Emma Matilda Lake

We're beginning to strike out on some hikes that really aren't on the "bucket list".  After accomplishing Two Oceans Lake awhile back, Emma Matilda Lake is the next lake on the list for consideration.

A loop trail is the main hike around Emma Matilda Lake, but we decided to do a "walk-by" hiking from Jackson Lake Lodge to Christian Pond, then on to

Lookout Rock by Emma Matilda Lake, then on to the Oxbow Bend Overlook cutoff, and finally back around to Christian Pond and Jackson Lake Lodge.  Total distance is about 3.5 to 4.0 miles.  Most of it is on a horse trail (which appears to be a very popular horse ride from Jackson Lake Lodge.)  It's a very warm trail, not all that shaded, and not overly buggy when we visited this week.

We've also managed to visit Leek's Marina and have a bread sticks & pizza for the 4th time this year.  We still haven't located any beavers, and we're now considering taking a wildlife tour to see if we have better luck.

Otherwise, we're fine.  We're entering our last month here at the hatchery for this season.  The ground squirrels have just about finished their fattening season.  We're seeing fewer and fewer of these squirrels each day.  We still haven't seen the local weasel.  Haven't seen a fox at the hatchery this year, but our neighbor did see a coyote near one of the hatchery gates.

In local news, the East Gros Ventre Butte (the one you sometimes see behind the trailer in our hatchery pictures) experienced a lighting-strike wildfire just above the National Wildlife Museum on Sunday.  It quickly spread up hill leading to evacuations on the residences on top of the butte and preparations to evacuate the local hotels located along US 89 at the bottom of the butte.  Fortunately,

a water-logged thunderstorm followed a couple of hours later and put the fire out.  According to the local paper, 80 acres burned.  Looks weird seeing a burned out section of the butte above the National Wildlife Museum.  From the highway, it looks like only bare rock is left where saga brush once ruled.

Elk Jam below the Jackson Lake Lodge 

So that wraps up this week.  Thanks for dropping by and checking up on us.  Until next week, David