TR: Summer in Grand Teton National Park, 2023

[al_in_al]

Death Canyon and Static Peak Divide

Death Canyon, despite its name, is a relatively easy hike for a canyon - I'm always at the top before I expect. It's under 4 miles from the trailhead to the patrol cabin destination. However, I am not comfortable taking my car down the unpaved road to the trailhead, so I usually park early and walk an extra mile. I find the road walk a bummer at the end of the hike, plus there's an uphill 500ft climb to get back to road, so another option is to park at the Laurence S. Rockefeller Preserve, and hike around Phelps Lake. It's a little longer, and ultimately I consider both routes tied in terms of effort.

If you hike around Phelps Lake, you get some nice views up the canyon.


Heading up the canyon.

















At the patrol cabin you can make a choice - turn around, head further up the Canyon towards the Death Canyon Shelf as far as you care to go, or go to Static Peak Divide (a 20ish mile hike with 5500 ft of elevation gain!).



I headed further up Death Canyon on July 4th.

Love this waterfall early in the season.


Paying a visit to my favorite boulder. Yes, I have a favorite boulder.


Death Canyon shelf - there's a trail and backcountry sites up there.




Looking back at the canyon entrance.


Moose on the trail!


I headed up to Static Peak Divide on September 19th.

Views beyond the shelf.


Moose (and baby) on this trail, too - right at the end of the switchback. Managed to back up and go around.

















View at the divide.


View up Death Canyon.


The lake that feeds the waterfall visible on the canyon hike.

[al_in_al]

Marion Lake and Granite Canyon

Marion Lake is pretty much only a day hike if you take the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort Aerial Tram. It's mostly a stop for backpackers - I was asked several times "where you coming from?" from hikers hoping to get some camping intel, I expect, and I disappointed them all by replying "ummm, the tram?".

It's a tough hike - lots of rolling elevation gain and loss; mostly downhill to the lake, and mostly uphill on the way back. I probably should have waited for a cooler day (and also a day where I didn't do another strenuous hike the day before!), but I really wanted to get up there while the flowers were still blooming, and August 16th was a pretty great time for meadows of flowers along the way.

I also used the tram to do a 1-way hike down Granite Canyon on September 6th - the trailhead to Granite was closed this year due to construction revamping the parking area there, and the tram was the best way to get into the canyon for me.

The tram ride is pretty cool. Sometimes there are singalongs. But it's offputtingly expensive (in my opinion). And, it puts you on a strict timeline, which always detracts from a hike. You can't start your hike until after 9am! Crazy talk. And if you miss the last tram down (5:30-ish?), you walk a good distance to the nearest gondola (if it's running that night).



Turns out, you can see Marion Lake from the top of the tram ride.









Typical Grand.


Paragliders.
















Marion Lake






Hiking down Granite Canyon was a bit of a letdown, because the best scenic views came from the part I'd done on the Marion Lake hike.

The "best" view down the canyon.


The new Skywalk at the top of the tram.






Another bear sighting.

[zozeppelin]

Al, I want to keep cheering you on each post, just epic in totality.

Did you go up static peak ?

Ah, skywalk, that makes sense. I was wondering what that was when I saw it, but had since forgotten about it. I swore it wasn’t there last time. I was thinking counterbalance for the tram or some old mine conveyor (neither of which make any sense).

[Selkie]

al_in_al,
These photo journeys are lovely and evocative. They soar above anything I've seen on the trails and the area.

just epic in totality.

Indeed!

[al_in_al]

Did you go up static peak ?

No. I was at 10 miles already when I got to the divide, and didn't really want to add more to my day. I'm not a climber (or scrambler), and can't make it to most peaks - this one was probably doable trail-wise, but I decided against it. I had to point a guy to the trail to the peak (we'd crossed paths several times and he had no idea where he was going the whole time ). I *almost* followed him up, but it was pretty windy and looked like it would be miserable, so stuck with my original decision.

