On Labor Day, we woke early to pack up our site and hit the road. We planned to meet my uncle and cousin in Victor, Idaho, for lunch at noon, but I wanted to squeeze in one more hike on our way. We grabbed breakfast in Jackson at our favorite shop, Pearl Street Bagels, and then headed west toward Victor. A mile south of the Teton Pass, we parked in a gravel lot to access the trailhead for Ski Lake, from what I’d read, a favorite hike for Jackson locals and their furry friends.

Since Ski Lake is located in the Bridger-Teton National Forest, Truman was able to hike along with us! But we were a little pressed for time. We started just after 10am and figured it would take us 2 hours total for the 4 mile round trip hike.  So, in the interest of time and incline, Truman had to ride the entire 2 miles up in his backpack. This time, I let Zach experience the pleasure of carrying Tru with the reminder that I carried him for EIGHT miles in Idaho…

Getting started!

The hike up, 1,000 feet of elevation gain aside, was really lovely. Even though Grand Teton NP is just up the way, the landscape felt strikingly different. The trail led us through lush greenery, open meadows, wooded respites, and alongside a creek. We passed several people and dogs along the way, but when we made it to the lake, we had it entirely to ourselves.

Ski Lake

We let Truman out at the lake, and he scampered around for a while lapping up some lake water and following the scent of a darting squirrel. He was thrilled to be out of his pack. We let him do the first mile downhill before the descent became too steep. He was moving so quickly I could barely keep up! As usual, Truman had several admirers along the way, both in and out of the pack. He is definitely a strange sight on most trails!

Although it was a little ambitious, this hike was a nice way to round out a weekend of hiking. We made really good time – a little under 2 hours for the full hike – and were only slightly late to our lunch date. (Our burgers from Brakeman were well deserved!) Plus, it was nice to get Truman out on the trail after he’d been relegated to his crate for the other two hikes. He was more than up to the challenge! Hopefully we can go camping a couple more times before winter confines us indoors yet again.

Tru’s head on one end, bear spray on the other