Returning to the Tetons in Wyoming: Grand Teton National Park
Taggart Lake. The South, Middle, and Grand Teton reflecting in the alpine lake.
The Rocky Mountains, The Cascades, The Sierra Nevada’s. The Appalachians.
The great mountain ranges in the land we call the U.S.A. And the Tetons in Wyoming of course. Come explore Grand Teton National Park with us!
The Tetons had alluded me for a few decades though. I showed up in my early double digit years (11 or 12) to this exquisite native land to the Shoshone, Nez Perce, Gros Ventre, Blackfoot, and Crow. Now more widely known as Grand Teton National Park in the state of Wyoming this is a piece of the planet I am grateful to have recently returned to for the first time since childhood. And I must admit, I am a bit baffled as to my extended absence from this place.
Regardless of my baffled state…I made it back and my returning to the Tetons was an experience i won’t soon forget!
The view from Death Canyon overlooking Phelps Lake.
As our Nissan Rogue (at the time going 16 months strong as a nomadic car) roared through Swan Valley Idaho at dawn on a Sunday morning, then wound along the Snake River, and finally braved the high elevation/decline of Teton Pass I could sense I was in for a special few days in the tetons!
I was making my way from Seattle Washington back to Columbus Ohio but doing it ever so slowly, the way any nomad would do when your location is independent of a requirement for making a living. After several days in Crater Lake, Bend Oregon, and scenic Idaho I was making my way to trek up and down the Tetons for the first time in over 25 years. I felt alive and the goosebumps covering my body verified it.
Jackson Hole is the town next to the park and, this might be surprising to some, home to the largest income gap in a county in the entire country. That’s saying something for a country whose rich get richer, poor get poorer, and 1% controls pretty much every policy and system!
Jackson Hole is home to dozens of celebrities and millionaires (I can’t blame them for picking a place like this) but due to my desire to focus on the wilderness and my lack of a high end lifestyle (holy guac $700/night at the Springhill Suites by Marriott) I turned left towards Moose Wyoming’s south entrance and skipped the hot air balloon rides and safari wildlife tours being offered as day trips from Jackson. I mean my patch of dirt at Gros Ventre Campground was $40/night…I could barely afford to lay on the dirt in this county let alone in a bed lol!
Jackson Hole is home to residents such as Harrison Ford, Sandra Bullock, Pippa Middleton, Brad Pitt, and Kanye West (If you are a friend of one of these people…and YES I am talking to you Mark Hamill, Keanu Reeves, Kate Middleton, George Clooney, and Nicki Minaj)…you should definitely finagle a visit and free place to crash with them! I’m sure their homes and views in Jackson Hole are straight baller!
But instead of swinging by Kanye’s new pad I went into the less visited, and absolutely stunning, portion of the Southern region of this now protected land of the park.
Welcome to Death Canyon in the Grand Tetons.
The Rogue relaxed while the bicycle and my feet got going along the Snake River in the Tetons!
Great Teton National Park Day One:
I hiked up the Death Canyon bumpy road that recommended only 4x4 vehicles and made my way to the Death Canyon Trailhead.
From there I weaved down to gorgeous Phelps Lake and made my way around a portion of it. This is as stunning of an alpine lake the Tetons offers but one without the crowds. I highly recommend it if you can swing the trek!
From there I cut across an isolated trail (I saw four people each way over four miles) and had my bear bell ringing as I weaved back into the world of humans with a final push to Taggart Lake. The reflection gods shined down on me as the Teton Range reflected bright into Taggart Lake. It was a landscape I’ll never forget! I ran into some fellow former residents at the lake of the C Bus and as I dunked myself into the alpine waters the man told me stories of his road trip with his buddies from Ohio to Colorado to Wyoming to Washington and back and how it was the most fun month of his life. He spoke about it like it was yesterday but it was 35 years prior he said.
