Kayak Encounter w Moose and Calf in the Oxbow !

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Geo: 43.8834, -110.573

We got up and went for an early morning game drive down Pacific Creek Road. Big disappointment. The road was closed because of the sequester but you could still walk up the road if you wanted to get to Two Oceans Lake. We decided to drive the other road that ends at the private guest ranch but it is not the same.

Last year when we were here, there were ear warning signs everywhere on the Forest Service section of this road but not this year. From there we decided to drive down the road to Cattlemen's Crossing on the Oxbow. When we got there, we decided we just ought to go paddle the Oxbow and so got everything out and started our getting ready process.

While we were putting the boat together an interpretive ranger drove up and turned around. We were putting the finishing parts on the boat when an enforcement ranger drove up. He stopped and asked us for our boat permit. Here's the rub--We bought a boat permit in September of last year--you would think it would last until September of this year right?Wrong! It goes from season to season so we needed a new permit. Fortunately we were not yet in the water and so did not get a fine but we had to go get a permit before we could get on the water. As it turned out, this was a serendipitous event!

The ranger had told us to come to the Buffalo Crossing/Ford ranger station at Moran Junction rather than going back through the construction near Colter. We arrived there and got our permit from the volunteer that had been riding with him. Then we casually mentioned wanting to see the wolves in the Tetons. The ranger just so happened to be a backcountry ranger and knew just exactly where we should go. He has actually seen the wolves and even had a close encounter with them. What luck! The place to go is a part of the Tetons we have not explored so a new adventure awaits! So I guess the law of unintended consequences happened.

Got back to the boat and off we went. Paddling the Oxbow means you start out with the current but on the way back you are paddling against the current and depending on the outflow from the dam, this can be a real workout. We had been told by both the back country ranger and Trent at Jackson Lake Lodge, Jackson Lake is being lowered because of demands for water by the farmers in Idaho. As a result, the flow of the Snake below the dam is faster that it has been in previous years. We found out the rest of the information later when we questioned a ranger at the Colter station. Jackson Lake is going to be lowered 39 feet which is the lowest it is allowed to be lowered and is the historic level. The lake is at 90% right now and the water is being sent to the Palisades Reservoir which is where most of the water for the farmers comes from. This reservoir is at 40%. Because of this lowering of the lake, the Colter Marina will be closed because it is not a natural harbor but had been dredged to make this marina. Kind of wonder what it will look like when the lake is down 39 feet?

Unfortunately for us, we did not really have it all together because we did not have my scope nor Robert's binoculars. It was not the end of the world, however, and we still had a great time. Stopped for lunch in some shade kind of near where we had our beaver encounter on one of our previous trips. No beaver this time but some people came paddling past and told us there was a mother moose with her young back over there.

They did not give exact directions but we were able to find them after finishing lunch. It was so cute/divineorder? to see them. They were together under an arbor looking grouping of vegetation. They were well camouflaged and could very easily been missed if we had not known to be looking for them.

The young moose looks like it is going to be a good sized one when it grows us. It is always for eerie the way they seem to be looking right at you! I think they have very good hearing and are probably looking in the general direction of the sounds we are making. The young one still seemed a little cautious as it waded through the wetlands. Watched them for ahile before moving on.

Because the water is pushing through fairly rapidly in the Oxbow, we were able to explore some of the areas that were too shallow to paddle in last year. Back to shore and loaded the boat in that most amazing fashion. We hook it to the ladder in back and so it sticks up above the top of the camper about 8 feet! Have to travel slower but makes for quicker getaways in the morning if we are going to do several days of paddling!

Ate dinner at the picnic area and then over to Colter Restaurant for a drink before heading back to the campsite.

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