hold the door open to make it easy for her. The system is satisfactory, we think.


Today was incredible. The bears didn’t get us but the weather did. We handle the weather much better than the wildlife. It rains each afternoon in this town. Today, we were in a storm with lightening, rain and hail. We are thankful there was no snow—it is a possibility in August. Our hike took place in the Hyalite Canyon and surrounding mountains. We hiked twelve miles, a big one for us, with an elevation gain of over 2,000 feet. We walked through streams, viewed ten waterfalls, colorful flowers, trees in the thousands and the very attractive mountain range.
Many times, we stand before these overpowering slabs of rock and marvel at Hashem’s grand architecture. It makes the heart flutter and the soul feel alive. At the top, we sat at Lake Hyalite and enjoyed a quick lunch. Our editor spotted the dark clouds forming and so we got the usual nudge and off we went. A man gets little time to rest these days—we are so looking forward to our next vacation. Where to go?

We often meet interesting people on the trail, some with fascinating stories. Today, we stopped to speak with Chris and Daniel, two scramblers. We had not seen this before, the riding of motor cycles up the paths.
At first, it is easy to think that they are a little on the ‘tired’ side. However, much skill is required to keep on the narrow, bumpy and dangerous tracks as well as to ruin the paths for the hikers. If not the skiers than it’s the bikers. It turns out they are fun-loving, highly skilled and extremely brave. Chris was saying that after the ride he was off to climb boulders and mountains. The youngsters have a lot of courage. We spoke of the balance between playing on the mountains and work. They think Monday to Friday is for mountains. We did not have the gumption to ask about the weekends. We wonder if people spend too much time accumulating assets and not sufficient enjoying the world. Who knows the answer to that? We did not discuss with them time set aside to study Torah, either. Once in a while, we display the right amount of tact.



Our editor showed her usual courage on the long hike. She was not intimidated by the rain as, in her words, ‘I’m not scared to get wet.’ Lightening, of course, is a different story. B’H’ we made it down safely.
We drove the car back to town like a real Montana dude—no shirt and soaked pants. Then we met the bikers in the laundry. The one looked like a bigger version of Anthony Sclar, so we approached him to begin a conversation. We were very talkative today. There was a difference from Anthony, though. He was also without a shirt allowing us to view the pictures or tattoos covering his body.
When he walked around the laundry, we thought we were at the movies. We received a good tip from the biker, fortunately. He showed us a quick way to sort colors from whites. Our editor is going to be happy because her whites won’t be so ‘pinkish’ in future. Anyway, he told us they are en route to the annual bikers ‘get together’ in the Dakotas. A half-million will meet there to do what bikers do at these ‘conventions.’ We don’t want to know. We suggest to all our friends that they skip their summer holidays in the Dakotas this year.

Jenni and Jeffrey

'Mmmm Montana Mountains

Please click on image to enlarge.

Howdy Y’All,

On Thursday, we left Jackson Hole, a town situate a few miles from Teton National Park, beginning the next leg of our trip towards Yellowstone National Park. We were looking forward to the visit although we began to get a feeling that it might differ from our expectations. At this time of the year, it is extremely busy in the vicinity of the Park, which complicates accommodation issues, too. We managed to obtain a room in Bozeman, Montana. ‘Bozeman!’ you might exclaim. We certainly did. It is a sizeable ski town some 100 miles north of Wyoming. We got the second last room in the motel. We wonder why the recession has not reached these states. Perhaps, recessions move very slowly, we are thinking.


Clearly, we did not spend much time in Yellowstone, less than a day. Suffice to say, they receive 3 million visitors a year. On Thursday, it appeared most of them arrived unexpectedly. We decided to make space for two more after watching ‘Old Faithful’ blow his top.





The good news is that as we move north, we feel a better level of acceptance. ‘Why?’ you may ask. It seems that our stylish hats are well received, especially in Montana. It's ‘hello Pardner’ here and ‘hello Pardner’ there. We still feel that to be really part of society, the hat must narrow somewhat in the middle. It needs the streamline ‘cowboy-look’. Our editor says the problem might be a swollen head. We are thankful for her advice. Each night, we wrap an ice-pack around the swollen-head, hoping that it will enable the hat to sit well.


