Location: Grand Tetons National Park
About:  Grand Tetons National Park is located in northwestern Wyoming, just south of Yellowstone National Park.  Famous for it's rugged peaks, grand scenery and diverse wildlife, it's a popular destination for tourists, hikers, backpackers, mountaineers, and photographers alike.
Official National Park Service URL:  http://www.nps.gov/grte
Park Map: http://www.nps.gov/grte/pphtml/maps.html
Time of year visited:  July 2004
Elevation:  6500 to 10800 ft above sea level
Distance traveled:  ~20 miles
Route map:

Map source: US National Park Service Grand Tetons Maps

Travelogue:

Day One:  Driggs to Grand Tetons

Our trip to the Grand Tetons was in July, and slated for 5 days/4 nights in the backcountry.  When were arrived, the crowds seemed fairly light, considering July and August are the peak months of year to visit the park.  The day before our hike, we toured through the park, visiting many of the areas along the main roads like Schwabacher Landing, Snake River overlook, (boat launch area). 

The valley floor beneath the Tetons is a multi-tiered sage brush covered landscape.  The area is frequented by Bison, Elk, the occasional prong horn antelope, deer, and if you're lucky, the wolf.  So, to get a little off the beaten path the day before our hike, we took the 4WD road that traverses about 20 miles along the Snake river and up and down many of the tiers.  Along there we encountered a few other vehicles, but no real significant views of wildlife like we hoped.  Despite the lighter than expected crowds, the area was a nice drive and opportunity to start to realize some solitude.   We actually came back to this location the following morning for a shot of the peaks.

The night before the start of our hike, we stayed in Driggs Idaho, which is on the west side of the Teton range.  About a 1 hr drive from Jenny Lake, it was a little less expensive alternative to staying in the expensive resort town of Jackson. 

Day Two:  Jenny Lake to South Cascade Canyon

Our first trip into the Grand Tetons started at the boat dock at the South Jenny Lake campground and visitor center area.  At the visitor center, we took several pictures of the wildflowers growing along the walkway.  The abundance of flowers at the visitor center ended up being a good indication of the amount of wildflowers blooming in the back country.

After getting off of the boat at Jenny lake, we made our way through the maze like system of trails to Inspiration point and on into Cascade canyon.  There are several small loop trails and branches that meet up with the trail that circles the lake and a horse trail. 

Even though we took one of the first boats over that morning, there were a lot of people on the trails already.  We stopped at Hidden falls for a picture and headed up to Inspiration point, passing people coming up and down the trail.  Exum Mountain Guides, a local mountain climbing outfitter and guide service, had several groups up there doing their training.   Which added to the seemingly high volume of people already out that morning.

The climb up to Inspiration point is a bit steep, especially for the start of a hike.  However, upon reaching the top, it quickly levels off, following the stream that runs along the canyon floor, climbing gently for about 4.5 miles to the South and North Cascade Canyon junction.  The view at Inspiration point is quite nice, but not quite as inspirational as I'd hope.  It has an east facing view, so shooting a picture at the hour we were there meant shooting into the rapidly rising sun, that would have resulted in a dull image.  However, the setting moon made for a nice shot against one of the peaks.

Much of the hike in the afternoon was in very windy conditions, encountering small groups of mostly day hikers along the way.  Between the wind and our full packs, we were able to push through only about 6.5 miles the first day, about 1 mile shorter than we'd originally planned.  Still, we went from about 6500 ft to 9000 ft that day. That night was extremely windy and certainly warmer than expected. The trees and snags creaking in the wind didn't keep our tired bodies from getting a decent night's sleep.

Day Three:  Avalanche Divide

The next day we decided to pack up our camp and move to one of the campgrounds just below Hurricane Pass about 1.5 miles away.  We'd planned all along to spend 2 days in South Cascade canyon, partly to help get acclimated to the elevation and also to take a day hike up to Avalanche Divide.  We hiked up the trail passing a large group of teenagers coming down that had apparently attempted to climb up to Hurricane pass but were turned back due to too much snow.  We'd already encountered some snow, and were becoming accustomed to our ice axes which we had never used before, so the word of the amount of snow to come made us a bit anxious.

