Day 5 - Teton Crest Trail (3)

In the morning our tent was frozen due to the rainfall on the day before. After having breakfast we dried our tent and packed our backpacks. Our way led us first down North Fork Cascade. Hiking was quite pleasant as a lot of wildflowers grew next to the trail.




















After a while we arrived at a trail junction and took the trail to South Fork Cascade. The camping area of South Fork Cascade already started shortly after the junction, however, we wanted to hike to the top of the camping area as the next day's leg was supposed to be quite streneous. Hiking South Fork Cascade was also quite pleasant as the scenary was very nice.




















































Although this day's leg was rather short in distance it was still quite streneous. However, we got rewarded with a wonderful campiste at the upper South Fork Cascade close to two small creeks.

Our campsite was behind the trees on the right hand side of the picture












As we arrived quite early at the campsite Matthias decided to do a short sidetrip to Avalanche Divide which turned out to be fantastic.





















































Regina and I stayed at the campsite to relax.

Day 4 - Teton Crest Trail (2)

After a good nights sleep we started our day at sunrise. After having cooked breakfast and having packed our backpacks we started the second leg of our hike.

Regina and Matthias with their backpacks

The trail climbed steadily right from the beginning and we were quickly gaining elevation. Although the sun was still out during breakfast the weather changed quickly and it started to rain. In addition the wind started to blow. The nearer we came to Paintbrush Divide (at 3289 meters) the more unpleasant the weather became and the more streneous the hike became. Close to Paintbrush Divide it even started to hail and the wind got more and more intense. At the Divide hail changed into snow.

Picture taken from Paintbrush Divide




















Matthias at the Paintbrush Divide




















At the way down it was still quite windy, but the weather steadily improved and we even got some sunshine. The landscape was breathtaking and old trees and wildflowers added additional beauty.

































































When we arrived at Lake Solitude dark clouds appeared again on the sky and we decided to just make a very short stop.

Lake Solitude














Our camping area for this day was not too far from Lake Solitude and we found a wonderful - wind protected - camp site for the night. We made our camp, cooked lunch and took pictures from the marvellous scenary. The weather improved again and we got some pleasant sunshine. It was really gorgous.














































Unfortunately, our luck only lasted rather shortly and dark clouds started to hide the blue sky again and it started to rain soon after for about 2-3 hours. At higher elevations it got some fresh snow. Fortunately, the rain stopped at around 6:30 so that we could cook dinner and it stayed clear for the entire night.

Picture of the Middle Teton and the Grand Teton before and after snowfall

From our experiences on this day you can see that the weather in the Grand Tetons can change very, very quickly. There can be an entirely blue sky and rain or snow 15 minutes after.

Day 3 - Teton Crest Trail (1)

This is Day 1 of our 6 days backcountry hike in the Grand Tetons.

In the morning we drove to Granite Canyon Trailhead, which is the exit trailhead of our hike. The day before we organized a shuttle to pick us up at Granite Canyon and to bring us to String Lake, the entry trailhead of our hike.

Matthias and Regina with our backpacks




















On the way to String Lake we saw numerous cars parking next to the street and we immediately knew that there must be a moose somewhere.












The very first part of our hike went along the shores of String Lake.














After a while we entered Paintbrush Canyon and the hiking got more streneous. As we had rather heavy backpacks (containing food for 6 days, camping gear and clothes) and the sun was shining quite intensely we made many short drinking stops. The first kilometers of our hike were rather boring as we could not yet see much of the mountains. However, this changed after we had gained enough elevation.




























At about 2400 m we made a short lunch break and could spot a moose in some distance.




















































After lunch hiking got more streneous as Regina and I were already tired (as we were not really used to the heavy backpacks). At around 3:30 we arrived at Holly Lake and got a wonderful campsite. Holly Lake is at almost 2900 m and you can still see trees and a lot of wildflowers. What really suprised as that there were also numerous mosquitos at this high elevation :-(.

































































At dawn we could spot a mule deer very close to our campsite eating. He stayed for quite a while and did not get disturbed by our presence at all.


















At about 6:30 we started to cook dinner (the sun is already going doing at about 8). When the sun went down the mountains shimmerd red and the moon came out just shortly after.

Day 2 - Grand Teton National Park

Today we spent most of the morning organizing our backcountry hike in the Tetons. As the Teton Crest Trail is not a roundtrip hike and we only have one car we needed to find someone who brings us from the exit trailhead (where we leave our car) to the entry trailhead. In addition, we had to pick up our permits and get bear canisters to store our food during the hike.

After having organized all the important things for our hike we went throught the exhibits at the Visitor Center of Grand Teton National Park and drove around the park. The weather was marvellous and we got some exiting views on the Teton Range and really could enjoy the beautiful landscape.


































































































In addition to a beautiful scenary Grand Teton National Park also provides good opportunities to see wildlife. We could see a big herd of bisons (more than a hundred) as well as antelops.




















































In the evening we spent several hours packing our backpacks. It was quite some work to have everything fit into the backpack.

The next six days we will be hiking in the Tetons.

Day 1 - Salt Lake City - Jackson (Wyoming)

Yes, it is true. I'm on vacation again. We started our journey in Salt Lake City. After breakfast we first went to the airport to get our rental car. Afterwards we drove to REI to do some shopping and buy the last missing things for our backcountry hike in the Tetons. At around 1 pm we started our drive to Jackson just a couple of kilometers from Grand Teton National Park.

































Near Afton we did a short hike to see the Periodic Spring, which is the largest of three natural springs in the world that naturally turn on and off.

















































































When we came there the water flow just got interrupted and it was amazing to see how the water gradually got less and less. After a couple of minutes the spring turned on again.

Before and after pictures of the spring