The Exciting Start to a Solo Female Traveler's Inspiring 16-Day Road Trip. Jackson Hole, WY — 2021
For those who have been following along, welcome back! I am finishing up this series of stories with the Grand Tetons.
For those who are new to this website, welcome! Let's get you caught up on my adventures.
I started a tradition when I was 20 years old and celebrated my birthday in DC as an intern. Each year at around that same time, I try to go somewhere new.
In 2021, I planned a 16-day road trip to Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah. You can read about the other parts of my trip in my Featured Blog Post.
You are probably wondering a few things, like:
Why these states?
Why 16 days?
Are you crazy?
And why should I care?
Let me explain …
It is no lie how much I love Colorado and Utah. I fell in love with Utah when I took a 10-day solo trip back in Oct 2020. I flew to Colorado, took a road trip to Moab, and returned to Denver.
I knew I wanted to go back to Utah and explore more, but I also knew I wanted to go to Grand Teton National Park. I kept seeing pictures on Instagram and Facebook of these jagged mountains, and visiting became a top priority. I started to do my research in February of 2021. I still felt like a badass after my 10-day road trip as a solo female traveler—there aren't many of us—and I felt like doing it again. I learned a lot about myself on the Colorado and Utah trip, and I had a blast, so it felt natural to head back out west again.
A Solo Trip Teaches You What Type of Traveler You Are.
I am a FIRM believer that you should travel solo a few times. It can be a day trip, overnight, or a 16-day camping trip. But take multiple trips by yourself to get to know who you are. It will help you, and it will help your relationships with people and life. That's because you start to deal with your own shit and learn who you are alone.
My last solo trip was about healing from heartbreak. So I wanted this trip to celebrate a new chapter, a new year of getting older. It should also signify that I was grounded enough in my life to take a long trip without worrying about the time off.
I settled on 16 days, not because it was a magical number, but because my birthday was on a federal holiday, and I needed to use up work hours. This trip has been my longest vacation to date and the most extended road trip to date too!
Am I crazy? Well, yes, all the best kinds of people are!
But why should you care?
Well, you are here because you love traveling and the stories that come with traveling, and you like learning how to make each trip run smoothly. So, let's get moving and discuss my solo trip to Jackson Hole, WY.
And since I've already admitted to being crazy, let's do things a little differently and start in … Utah! Specifically, Salt Lake City, Utah, by way of DC.
Salt Lake City
After months of planning, I decided to fly into Salt Lake City from DC since it was only a 5-hour drive to Jackson. I still remember the descent into Salt Lake City. The plane was flying along the mountains, and you could see the different colors of the mountains in the foreground. Then, mountains that still had some snow on the top came into view. And out of nowhere, its famous lake appeared.
I swore I was landing on a different planet; I know that many people use this phrase when discussing Utah, but it's true. You feel the landscape shouldn't belong on Earth. The jagged edges, the rich reds, the out-of-the-world shapes of the rocks. It feels like you are on Mars.
Journey to Jackson
I landed and went to get my rental car at Rugged Rental. I HIGHLY recommend this place. It has excellent customer service, and it is the cheapest place to rent an SUV.
The weather in Utah was moody, with the clouds covering the mountains while rain poured down. In hindsight, this should have clued me in that this would be the same weather that I would run into later during this trip. However, once I passed Park City and got closer to the border of Wyoming, the sun finally came out to play.
Driving through Wyoming was just stunning. Parts of the drive were flat, much different than Utah, but a massive smile grew on my face when the mountains appeared! The last 2-3 hours of the drive were when that moody weather decided to return.
It started in the distance. I saw the dark rolling clouds coming in, and the rain fell in the distance while the sun was still out. At one point, there was a rainbow as I was driving, signaling that my destination would be on the other side of it.
It was pouring down rain as I entered Jackson, and I could not see the car in front of me, let alone any mountains. Soon, the weather was creepy, like the Halloween feeling, with low clouds and low visibility. At this point of my drive, I started to think, what have I gotten myself into?
I had done ten days solo, but out of those days, I only camped in the desert for a few days. Wyoming will be the first time I camp solo in bear country, with a chance of snow and other types of weather. I was both extremely excited and nervous all at the same time. I am sure you’ve had the same feeling too.
I was excited to get into town and go to my hostel because I was tired and sore from the plane and the drive. I stayed one night at the Cache House, a hostel in Jackson Hole.
It surprised me for two reasons,
Having a hostel in a small mountain town is not normal.
The beds were either full- or queen-sized, which is totally unheard of in hostel life. And trust me, I've stayed in many hostels.
I highly recommend staying here because it doesn't feel like a typical hostel, and this can be appealing to people who aren't into hostels. A lot of people have this negative perception of hostels. They tend to think hostels are cheap looking, and the beds aren't comfortable. Or that there is interesting decor, or people will kill you in your sleep, etc.
I will write a post about hostels at a later time. But the vibe here is not your typical hostel at the Cache House. It has impressive beds, a cute coffee shop, and a great hang-out space with comfy leather couches; it's light and airy, with a slight cowboy twist. This makes sense since Wyoming is called the Cowboy State.
Once I checked in and got my life semi-together, it was time to explore Jackson. The first stop was getting that famous picture under the arch of horns. My boss and my coworker told me I needed to take a picture with that and send it as proof of life. The town has this old-time rugged feel to it. Yet, it also feels like one of those Hallmark Christmas Movies of a small village where you repeatedly run into the same people. But this town wasn't filled with locals like in the movies. Instead, I saw many, many tourists trying to buy gifts from different shops as they dodged rain in their flip-flops. Meanwhile, I'm in sneakers, rain gear, and my typical Colorado hat.
Along with the other tourists, I, too, was shopping. This was my only night in Jackson, after all. As I was wandering around town, I kept thinking to myself, I wish the clouds would break so I could see the town to its fullest. The clouds were covering the whole town, and I couldn't see the mountains surrounding it.
As I was trying to picture what Jackson Hole looks like on a sunny day, I also tried to figure out what I wanted for dinner. On the first day of travel, my body doesn't know up from down, let alone what I wanted for dinner since my body was still on DC time.
I couldn't decide, so I went to the store to pick up firewood, water, and other camp supplies for the next five days in Grand Tetons. Let's just say I went a little overboard on the firewood. Insert laughing and facepalm emoji.
Finally, when I got back to "downtown" Jackson, I settled for this place called Jackson Drug, a cute throwback to the '50s, and had an excellent bison burger and some ice cream. My stomach was thrilled for the food, but my body was ready for a hot shower and that queen size bed after a long-ass day of traveling.
I planned my hike and a few things I wanted to do the next day while still lying in my lovely bed and found out via a Facebook group that Yellowstone had received a foot of snow! I was wondering if I was going to snow while I was here.
I knew I wanted to get to the Grand Tetons early and finish hiking before the rainstorms began. I was excited about my adventures the next day. But, at that moment, I was more excited about the hot shower I had just taken and my comfy, big bed that I wouldn't have again until I was back in Salt Lake.
Let the adventure begin!
I would love to know…
Have you been to Jackson Hole, WY?
Or
Have you been to a hostel before? If so, what is your experience?
If not, what is holding you back?
Let me know about it in the comments.