We reached camp, ate lunch with a curious marmot begging for food, which he didn't get from us.  We decided to leave our hiking poles and bring only our ice axes as the ascent to Avalanche divide was nearly completely covered in snow. The hike up to to Avalanche Divide was only about 1.3 miles, and took us to about 10680 ft.  Since the trail was covered in snow, we resorted mostly to making our own trail, and guessing, based on our map and the terrain, where the real trail went.  The ice axes were almost a necessity, and we quickly became comfortable with them.  We used them to help us get from rock outcropping to rock out cropping and to avoid slipping down the soft snowy and steep inclines. 

Many of the rock outcroppings were teeming with alpine flowers that hug tightly to the mountain side, growing only a few inches tall.  The very short summer time for them means rapid growth and amazing bursts of colors to attract pollinators.

As we got higher, the winds seemed to get stronger and at times felt like they were pushing us up the hill. We reached the barren pass and, oddly, found 2 new cans of bear spray (pepper spray) that someone must have left recently.  Not knowing if they were left there intentionally or not, we left them at the base of the sign post showing the elevation. I took a full 360 degree view from the pass.  From this point you could see (from left to right), Hurricane pass, Table Mountain, the Grand, Middle and South Tetons, Mt Wister (?), Snowdrift lake, and the Wall.

Upon our return to camp, we found that the marmots had got a hold of our hiking poles that we had left lying under our tent.  They chewed on the sweaty wrist straps, but did no significant damage.  A lesson learned, watch out for those marmots. 

Day Four:  South Cascade Canyon to Alaska Basin

The next day we packed up to go over Hurricane pass into Alaska basin. The hike up started up a steep section completely covered in snow.  The ice axes, again were essential to help keep from sliding down the steep incline.  We also had to be concerned about flowing water under the snow pack.   Two days before, somewhere in the area we were at, a hiker and his two companions fell through the snow and into a stream that was flowing underneath. The three were eventually able to get out and had to be airlifted off the pass. We kept our eyes/ears out for flowing water and tried to avoid the areas where it seemed water was likely to be. 

The hike to the top was marked by fields of blooming wildflowers between patches of snow.   Even though we started early, our desire to get to the top of the pass kept shooting time short, but I managed to get some nice wildflower shots.  The Tetons are known for their afternoon thunderstorms, and being on the high exposed pass is not where you want to be during a lightning storm.

We reached the top of the pass, which is approximately 10500 ft, to have a brief lunch and take advantage of the excellent opportunity to take several more shots of the amazing view of the Tetons and the valleys surrounding us.   The winds were brisk but not as strong as the name Hurricane Pass would suggest.  The rapidly moving clouds made it difficult to get a good 360 degree shot of the area, but after a couple of tries, I managed to get a decent sequence. 

As we wrapped up the shoot and lunch, we could see off in the distance, and in the direction we were heading, a large set of dark and ominous thunderheads.  The clouds were rapidly advancing on us and we were well above the treeline, so we booked it as fast as we could down into the basin. Rain began to fall on us and the snow slowed us down quite a bit, but we donned our rain gear and continued our rapid decent into Alaska basin.

As we descended, the storm cleared up and ended up not producing any lighting or thunder in the near vicinity.  We reached the junction of Buck Mountain trail and the Basin Lakes area.  Our original plan was to camp near the basin lakes and head out over Buck Mtn and Static Peak divide.  However, seeing that the basin was still very full of snow, which we'd have to walk through in the morning, we decided to stay at the higher elevation, yet relatively snow free south facing side of the valley wall. 