When people retell adventure tales to me they never bring up regret from going on a awe inspiring and untraditional adventure. Food for thought my friends.
I capped off the day with a bike ride around gorgeous meadows, a beer at Dornans, and a night freezing in my hammock at Gros Ventre Campground. I had trekked about 17 miles and 40,000 steps the previous day but day two required an early start and I wanted my shivering body to be ready to go!
Welcome to Cascade Canyon.
Grand Tetons National Park Day Two:
As I weaved the Rogue out of the campground I encountered a stunning sunrise and about eight moose grazing in a meadow. If omens held true I figured it would be an epic day in the wild for myself and the rest of those lucky enough to be on Shoshone land on America’s Labor Day holiday.
No clients would be calling and I had ALL DAY to adventure.
It began with a ferry ride across Jenny Lake, nicknamed for Jenny Leigh, Shoshone Indian Wife of Richard “Beaver Dick” Leigh. You can also hike to the Cascade Canyon and Inspiration Point trailheads via Jenny Lake’s trail but it adds three miles each way.
Jenny Lake.
With my plans for the day I was going to be at 15-20 miles per day so I opted for the ferry ride, which was fun and I highly recommend.
The hike up to Inspiration Point, then out to the forks of Cascade Canyon, and all the way to Lake Solitude was one of the best I have ever done. My friend told me that it is his favorite day hike he has ever done and I gotta say the man speaks TRUTH! Cascade Canyon offered wildflower meadows, waterfalls, a black bear crossing the trail, the largest bull moose I have ever seen (ten feet off the trail), glaciers and a lake at 9,000 feet that rammed right into the mountains. The brave backpackers jumped into the frigid waters but knees down in Lake Solitude was enough for me on this windy and somewhat chilly day.
A grandiose chickpea burger at the Signal Mountain Lodge and a walk along the heavily dried out Jackson Lake (the impact of our climate crises and water droughts are very transparent in western US National Parks) were enough to have me ready to hit the hay at sunset for another frigid and star filled night in my hammock! The temps dropped from the 80s during the day to the mid 30s in the evening, I was FREEZING IN MY HAMMOCK after about 820pm PEEPS!
The trail leading up to Lake Solitude.
Grand Tetons National Park Day Three:
My feet were super duper sore but I wanted a bit more of action before heading to Colorado for the rest of the week. I was going to trek to Amphitheaters Lake but the dirt road was blocked by dozens of baby gazelle deer chasing each other around on the road and in the adjacent open meadows.
I decided this was their land, I was only a guest. Let them play and I’ll move on to a different trail.
After watching the deer dance for a while I chose the Signal Mountain Trail, which you can access from the parking lot of the Signal Mountain Lodge and as I moved my way up to this final hike in the park I reflected on my three days in the park.
It took me over 25 years to back to this particular piece of the world. I am not sure the next time I will be here but I enjoyed the adventures, the history, and the conversations. It is a National Park I would recommend anyone with access to be able to visit to do so.
Coupling this with Yellowstone (just north of the Tetons) for a week might be the best way to spend a vacation in the lower 48 of the United States unless you have the money to raft and hike the Grand Canyon.
As I drove out of the park and went along the Wind River for hours on end in Central Wyoming with no cell phone service my reflection was able to continue. The light and love I feel in, and for, these places can not be accurately described with words. The US is home to some of the best slices of adventures in the world and I am grateful to get the chance to frequently lay my feet, kayak rental, or bicycle down on them and explore.
The Tetons, french for nipples in a funny way to me at the age of 12 when I was last here, were not just funny this time to me. They were memorable, beautiful, and I can’t tell you a better way I could have spent these three recent days than paying $40 to shiver under the stars while roaming around this land.
Take a visit if and when you can. Thanks for reading and playing along friends!
We got more blogs HERE, podcast episode HERE, and our trash cleanup event schedule is HERE.
Because adventure feeds the soul,
Mike R
A big ass rock in the Tetons.