Today, we visited an incredible mountain range. We hiked to the highest Peak, Sacajawea, of the Bridger Mountains. It was spectacular, especially for us as it had the features we enjoy. We commenced in the forest, broke through the tree line, played in the snow—freezing hands and sweating arms simultaneously—and then remained on a narrow exposed ledge all the way to the peak. The hike was six miles with an elevation gain of over two thousand feet—it seemed like most of the gain occurred in the last few yards. We are wondering if there are more than 12 inches to the foot in Montana. By the way, by area, it is the fourth largest state after Alaska, Texas and California. There is a single telephone area code for the whole state. Less than a million people inhabit it although it’s well populated with bears. The last point is pertinent as two grizzlies were spotted close by today. We are thinking we know why there are so few people in the state while there is a growing, well fed grizzly population.



At the peak, we had a 360-degree view that was amazing. It is wonderful to be able to look down on the other mountain ranges—well look down only because of height advantage. As always, we have much respect for every mountain. While sitting and staring at the views, we saw a great pair of legs…for climbing. Actually, it was four of them. An inquisitive big horn sheep joined us at the peak. We were pondering about climbing like a goat. Then we remembered what happens to them at Yom Kippur and Pesach and decided we were more fortunate, even with only boots.


We walked down with a young couple, two or three years older than us who are retired teachers. We had wonderful conversations. They invited us to visit them in Hawaii. Last week we were invited to Brooklyn. We need the black hat as we mentioned then and now a Hawaiian outfit. Our editor says, ‘Should she buy tickets.’ We said, without hesitation, “Book ‘em, Jenno.” Our budget is now strained. Next week, if asked, we can only afford to meet nudists who live close by.


So Long, Pardners,
Jenni and Jeffrey

Grizzly Neurosis.

As we crossed into Idaho from Utah, I felt my my blood pressure rise.

You see, I have been driving myself completely crazy over those big furry creatures called bears - and in particular, "The Grizzly" found in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana, just to name 3 of the places on our itinery.

It was sometime last year that Jeff and I decided that we wanted to visit The Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. I read up a little on those places, learned about the bears, and quietly shelved the idea for a few years hence. So imagine my 'surprise' when we were looking for a route from San Diego up to Washington, that Idaho, Wyoming and Montana popped up in our planning.

I was not against this route at all. In fact I had only heard amazing things about all three states. I just tried to remind myself that a couple of million people visit these parks each year and there are very few incidents of dangerous bear encounters.

In fact, last year Jeff and I came upon a black bear in Sequoia and the first thing I did, was haul out my camera to take its picture. It was a black bear. There is a huge difference between those and a 'grizzly'.

Anyway, as soon as we decided upon our route, I began my study of bears and their habits. The do's and the don'ts. There were so many facts to consider. The time of one's hike, the season, and the knowledge of the area 's flora and knowing which in which area the berry bushes are flowering. I had this internal feeling of worry each time I learnt a little more.

I began searching around San Diego for a small tin of wasp spray, which I had read, was as good or even better than pepper spray. Sadly, the only size tin I could find was huge. I had to figure a way of carrying this big tin of wasp spray on my person. After all what good would it do if it was in my backpack and I was confronted by a bear. Kind of reminds me about my snake guards being in our trunk when we came upon the rattler a few days ago.

Many sleepless nights, numerous bear dreams and, I hate to even say this, seeing tiny bear ornaments on gas store shelves, made me sweat. I felt myself becomming obsessed with bears. and I was not proud.

We did two hikes in the beautiful Grand Teton Mountain Range. The first was to Jenny Lake and beyond. Us and a couple of hundred other visitors to the park - young and old. Here I was, decked out with my bear repellant in its holder hanging from my belt and my eyes flickering around at every corner on the alert. We came upon only one other couple who were as prepared as me. They had bells jingling from their backpacks. I did feel a kinship at that moment and we stopped, chatted and swopped 'bear' stories.

However, I soon realized that the trail was so busy that no bear would even consider coming close. Jeff was unhappy and would have liked to have hiked off the trail - but for me, I was only too thankful for the crowds. After a short while of being bogged down by my giant tin of wasp spray, I relegated it to my backpack, relaxed and enjoyed the 8 mike trek immensely.

Our second hike was to Taggart and Bradley Lakes and beyond. Not as many people, which was lovely. We did venture into some pretty deep forests. I do admit to having my "bear spray" on hand - but I was much more relaxed than the day before. Here's hoping for many more "bare" trails.

- The Editor

The Great Tetons, Lakes & a Bear Tale

Howdy Folks,

Even the toughest of editors is leveled from time to time. Yesterday, Tuesday, Jenni suffered from the effects of too much acid. With all the Coke I’ve been drinking, it caught up with her finally. It appears that her drainage system is not as good as the main drinker’s. Sometimes the system is unfair; I drink most of the Coke and she suffers the pain.

