Wild Fun On Big Wild
June 29, 2025
Hello Big Wild families and friends! We have had a great start to our trip so far with some action-packed days and good times! We are so excited to share with you all what we’ve been up to.
On our first day, we picked everyone up from the airport, headed to set up our campsite, had a pizza picnic dinner in the park at the base of Snow King mountain, and then headed straight to the Jackson Hole rodeo! It was a busy evening to start the trip off. We surprised the group with bandanas, so we all pulled up to the rodeo in matching outfits. Fiver was excited to share with everyone about the different rodeo events and activities and was teaching everyone about it. The whole group was loving the bull riding and was excited to see more! After a long flight delay, Caroline made it to Jackson Hole and headed straight to the rodeo where she immediately joined the action and was impressed with the different events and horses. After the rodeo ended, we spent our first Moonup in front of the Tetons and shared our hopes and goals for the trip. Everyone was exhausted from a long day and fell right asleep.
The next morning, we woke up and prepared for backpacking! We started our day with a big breakfast of eggs, hash browns, bacon, and fruit and then Sam brought some of the group to swim in the river nearby. Everyone learned how to pack their backpacking bags and how to stay safe in the backcountry. Then, we ate lunch and hit the road for fly fishing! Our drive was beautiful and followed a narrow canyon along the Hoback River and everyone was so impressed with the views. Our fishing guides, Jack and Colby, met us at the New Fork River for our casting clinic. The group learned about how to set up rods and had an opportunity to practice casting into the river. Greer was stoked on finding the different bugs and was super excited to learn about fly fishing. Zoe impressed us with her natural fishing skills and was casting like a pro! Everyone did so well and learned a lot in our short time with the guides! They left excited to bring the rods on the next leg of our trip.
After fly fishing, we headed into the mountains down a long bumpy dirt road to our campsite-known to most as Whiskey Grove Campground, but to us, the “bug farm”. From the second we got out of the car, the mosquitoes flocked and were swarming EVERYWHERE. We all piled out of the van and immediately sprinted to put on our long pants and head nets to avoid the bugs. Ava found a useful strategy of her head net tucked into her hoodie and was rocking the look! We cooked burgers, hotdogs, Mac and cheese, and salad as we swatted away the mosquitoes and then sat around a campfire for Moonup. It was a beautiful sunny evening and we heard the sound of the river rushing by as we fell asleep.
The next morning, we woke bright and early to get started down the rest of the long bumpy road to the trailhead for backpacking. On the way, we got stuck in a traffic jam (even in the back roads of rural Wyoming!) because a huge group of cows were blocking the road and we couldn’t drive through for 15 minutes! We finally continued on our way and met our guide, Morgan, at the trailhead and began our backpacking journey. Hadley helped hype the group up for the backpacking section since she had backpacked before, and was a great source of motivation for the group. We hiked about four miles past a guest ranch, along a river, next to big red rock cliffs, and up to a waterfall for lunch. The group was zooming and did such a good job pushing over the big hills. After lunch, we hiked another two miles to our campsite for the night alongside a beautiful meadow with views of a snowy mountain in the background. The wildflowers just bloomed here so there are purple and pink flowers everywhere! Everyone kept remarking about the views. We made it to our campsite in record time and Morgan, Sam, and Evie were so impressed with everyone’s perseverance and positivity throughout the day. Finleigh sang her way through the hike with one song after another the whole way-all six miles!!
At camp, we had a beautiful view of another waterfall and meadow. We cooked pasta with chicken and vegetables for dinner and then surprised the group with chocolate to celebrate making it to our campsite. We started a fire, which Dillon was helping fuel and would have continued fueling all night if we let him-he was running around grabbing sticks left and right and has become our fire master every night! We did Moonup and then dozed off to sleep after a long day of hiking.
The next morning, we woke up a bit later than usual and cooked scrambled banana pancakes for breakfast, which were a hit. We then headed off on our day hike (about two miles) up to an alpine lake, where we posted up for the day. We laid out in the sun on the shore, swam (more like a polar plunge!), played hacky sack on the rocks, and explored in the woods. Flynn got out the rods and spent the majority of the day fishing-he caught our first fish of the trip! It was a beautiful and relaxing day and everyone was enjoying the warm sun, cold alpine water, and beautiful views. We headed back to camp in the evening and everyone helped us with dinner-Thanksgiving in the backcountry! Slade was in charge of cooking the chicken, which he had been so excited about, and has helped with almost every meal so far! We made stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, and chicken. The meal was so yummy and everyone was stuffed after. We finished up dishes, sat by the campfire, and did Moonup in front of the sunset on the snowy mountains in the distance. It was a lovely relaxing evening to a lovely day.
This morning, we woke up early again and got started off on the trail back. We walked the six miles back to the trailhead past the meadows, meandering stream, and mountains. Everyone was so excited to see the van and was happy we made it-we are so proud of everyone’s hard work! We got burgers for lunch in town and are on our way back to Jackson Hole for the next leg of our journey. We can’t wait to share the rest of our adventures in the next trip update! Yeehaw! 🤠🌄
Sending love,
Evie & Sam
Shoutouts:
Caroline: Hey fam, rodeo was so fun. Love y’all. There’s so many pretty views!
Zoe: Hi Mom and Dad! We have been backpacking, fly fishing, and went to a rodeo! Love you guys!
Hadley: Shoutout Mom & Dad! I just went backpacking out in the most beautiful meadows. We also went to the rodeo!
Greer: Hey Mom, Dad, Mill, Aubrey, I have been having so much fun! I miss y’all. We went to a rodeo….it was SO fun!! Tell Marianna I said thanks for the letter! Love y’all. ❤️Greer
Finleigh: Hey Mamma and Dad! I am having soooo much fun! I miss everyone and shoutout to Leila and Lola and Poppy. I love you guys! – love Finleigh! -my leaders are awesomeee! 🙂
Fiver: Hey Mom and Finley camp has been awesome. We backpacked 12 miles total over 2 hikes. It was awesome. – Fiver
Slade: hi Mom and Dad camp is so fun and the nature is so pretty. We just backpacked 12 miles it was awesome.
Ava: shoutout Mom and Dad. The rodeo was super cool. Backpacking was super hard, y’all wouldn’t have liked it. lol. See you soon!
Flynn: Having a great time. Hope y’all have a good time at Red Rocks! Shoutout Mom and Dad!
Dillon: Hey having a great hiking trip hope I can do this with Liv when her knee heals. Love Dillon
Safe Arrival!
June 26, 2025
Hello Big Wild Families!
We heard from our leaders that the group has landed safely in Jackson Hole! The trip is off to a great start, and we are so excited to hear more stories as they begin their adventure.
Please remember our leaders and students will be unplugged during their trips, but we will be posting trip updates throughout the next week! This will allow you to follow along with the trip. You can also follow us on Instagram, @moondanceadventures, to see more of what we are up to!
-Moondance HQ
