Varvel Family: August Adventures

August was an amazing month for adventures! Joyce and I completed our goal of climbing all 9 of the Idaho peaks over 12,000 feet. It is an amazing accomplishment that I'm very proud of. We completed our last 4 peaks in August, plus I did some other cool stuff in between all that climbing.

Mount Church & Donaldson:

Mount Church and Donaldson is done as a double summit, because they have the same saddle, but these are the two that had Joyce and I the most nervous. We enlisted the help of Jason who is an excellent peak bagger and he has done these two before. Having him along took a lot of the stress and uncertainty out of the climbs, and made it so we could really take it all in and enjoy the day. Turns out, Mount Church is hands down our favorite of all the Idaho 12ers. It was beyond amazing. Summiting this peak was a highlight of my summer, and one of the coolest things I've ever experienced.

I made a reel for those that want the day summarized in less than 60 seconds, but I also added all the pictures and videos so that I could journal the experience we had.

Joyce and I slept in the back of Mark's truck at the trailhead so we could get up at 4:30 and be ready for a 5:00am start. The sunrise looking back over the valley after we left the tree line was so pretty.

The circled area is called the headwall. That is a dangerous section if you get off route. It was slow going; one step forward and two steps back kind of a deal.

Approaching the worst part of the headwall.

This was a tough section. If we let go of the wall we would slide back down and send rocks flying.

Jason and Joyce making it to the saddle.

I'm about to climb to the top of that mountain behind me. 😳

It is so rugged in the Lost River Range!

Starting across the Ridgeline to summit Mount Church. From the saddle to the peak is about .6 miles, and it is one of the coolest things I've ever done.

There are a few knife ridge sections, but the footing was always really good.

I was nervous about the down climbs, but they ended up being easier than I thought.

I love our crazy adventures together!

This is one of my favorite pictures from all the 12ers.

Looking back at the ridge we had just crossed.

Almost to the summit!

We did it!

This was Jason's second summit of Mount Church.

I was feeling so proud of myself.

Starting back toward the saddle to summit Donaldson Peak.

From the saddle this one was a piece of cake. But I love this picture, because that is Mount Church behind me, and I'm still in awe that I went to the top of that.

The three of us were a great team. Two summits in one day!

Teton Canyon to Jenny Lake:

I haven't done this route in years and years, so when Cris invited me to join her and Tonya on it, I was super excited! The logistics of it is hard, but Cris had it figured out perfectly. We were dropped off in Teton Canyon by another friend that was planning on doing some hiking up there. Then Cris' daughter Britta picked us up in the park at Jenny Lake. It was a gorgeous day and I loved everything about it.

The wildflowers were amazing!

Cris-Tricia-Tonya

Sunset Lake is one of my favorite places.

I love these ladies!

So pretty!

Looking back at the basin we had just run through.

Battleship Mountain. I'm gonna climb this someday.

Hurricane Pass is my favorite Teton view.

the Tetons with Schoolhouse Lake.

It really doesn't get much better than this.

Lake of the Crags:

I've had Lake of the Crags on my list for a couple of years, so I got a group together to get it done. Joyce, Jenn and RJ came, along with Steve and two of his cute kiddos, James and Tandi. It was a tough hike with a great reward. I loved it!

Getting started at String Lake.

Huckleberries!

We climbed a long ways in a short distance. It was fun watching the lake get smaller and smaller.

We had to cross some boulder fields, and James and Tandi did awesome. They scouted out all the cairns to keep us on course.

We passed Ramshead Lake right before we got to Lake of the Crags. It was gorgeous!

Lake of the Crags is hard to capture, because it's set in such a way that you can't see the whole lake at once. Pictures don't do it justice. It is stunning with the rugged Tetons as it's back drop.

It looks like it just stops at the end of the earth.

Coming back through the boulder field.

Joyce above Ramshead Lake.

This cutie was the highlight of the hike. I've seen a lot of bears while out adventuring, but this was definitely the closest I've ever been to one.

Mount Borah:

I finally stood on the rood top of Idaho! Mount Borah is the tallest peak in Idaho, and the 8th of our 9 12ers! This one was easier than I thought. By easy, I mean there was an established trail the whole way, and none of the one step forward and two steps back. When we were done we didn't feel as beat up as we did after a lot of them. The trail was gorgeous, and aside from 'chicken out ridge,' nothing too scary.

We slept at the trailhead again and got started at 5:00am. We walked in the dark until we were out of the tree line.

Getting started!

I love running and hiking by headlamp. I think it's so peaceful.

It was gorgeous when the sun started coming up.

It was nice having an actual trail.

We were climbing fast!

We were trying to catch a group of guys that started before us. They stopped right before 'chicken out ridge' to have a snack. We asked if they had ever hiked it before, and one of the guys had done it 4 times. We asked if we could tuck in behind them over the ridge, and they gladly agreed.
It was nice having people to follow over, but in the end, we ended up going the way you aren't supposed to go. So for about a 20 foot stretch I was wondering what the crap we were thinking! It was very unsafe! I would love to do it again someday and go the correct way (up and over the very first part of the ridge).

There's me down climbing the rocks.

Joyce standing about 100 feet from the summit!

We made it!

8 peaks done!

Diamond Peak:

Diamond Peak was our final 12er! People say it has the most exposure, but is also the most fun. We loved it! It was the perfect one for us to finish out this goal with.

We got a 5:00am start, and had a beautiful sunrise on our way up.

We could see the Tetons in the distance.

That's where we were headed!

This is why we take so long to hike these. We goof around doing stuff like this. 😁

This ridge is different than the rest in that it has a ton of scrambling.

We had a lot of Ridgeline to cover on this one!

She made it to the top of that section!

Looking back at the ridge we had covered so far.

I look so tiny standing down there waiting for my turn to climb up.

We made it!

Coming back down was not any easier.

At this point I got stuck for a minute. Joyce stopped filming when she realized my short legs couldn't reach any foot holds. I just had to relax, regroup, and rethink my plan. I ended up getting down just fine.

I'm super stoked that we accomplished such a big goal, but I'm also a little bit sad that we're done. I learned a ton during this process, and I was really proud of myself for pushing beyond my comfort zone and improving on something with each hike. I don't want to stop climbing peaks, so next summer I want to shift gears and try a few peaks in the Tetons. Thanks Joyce for such a fun couple summers of crazy adventures. So many memories made.

Kelly Canyon Loop:

Ashlee, Ashley, Kevin, and I did a fun Kelly Canyon loop early one morning. We had a beautiful sky!

Kelly Heart Loop with a side of Biting Goat:

I finally got to run Biting Goat! It's a fun one!

Beardly-Targhee-Mill Creek:

We were going to do Paintbrush-Cascade for Cris' birthday run, but the weather wasn't looking great. It's not a good idea to be on the Paintbrush Divide with bad weather, so she changed it to something shorter and closer. We did Beardly-Targhee-Mill Creek. Once we dropped down into Targhee, it was all new to me. We had drizzly, foggy weather, which I thought was awesome.

Cris-Sarah-Tricia-Vickie-Tonya-Sharee

Not much as far as views, but still looked pretty cool.

Fun day celebrating an amazing lady!

Hyndman Peak:

Mark decided to try a 12er. Hyndman was the one I did first because it's the least scary. I took a lot of pictures and filmed a lot to show Mark, because I was pretty confident he could do this one without a problem. He wants to overcome his fear of heights, so this seemed like a good start. Jenn wanted to get this one as well. She attempted it with me and Joyce last summer, but a storm turned us around when we were just past the saddle. It was a perfect day for them to bag this one!