We decided to take it slower and left Idaho and headed for Jackson Hole, in Wyoming. We have heard much about this town so we rode in, dismounted and found a small office in the main park and said our ‘Howdies’ to the locals.
The weather was good, the office-park was clean and we were ready for business. The office cleaners had forgotten to dry off the benches after washing them so we were a little wet in the rear--difficult to find good help these days. We were disappointed with the atmosphere in the office. We remember in Santa Fe when we visited in June, there was more color. We missed the minstrel, the fighting hobos and the street vendors. However, we can’t be too fussy as the rent is very economical and the views are fabulous.


We were active on the computer doing our daily chores. Barry, our boss in Boston, kept us busy although the casino in New York was quiet for a change. We have nearly sold all our stocks to the bulls. We are now looking to buy them back at wholesale prices but this might still be a while. Who knows? We are still fascinated that a person can sit in a park in Moose or Jackson, WY, and operate businesses all over the country, even most places in the world. This tickles us. We don’t laugh, though; we are amazed.





Into the park, hike to Taggert Lake followed by Bradly Lake and then get closer to the Tetons. That’s the plan. Off we go and find that we accomplish 8.5 miles with unknown elevation gain. Next visit, a climb of a Teton is the objective. We did not realize one could climb them until we hiked down with young Allen, a twenty-three year old, strong and full of enthusiasm who hales from Durango.



We walked through magnificent forests, popping in and out so we enjoyed both sun and shade. We crossed streams, viewed waterfalls, as well as stunning, emerald, alpine lakes and of course, the great, gigantic, grand Tetons. They are a marvel of nature, one of the many. We inhabit a spectacular planet but alas, we don’t always seem to appreciate it.



Our hike was not without some drama. A mile into dense forest we came across a couple hurrying down the path. ‘A bear is on the side of the trail,’ they mentioned and continued along their way. We admit we are not that keen to get into a close relationship with a bear, black or otherwise. We say that without prejudice. We turned to face our stoic editor who looked like she was making preparations. She pulled out a can and for a horrible moment, we thought she was about to begin cleaning. Aha! Bear spray. She looked us straight in the eye and said, “I’m okay, let’s carry on.” We know she has been very nervous about the bears, the snakes, the mountain lions, the grey wolves, our behavior, Ellie’s health, the children, Obamacare… so we wanted to stand-up and applaud such courage. However, we forgot. We were already standing, so off we went to face the ‘Afro-American Bear’. (We have become very sensitive of late.)



Fortunately for the bear, (who we kidding?), we did not see him. We soon put the incident behind us and had an incredible day, which included wading in the lake. Wow! The water is cold. This week, we enjoyed another American treasure.


So long,

Jenni and Jeffrey

Baby Ellie & The Grand Tetons

Hello Again,


We received news that Little Ellie had an accident and unfortunately, required a stitch near her eye. The good news is that she appears to be in good spirits, a great relief for all. As difficult as it is to see the little ones get hurt, it is about the ‘growing pains’. We never like to lose an opportunity to learn something from any event or occurrence, even from Ellie. What did we learn?

Ellie fell in a store where her parents were shopping. We thought about it and then it became clear. Statistics tell us that most accidents happen close to home. Secondly, the accident occurred in a department store. A little reasoning and we knew what remedies to take.

Our editor, Ellie’s maternal granny, is running up and down the mountains and rocks. However, because she is far from home, B’H’ she has kept out of trouble. Secondly, and most importantly, she has not been shopping for the reasons mentioned above. Using our superior logic and deductive powers, never forgetting to temper them with our abundance of humility, we are taking the following action steps:
We should try stay away from our former home for as long as possible; and
Our editor must refrain from shopping for clothes and accessories.

We will endeavor to make this happen because we are very concerned for the health of our editor. We wish to make the point that this has nothing to do with finance. Rather, it is our deep compassion and only wanting the best for our dear editor—to prevent her hurting herself in these dangerous malls. We also have to think of a way to block the internet shopping. Who knows what can happen to a person should there be a loose wire or something else we cannot even envision.




