South Fork Teton Creek just before we entered the Basin Lakes:Ĭolorado Columbine and Lewis Monkey Flower above the Basin Lakes:Ĭrossing back into Grand Teton National Park: Our route to S Cascade Canyon is on left horizon:
We got an early start, and passed many folks camped around the ponds and lakes. The rock starts out as porous sedimentary, transitions to metamorphic rock, then granite. July 22 Alaska Basin at Sheep Steps over Hurricane Pass to Upper South Cascade Canyon.Īlaska Basin has exposed granite right at Basin Lakes. We vowed an early start and retired early. Today’s weather had been uneventful, but the action northwards suggested an exciting tomorrow. Almost perfect! Except for the marmots, lots of hungry, coal black marmots.Īs the light drained away, thunderheads were visible in the distance. Water, views, smooth hard rock, good cook spot a short distance away. Good enough, and we went off trail over glacially scoured rock, thru a clump of trees, to a near perfect place to pitch our tent. Just past the Sheep Steps a wonderful little stream crossed the trail. The famous ‘Sheep Steps’ where the trail zig-zags down thru a cliff band:īuck Mountain viewed across Upper Alaska Basin from the Sheep Steps: We climbed over the low pass into Alaska Basin, Caribou Targhee National Forest.Įntering Alaska Basin, Jedidiah Smith Wilderness: The sun was warm, our tummies were full, so it was with reluctance we resumed our trek. The formation was shadowed by a small jet close by: Suddenly a tremendous roar enveloped us-the Blue Angels flew directly overhead, down Death Canyon, right, South, over Jackson Hole, and then circled back North. When we came abreast of Death Canyon’s opening into Jackson Hole, we stopped for lunch. It, too, vanished into a hole.Ī fossilized algae concretion at trail’s edge: This was an unusually dry year, but about half way along the shelf a good creek bubbled along. Many snow melt channels end abruptly at holes and pits where the water drains. Fox Creek Pass from shelf:ĭeath Canyon Shelf continues towards the distant Grand and South Tetons:ĭeath Canyon Shelf, like Spearhead Basin, was dry. From the pass we climbed onto the Death Canyon Shelf. We climbed over a low pass into Spearhead Basin where we the trail section looked like it was made from cobblestonesĪt the foot of Fossil Peak we hit Fox Creek Pass and the Death Canyon Trail. We retraced our steps back to the TCT, climbed meadow switchbacks onto a bench where we found Marion Lake.
#PAINTBRUSH DIVIDE TETON FULL#
We were slow out of the tent, but the morning was gloriously bright and our camp site, right at the edge of immense flower strewn meadows, was in full sun. Skies cleared after dark and the temp plummeted. The OK-to-camp zone had changed-the first campsites had “no camping” signs. The starch was out of us, and the gloomy descent thru dripping trees seemed both foreboding and time consuming. Skies continued to threaten, but mostly held off, and we made Granite Canyon, our first night’s camp. We took our own lunch hunkered under large spruce to wait out a thunder shower. Where we disturbed this young buck’s flower lunch: We switch backed down thru groves of trees and traversed meadows: Waffles gone, we hit the trail where we passed the parapenter launch site. Interestingly, the staff spoke Russian, English was clearly a second language: We heard about waffles served at the top of the tram, so we did the tourist thing and gave ‘em a try. Yep, we wussed out and took the Jackson Hole tram, which deposits you at 10,450’! Permit in hand, we relocated to our exit point, the String Lake parking lot, and waited for the taxi we had booked. We nearly got our perfect itinerary, too. We pulled into an almost empty, still shadowed, Moose Visitor Center lot at 7:45 AM and waited outside the main doors. Jackson Hole Tram top terminal to Granite Canyon. The new plan: get to Idaho Falls for a hotel room, food resupply, and some shut eye before a 4 AM departure for the Moose Visitor Center where we could get our permit. =8&t=13669Įveryone decided to forgo hot showers so we could hurry towards Teton National Park and TCT permit. We found the A/T Lake loop deserved its fame as the best short Sawtooth Wilderness loop. Since most of the TCT is above 10,000 feet we hiked the Sawtooth Wilderness’s Alice Lake/Toxaway Lake loop to acclimate. Teton Crest Trail: Mountains, Flowers, Rocks, and a Birthdayįor my wife’s 60th birthday we chose to do the Teton Crest Trail, TCT, a +/- 40 mile trail along the Teton Range’s crest from, historically, Teton Pass to Paintbrush Divide before descending Paintbrush Canyon to exit at String Lake.
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