Thursday, September 9, 2010

Grand Tetons National Park

We knew the weather over the next couple days wasn’t going to be all that great. But on a trip like ours, there really isn’t much we can do to dodge the elements. We had our trusty rain suits at least. Thankfully, the Grand Tetons are pretty awesome, regardless of the weather…




We had gotten up and out pretty early so that we would be able to spend most of the day in the park. So by the time we had gone to the visitor’s center, checked in at the campground, and eaten lunch, it wasn’t even noon!



Looking at the maps and information on the park, one thing really jumped out at us immediately. Where Yellowstone is a park for sightseers, the Grand Tetons is a park for hikers. There are tons of trails from 1 to 23 miles in length, all with spectacular views of tall young mountains next to flat plains, forests, and lakes.





With little time in the park, we decided to be ambitious. The trail we decided to hike today was a 13.6 mile monster that took us around Jenny Lake and then up into Cascade Canyon, a valley cutting through the Teton range with steep peaks on either side for miles. But before entering the canyon, it took us by the Hidden Falls…









Then up to Inspiration Point…





Shortly after leaving the lake and heading into Cascade Canyon, it began to rain in earnest. To this point it had been pretty nice, but now we had to don our fashionable rain gear…





Even with the steady rain and cold wind, the trail was pretty incredible…





No more than 500 feet or so above us, it was snowing!!



There was a lady from Oklahoma in a poncho, hiking the trail along with us. We quickly realized that she was keeping in touch with us, regardless of whether she was up ahead or behind. Couldn’t blame her though. If I were out hiking on my own in that weather, I’d try to hitch on with others as well…



6.8 miles in we reached our destination. A fork in the trail, used by the 20+ mile trails… Maybe next time. We felt pretty good at this point, but knew it was going to be a long trip back. Our rain gear had worked well to this point, but our shoes were soaked through already…



For the last couple weeks, when we got tired of listening to the music on our Ipods, we have been listening to a book on CD, 1776. The book is a history of all that happened during the year that began the revolutionary war. It’s really really good too. Lots of great historical knowledge. We decided that there needed to be a book for 1777, 78, and so on… Also in the book, the author describes the sad state that the American soldiers were in at the time. Many walking hundreds of miles in all sorts of weather without proper clothing, gear, or even shoes in some cases…



We had just finished listening to the last chapter before heading out on the day’s hike. So here we were, 6 miles away from anything. Shoes soaked. It’s cold. Raining. So we thought of the soldiers of the revolution and decided we would dedicate our trek back in their honor. Granted our plight was tiny in comparison, but there you are…



The weather let up a little as we headed back down, so one of us would yell out “Picture” periodically when we noticed something that we wanted to photograph. Our suits were so noisy that that was the only way we could tell that the other person had stopped!









We figured that the noise was probably to our benefit in the end, as any potential bears in the area would definitely know we were coming from a long way off. Over the last couple hikes we have passed a few people who had bells attached to their packs. I am pretty sure that that would drive me, and anyone hiking with me, completely insane after a mile at most…



One guy had a different approach. Every ten steps or so he would clap his hands three or four times. I figured it was his bear defense. But I suppose he could have just been a legit crazy person…



Eventually we made it back to Inspiration Point. My inspiration for the next 3 miles was the steak and mash potatoes dinner we were planning. Yum. I was so focused on dinner that we almost cruised right by a couple moose!!



The last mile seemed like it took forever, but we made it. 13.6 miles. 1500 foot elevation. Sore, soaked, exhausted.



The steak and potatoes was delicious!

1 comment:

  1. perhaps mr. mcclapclap was just really enjoying his hike and was neither trying to warn bears nor crazy...i hope you are enjoying my commentary on your commentary

    ReplyDelete