Ah, skywalk, that makes sense. I was wondering what that was when I saw it, but had since forgotten about it. I swore it wasn’t there last time. I was thinking counterbalance for the tram or some old mine conveyor (neither of which make any sense).

I don't know when they started building it, but it's brand new. They were still working on it in August, and it "opened" in September.

[al_in_al]

Garnet Canyon to Garnet Meadows

The Garnet Canyon trail starts at the Lupine Meadows trailhead and shares much of the trail to Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes (as well as lots of popular climbing routes). Back in 2021, I drove in from Yellowstone and had an epic day hitting Surprise Lake, Amphitheater Lake, Delta Lake, and Garnet Canyon. I had a turn around time, and I wasn't certain I had completed the full trail up the canyon, so I wanted to devote a full day to it with no other distractions, which I did on July 8th. (Turns out, I did make it just about to the end of the hiking trail after all.)

A note about Delta Lake - when researching a trip in 2019, I read a lot about the hike and destination, which had become "social media popular". There is not a maintained trail to the lake, and lots of reports of the traffic causing bad erosion along the route. I decided I wouldn't hike it and contribute to the bad? behavior. Then in 2021 I was hiking to Amphitheater and absolutely every person on the trail was going to Delta Lake. I caved, and did it. It's a nice lake, but I won't go back unless the park officially creates a trail.

Enjoy the views from the parking area, because you're going to be in the trees for a few miles with frustratingly few views.


Eventually the trail opens up with some cool views over Bradley and Taggart Lakes (with Blacktail Butte in the back!).




The lack of scenery makes it all the more exciting when Middle Teton comes into view.


The center of the picture is where the hiking trail ends, and turns into more of a climbing trail.


I sat and ate some pizza, gathering my courage to scramble.


Because the trail looks like this for a short distance.





But getting to Garnet Meadows wasn't too bad, and was definitely worth it.











Heading back down the canyon.


Just have to get over this last pile of rocks to the real trail RIGHT THERE.

[tibber]

really fabulous. Thanks so much for sharing.

[paul]

The photos are amazing! What a great summer you had. Thanks for posting!

[al_in_al]

Surprise and Amphitheater Lakes

If you continue past the Garnet Canyon turnoff, you eventually reach Surprise Lake and Amphitheater Lake, after switchbacking for literally forever. While hiking the trail, I often wondered, why is it called Surprise Lake? It's on the maps, there's a trail to it, a sign with the elevation ... I finally decided on my last hike that the "surprise" is that you didn't die of boredom before you got to the lake.

I hiked to the lakes on June 27th to see them with a little snow cover, and on August 29th with the goal of taking the Disappointment Peak trail up above the lakes.

Okay, some morning peeks of the mountains in June.





Two pikas at once!


Surprise Lake


Amphitheater Lake















The Disappointment Peak climber's trail is easy to follow up above the lakes, and worth it if you still have the energy. The trail ends at some cliffs where you need some climbing skills to continue.









Just as I suspected, a view of both lakes at once!




On the June visit, I suspected there might be a view near the campsites. But I didn't want to traipse through the snow to find out. I investigated in August, and yep, you can look down on Delta Lake from there. You can see from the color why it's so popular, but I'd hike Cracker over Delta any (every?) day.


Got rained on on the way back in June.

[Jay w]

Enjoying this, but I should get out a map to follow along in the perish hymnal. I'll tuck the memory of this post away for the next time out to Teton NP.

Jay

[al_in_al]

I should probably be using that 'Thanks' button, but I'll just say thanks for all the nice comments so far.

Enjoying this, but I should get out a map to follow along in the perish hymnal. I'll tuck the memory of this post away for the next time out to Teton NP.

Jay

I'm not the organized religion type, but couldn't resist attending a service at the Chapel of the Transfiguration while I was there.

[al_in_al]

Lakeshore Trail

The Lakeshore Trail at Colter Bay is an easy 2 - 2.5 mile loop. I did the full or partial trail a few times - judging by the pictures, it looks like I tended to go when the weather wasn't the best.