We hiked about a quarter mile up the trail and setup camp amidst a small stand of trees.  The thick trees helped shelter our camp from the winds that came up from the valley floor.  By this time, we'd hiked about 4 miles that day and with the threat of more storms on the horizon, this was a good spot to stop.  However, at 10000 ft, we were also relatively exposed to the storms that would eventually come through. 

That day we had 4 storms roll through, each with its share of lightning, rain and sometimes hail.  Not having anywhere else to go,  we waited out the storms in our tent and hoped the lighting didn't get too close.  Three of the storms split and passed us to the east and west, but one came directly overhead.  The closest lightning strike we estimated was at about .5 miles away, which was closer than we liked.  I wished the storm had been further away as the lightning and scenery would have made for an astonishing set of photographs. 

Day Five:  Alaska Basin to Death Canyon
The next day we packed up and started early for Buck Mtn pass and over to Static Peak Divide. Once again, we were faced with a few situations where we had to find the trail or simply make our own across the snow fields.  The clear areas were usually very wet and muddy due to the run off or were brimming with more emerging wildflowers.  There also was a long stretch of the 'trail' still in the shade where the snow was still hard and on a very steep incline.  We had to force the axes into the snow and kick step our way across the hard snow to avoid slipping down the steep embankment. 

We reached Buck Mountain pass, and unfortunately, and not to our surprise, the area between Buck Mountain pass and Static Peak Divide was full of snow. I had to get a shot from the pass looking back into Alaska basin, so a quick stop at the top was in order before moving on.   The trail just after the pass had to cross a very steep incline. This was one of the steepest areas we crossed, our trusty axes helping us keep our footing.    As we crossed over toward the next pass, a few times we'd 'posthole' and our foot or even entire leg would sink into the snow.

At this point, a slip usually meant a 50-100+ foot slide/tumble down to the bottom, but as we got closer to Static Divide, there were a couple of spots there was no bottom in sight.  I didn't stop to take a picture in these spots as getting access to my camera would have been awkward and hazardous.  Here is a picture of my wife as we crossed between Buck Mtn and Static Divide

We reached static Divide, which is at about 10800 ft, had a quick lunch with a good view of Phelps Lake, Moose, the Teton Airport, Jackson and Death Canyon from that location.  The hike down into Death Canyon was relatively uneventful, with a few more steep and snow covered areas.  The snow quickly cleared up and so did the water sources. We hiked quite a way before coming upon a good water source. 

That day's hike was a total of about 8 miles, fortunately almost all of it down the very steep trail.  We did encounter one lone individual going up the trail with intent to summit Buck Mountain.  We wished him luck as he had a heck of a climb just to get to Static Peak, much less cross the snow we'd earlier crossed, and then climb Buck Mtn.  We also saw several Pikas along the trail as we descended into the valley.

We reached the bottom of Death Canyon and hiked another mile into the canyon to reach the camping zone.  The climate in this canyon was much different from Cascade canyon, certainly warmer and with more mosquitoes.  Still it made for a nice, calm and relaxing evening for our tired bodies.  After a small walk down to the stream flowing through the valley for this shot, we settled down for bed.

 

Day Six:  Death Canyon to Phelps Lake Trail Head

The next day, we hiked the 4.5 miles or so out to the trailhead at Phelps Lake.  Most of the hike down from the camping zone was down another very steep decline, making us glad we had chosen to come the way we did, instead of going in the opposite, and much steeper direction.  We encountered a moose and her calf on the way out, and saw one more across the stream. 

Once we reached Phelps Lake we had one last climb over the moraine wall that was left when the glacier that carved Death Canyon receded.  This moderately steep climb was lined with more wildflowers and aspen trees mixed with the pines.

Overall we did 20+ miles, with most of it done on the first and 4th days. Next time we'd like to perhaps start in Paintbrush canyon and come out Death Canyon again, or do even the entire Teton Crest trail.  However, anyway you cut it, the Grand Tetons and surrounding area are a spectacular site that we hope we've been able to capture through our photos.

For more photos from this hike, browse the complete Grand Tetons gallery.