We are off to Grand Targhee Resort for another try at a chairlift ride to the summit of Fred’s Mountain. Our plan is to ride up then hike a few miles of trails at the summit to check out the view from a few different angles. The special event is over at the resort and attendance is pretty light.  We grab our lift tickets and climb aboard.  As we are whisked up the mountain, we spot a number of deer.  They’ll be long gone soon.  Downhill bike trails that zig-zag down the slope below us open in less than hour.

The view from atop is a bit hazy but still an impressive look at the Tetons.  We head off on the trail to Mary’s Saddle.  It runs along the ridge so we can keep an eye on the view as the haze (hopefully) burns off.  A precarious start down from the summit on steep, loose rock gives way to a much more manageable path but there are a number of steep sections making the walk seem a lot further than its actual mile.  We are joined on the walk by our high-altitude buddies, marmots and pika. The pika are working hard collecting flowers and grasses and stacking them in large piles to dry in the sun.  This one fellow has two heaps each much bigger than he is. We come upon one nearly black marmot perched in a tree…pretty bear-like isn’t he.  The view from the saddle is spectacular as well.  We hang for a while just taking it all in and hoping the haze will clear a bit more.

We are rested and refreshed and set out on what they label “the easiest” path down, a trail/access road.  It is terrible….loose rock on steep grade much of the distance with nearly no shade.  The sun is blazing. I fall on my butt.  Yuck.  We are glad to get back down.

We have lunch at the slope-side restaurant.  It is delicious: Kent’s BLTA and my mushroom tacos.  A watermelon margarita hits the spot too.  Recharged, we head for the chairlift again. Our ticket is good for as many as 3 trips up and we want to see if it has cleared off.  Another smooth ride up and a short walk and we find it, a not-quite-crystal-clear but marvelous view.  Well worth the trip back up, especially since we rode the lift back down this time!

Our route home takes us back through Driggs and we can’t resist a repeat at the Corner Drug Store Soda Shop.  Kent goes for the perfect chocolate malt again and I their specialty, a lime freeze made with fresh squeezed lime juice.  Yum.

We relax back at camp.  No moose today but a super-friendly, high-energy, chocolate labrador cruises through several times as he explores camp.  I worry he’ll get lost but turns out his family is camping just a couple sites up the road from us.