May 12 - lots of snow on parts of the trail, so I didn't do the full loop.

The "swim beach" side.


The "marina" side.




The top of Moran appears.


Colter Bay is man-made, so it doesn't have water when the lake levels are low.


May 23

Nice storm rolling in.


August 14

Almost, but not quite, sunset.


September 13



I was captivated by this view up Waterfalls Canyon (where there aren't any hiking trails).


October 11

Too many clouds.


But the grouse seemed to be enjoying their day.

[al_in_al]

Hurricane Pass

This is a long one - taking the Jenny Lake Boat shuttle cuts off 3.5-4 miles (depending on where you park to start). I hiked it on August 23, and I logged 21.4 miles (took some short side trails to the glacier), which I believe is the furthest I've ever hiked in a day. Could I do it without the boat shuttle? Maybe, but I didn't really want to find out.

Path leading to the Jenny Lake Boat Shuttle at sunrise. If you pay cash for the first boat of the day, they let you ride at half price ($10). Fun fact - they stamp your hand for the return ride, and it turns out, if you hike 20 miles in a day, it rubs off! I should have taken a picture of my hand in the morning, maybe? When I got off the boat, the woman asked me to pay for a 1-way ride, but I told her I had paid for the round trip - look closer at my hand!! She didn't believe me but let me through. I still feel bad about her not believing me!


Approaching the dock across the lake. Does anyone else think it looks like asparagus stalks at first glance?


Hiking up Cascade Canyon. The fog made for a pretty morning as it dissipated quickly.







South Fork of Cascade Canyon





Lunch spot. I had seen this area from above on a different hike (Table Mountain) and wanted to make sure to spend some time in the meadows.











There was some really nice trail work on the upper portions of the trail.


I spy Paintbrush Divide "ish" (middle left of the photo).


Climbing up towards the pass. So gorgeous!


First look at Schoolroom Glacier (so-called because of the textbook characteristics of the glacier).






Looking west from the pass. You can see Idaho. The view didn't compare to the other direction, so I didn't take a pano, or get any good shots, really.


Looking south from the pass. Table Mountain is the flat-ish dome in the middle left of the picture.




I was captivated by this meadow. I want to live there forever.




There is a short trail that takes you to the glacier. Or where the glacier used to be. I was surprised I didn't see anyone else take this trail.







There is another short trail that takes you to the outlet of the melt pond.








Definitely got rained on while waiting for the boat shuttle, on a 0% chance of rain day. At least we got a nice rainbow over Jenny Lake.

[zozeppelin]

Very nice - my favorite section of the park up top there. I’ve never come from the north, so it was nice to see cascade canyon straight on.

General comment is that the lighting has been so nice in the majority of your pictures! I really like the half-ice/snow lakes in the sun with mountain backdrops. Excellent job! I guess that is the luxury of living at the park, early season isn’t a thing to worry about, as if conditions are not good, just wait a week.

[al_in_al]

Laurel Lake

This is an unmaintained/unofficial trail. I keep wanting to say "off-trail" hike, but there is a trail, it's just a little rougher and steeper than the official trails. It is super short - under 3 miles RT from the String Lake trailhead - might as well pair it with a loop around String Lake. But it takes (me) a while because of the steepness of the trail (and the "explorey" nature of the lake).

I hiked to the lake twice, and never saw another human there (or on the trail).

First trip up was on June 15th.

The straight-up nature of the trail means you see the hill in front of you most of the way up.


Finally approaching the good stuff.


Laurel Lake







Some String Lake views (more in future posts, I'm sure)





My second trip was on October 8th.

String Lake was ensconced in fog.


It started to clear near the top.






Looking over the edge towards the valley.


Fog gone from the lake.







Breaking up in the valley.


It took me a while to figure out what I was looking at - it's the reflection of the tree line in Jenny Lake.


I love this vantage point of Jenny Lake - you can't get a view like this from the official trails.


Looking down on String Lake.


More of String Lake and Leigh Lake.