road trip: the national parks

part 4: Grand Teton, recaptured

A hike through the meadow. Hot juniper and laughter. Dipping my toes in Jenny Lake.

In the distance, the Tetons, where I first learned to ski. Peaks floating above the lake as if held in the palm of an unseen hand. Twenty-five years old and my life yet unspoiled: fresh powder of the day’s first ski run. And when the vision arrived in euphoric majesty, I tasted the cold mornings again, that icy sharpness of breath. Time gone by.

In this shaky descent down the moguls of memory, shadows lingered all day.

For what are shadows, if not future ghosts?

This microburst is the fourth in the mashup’s national park series. Catch up with part one, part two and part three.