Feral Therapy
Jackson Hole, WY // Bikes, lakes, AND all the damn mosquitoes
Nights out: 2 Miles driven: 692 Soundtrack: Dope lemon, kimosabe
A weekend of bikes, beers, cold swims and the most scenic campsite I’ve ever found.
Day 1
Joey’s wife called me out of the blue asking if I’d take him to ride bikes in Jackson for his birthday. I don’t know why she thought he’d like being stuck with me for three days, but I jumped at the opportunity to go camp and ride bikes in a new place. We loaded up the Bronco, threw bikes on the rack, and hit the road, heading north to Jackson Hole.
@Joey McVey
We got to town, changed in a parking lot, and stood on the side of the highway with our bikes, thumbing for a ride. We took bets on how long it would take to get a ride. We both got it wrong, and we only waited 4 minutes for the first ride up Teton Pass. At the top of the pass, we headed straight to Lithium Trail, which instantly became a top 5 trail in my book. It’s rough, rugged, scenic, fast, jumpy, and complete.
Bike folks tend to be a little dirtbaggy, and the dirtbag lifestyle is alive and well in Wilson, Wyoming. We got picked up by a hairy, shirtless guy in a beater Tacoma that smelled like a Costco-sized dispensary. He drove us back up the pass, and when I asked if I could Venmo him some gas money, he said: “Absolutely not!” And that was that; he took off, and we rode some jumps.
Halfway down the trail, we took a very refreshing dip in Crater Lake. It’s the kind of cold that instantly hurts your head and changes your voice to sound like the 11-year-old version of yourself. We didn’t last long in the water before carrying on down the trail. We dodged summer monsoon thunderstorms for the rest of the afternoon while hitchhiking up the pass each time. We were happy to avoid the lightning, downpour, and flash floods that can come with big summer storms.
When we had our fill of the trails, we filled up on tacos and kebabs before heading off to camp 1. We ended up camping near Mosquito Creek Road where we set up the compound. Ironically enough, there were no bugs. We pitched tents and tarps, propped up a log in the distance to hold targets, and started producing empty beer cans to plink with the BB gun. And yes, producing cans is exactly what you think. You start with a full one, pop the tab, drink it, and voila. You now have a target. We won't name names, but one of us was a sharpshooter, and the other was Joey.
The night wore on, the fire pit came out, and beers were shotgunned. We went from office-job-working dads to feral people in the span of a day.
Day 2
The morning started with coffee, bacon, eggs, beer, and BB guns. Then it was back to hitchhiking and riding bikes. We rode for most of the day before loading up and heading to camp 2. I’ll spare you all of the details, but large jumps were hit, bad decisions were made, and zero photos were taken. Not in the name of keeping secrets, but more because we were in the moment. Our hands and forearms ached as we sipped post-ride beers at the Stagecoach Saloon.
We spent an hour or so exploring dirt roads near Grand Teton National Park and getting skunked around every corner. I guess that’s what you get when you try to find a campsite near the Tetons at 5 PM on a Saturday in July — nothing.
So we hit the road and went even more remote. We stumbled upon a promising zone with endless open sites. We were tempted to stop at the first good one we saw, but stubbornness kept us driving further and further up the mountain. We eventually landed on what I’d argue is one of the better campsites in the country by my criteria. There were no people around, no roads to hear, no buildings to see. Just an empty ridge with a world-class view of some world-class mountains. And then the mosquitoes swarmed.
We were on top of a ridge, with no water nearby, in the sun, in the wind, and somehow this felt like the place where all the planet’s mosquitoes spawn. Don’t those bastards like water? We bathed in bug spray, sweated our asses off in long-sleeved shirts, and wished we were back at Mosquito Creek where they don’t have mosquitoes.
We drank beers around the fire, shot BB guns, looked for grizzlies. We saw signs of them everywhere, but the bears kept to themselves. The bugs died down when it cooled off as we watched the last rays of sun dip below the mountains. Then the stars came up, the wind died, and the night was calm.
Day 3
We woke to what I can only describe as woodpeckers trying their damnedest to clear-cut the forest and mosquitoes dive-bombing our tents. We covered up, doused ourselves in bug spray like a 17-year-old applies cologne before prom, and enjoyed a few cups of joe in the most scenic place I’ve ever woken up. We slowly packed our gear, fired up the Spain vs Argentina World Cup Final, and hit the road home.
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Yes. Many riders hitchhike from Wilson or the bottom of the pass with their bikes to reach trails such as Lithium. We rarely waited more than a few minutes, although ride availability can vary with traffic, weather, and time of day.
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Lithium is a fast, rugged downhill mountain bike trail with rough terrain, large jumps, steep sections, and big views. It quickly became one of my favorite trails, but it is best suited to experienced riders who are comfortable with technical features and higher consequences.
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Yes, Crater Lake makes a great mid-ride swimming stop. The water was exceptionally cold during our July visit and immediately took our breath away, so expect a quick dip rather than a leisurely swim.
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There are dispersed camping areas in the surrounding national forest, but finding an open site near Grand Teton National Park can be difficult on summer weekends. We struck out near the park at 5 PM on a Saturday and had better luck by driving farther into a more remote area.
Keep Wandering
Alexander Lake: Another one-night escape built around bad weather, camp experiments, BB guns, and seeing how far a questionable plan could go.
Soapstone Basin: Bikes, bacon, beers, BB guns, and a low-stakes weekend spent getting pleasantly uncivilized close to home.
Family Day: A quieter family camp with the Bronco, bikes, tarp life, and a familiar patch of forest that keeps pulling us back.