We finally left the great state of Utah and entered Idaho. We were enthralled by the landscape including the massive, rolling farmlands. It is difficult to explain and so when we are stuck for words, we rely on the camera. We are amazed at the richness of the United States, the natural wealth and beauty. Our first two nights, in Driggs, has been very enjoyable. We traveled from Driggs, crossing the border into Wyoming and arriving at the magnificent Grand Teton National Park, near Jackson Hole. Our editor mused that we slept in Idaho, hiked in Wyoming and then slept back in Idaho. ‘Yes’, we answered, ‘we don’t like to show favor to any particular state…unless it’s Utah or Arizona or maybe …Arkansas.’ Of course, we are kidding about the latter.



We hiked up to Jenny Lake, a beautiful Alpine body of blue and at other times, emerald water. Yes, you read correctly. Jenny Lake. Then we walked past the waterfalls, into the canyon, climbed off-trail rocks and were stunned by the Great Grand Tetons. We hiked 8 miles with some elevation gain, less than we normally like to climb. The pictures do a much better job than we are able to explain.


Regards as always,
Jenni and Jeffrey

"Mormon Chabad"

Shabbos

At class in San Diego, Rabbi Wohlgelernter explained a verse in Parsha Vaeschanan, which commands us to work hard for 6 days and rest on Shabbos. We moved our focus from his eyes to his left ear and then after a while, to the right ear. Were we embarrassed? We wondered. ‘What about hiking and climbing?’ Is that indeed work? The Rabbi commented that work could be studying in the halls or involvement in the fields. Hmm! We think we could fall within the ambit of fields so we relaxed and looked back at the Rabbi with relief. The point of the mitzvah is that there should be a contrast between the workweek and the holy Shabbos. In order to make Shabbos special, one must extend oneself during the week. We believe this might be true in our case. Without feeling too smug, we relaxed further during the class. Thank goodness for our editor. She nudged us just in time. We became so relaxed, it could have been construed as sleep.

A number of people expressed interest in our Shabbos at the “’Mormon’ Chabad”, asking for details. At the outset, let us write that it was a wonderful experience. Chabad is consistent in that it is warm and welcoming. The level of decorum was outstanding-it was very quiet. So much so that we had to change seats five or six times to find someone willing to talk with us. We have visited their shuls in many locales both in and outside of America and it’s clear they all follow the ‘manual’—and they stick to it.

We were a little disappointed with the woman’s section, though. We expected it to be at least 6 or 7 times larger than that of the men’s. Our editor pointed out that ‘when in Rome do as…’ does not necessarily apply to the Jewish way of life. She threatened that there should not be any more comments about the ratio of husbands to wives in future. “You need to get over your fixation with polygamy,” she said in a stern manner. We had no idea what she meant in using such a big word but we were much too intimidated to pursue the conversation. ‘Besides, it is only the fundamentalists that follow the practice,’ she concluded. We thought to our self, ‘Are we a fundamentalist deep down?’

The Rabbi gave a talk on his visits to the Youth Detention Center in Provo. It is an awakening to hear of wayward Jewish boys to this degree. One story he related to us was of a boy of fifteen or so who finds himself in the lock-down facility. His mother and grandfather are both rabbis in the Reform movement. After three weeks in the center and engaging with Rabbi Zippel twice, the boy sent for his Tefillin, much to the consternation of his mother. He also asked, when the two family rabbis visited him (mom and her father), that the grandfather put on Tefillin with him. The grandfather reluctantly did. It was sobering listening to his talk, to say the least. My Tefillin felt even more comforting on Sunday morning.

The shul is .7 of a mile from the hotel. Our walk over the last three years has been three times the distance so we had to slow down even before we reached our cruising speed (big deal). The building is very attractive. There are other businesses around but Chabad stands proud as the anchor, for want of a better term. It includes a mikvah and pre-school.

Visitors from Los Angeles, New York, Israel and New Jersey including a few young men from Lakewood Yeshiva filled the shul. At a sit-down Kiddush in a separate room, the Rabbi invited the visitors to share a talk, a song or anything of interest. We spoke a little on the ‘light mitzvah’ concept as well as why we were visiting Utah. Our editor gave warning to stay focused and not to mention any embarrassing stories. She made certain of this by keeping her foot strategically positioned on ‘my left foot’. Any deviation and she would communicate via the feet, and not with the subtle touch, either.

We returned at 7pm for study, mincha was at 8 followed by the third meal, maariv and havdalah. We arrived back at the hotel by 10:20pm. Briefly, with Rosh Hashana approaching, the Rabbi reviewed the concepts of T’shuvah, Tefillah and Tzedakah. He explained the popular misconceptions. T’shuvah is not repentance but really, returning to the correct path; Tefillah is not prayer but re-connection with Hashem; and Tzedakah is not charity but chesed--kindness, righteousness. This is of course, a sound bite. Please forgive any errors I have made.

A most interesting thing then occurred. I was talking with Rabbi Yaakov from Brooklyn. When he mentioned his last name, my mind focused directly on my Siddur. He is the son of the sponsors of the Artscroll Siddur. His parents are Josef and Leah Berliner. They dedicated the project to their parents. We found that to be a stunning conclusion to the Shabbos. In fact, he invited us to spend Shabbos with his family when we are on the east coast. We are now looking for a new black hat to replace our stylish but perhaps inappropriate hiking sunshade. Any suggestions?

Shavua Tov.

Pre-Shabbos Adrenalin Rush

Hello All,

Every now and again, a person lives a little dangerously, which we admit is not very smart. It always begins with a small step and before you know it, there’s another and another. By that time, a person is committed and then there is no turning back. Besides, who wants to be called a ‘wuss’? The moral of the story. If you are a male, ensure that you marry a woman less brave than yourself.


Last year in Zion, the editor used the word ‘wuss’ to express her feelings towards me. On our first rock climb in Sedona some years ago, with my knees quivering while looking into the abyss, she said ‘you’re a big baby’. So on Friday, we put the head down, closed the eyes, stuck extra bubble-gum on the shoes and climbed the jagged rocks. We gave her no excuse for name-calling. If nothing else, it would be nice to be thought of as a ‘somewhat brave wuss’.


Across the way, we saw a great-grandfather and his nine year old climbing down the less severe side of the falls. Admittedly, it was a reasonable maneuver for an experienced person but certainly not a nine-year old girl. He was no youngster either. That is when we realized it is all about perspective. We thought he was irresponsible and he thought we were living dangerously. Who was right? It does not matter. One must remain within one’s bounds of comfort. Funnily enough, we felt safe or reasonably safe on the climb. In fact, when we reached our destination goal, we stopped and turned around. Perhaps our judgment wasn’t too far off after all.


The lesson learned is that as long as I’m my editor’s special ‘wuss’, why care what she calls me. I’m still her boy.

Salt & Sweat

Hi All,
We are still in Utah and as Shabbos is approaching, we will stay until Sunday unless, of course, we stay longer. It is liberating to be able to enjoy a flexible schedule and we appreciate this enormously. We think it will be difficult to change when we ‘regain’ our responsibility but we will deal with it then or…later.
“What do you think the Ranger meant when he wished us ‘good luck’?” our editor inquired as we left the visitors center. We were on Antelope Island, surrounded by the famous Salt Lake. “I suppose at a temperature of 95%, a solid climb of 2,100 feet, 7 miles round-trip, with no shade at all, and that you are no youngster, he thinks we need a little assistance.” Don’t you wish you could take back a remark that flies out of the mouth with so little thought? Our editor pretended not to notice or maybe she closes her ears when we talk nowadays. However, we don’t like the omen when people wish us ‘luck’ and have a little smirk on their faces.




This was our first hike in a while in which there was not another person present. We wonder if our editor is safe with only you-know-who around. We began to understand the Ranger’s sentiments. We have attached a picture of the car park to attest to the popularity of this climb, Frary Trail, which reaches the highest point on the island. The water looked powder blue with a misty cloud hovering over it. It was a wonderful sight. In other parts, especially the eastern shore, the salt and other minerals lay thick on the surface. This is Utah’s equivalent of the Dead Sea. In addition, we have come across Mt. Nebo (Moses’ resting place), Zion, the three Patriarchs, the altar, Jordan trails, Moab and more. Do you follow the pattern? We did say we are traveling to Israel—we seem to have arrived a little early.






Back on the trail, it was a long climb and very steep at times. Strangely, the closer we got to the peak, the further away it seemed to appear. The rolling grass-covered hills joined the water with the sky—it gave us pleasure to view, climb and absorb. There was not a tree visible but for shrubs and bushes. The heat, exacerbated by the lack of any cover, drained us prematurely.



Finally, one of the explanations given for the high mineral content is that the lake does not drain thus allowing for the build-up of minerals. Evaporation removes water but leaves the minerals behind, causing further concentration. The conclusion is that you might want to make alternative swimming arrangements. As beautiful as it looked and as perspiration-drenched that we were, the water did not temp us to take a ‘dip’.
Bye,
Jenni and Jeffrey