The Tetons

My friends Eric and Danice were gracious hosts in their beautiful home in Billings, Montana.  Not only did they feed me and let me abuse their high-speed internet connection, but also loaned me their camping gear for camping in Wyoming for a few days!

Yellowstone National Park was booked solid so I skipped right through to the Tetons and am glad I did.  The sheer magnificence of the Cathedrals was breathtaking.  The Tetons are some of the youngest mountains in our country and the jagged edges are that much more spectacular because of it.  You can visibly see the fault line that is still active at the base and several of the glaciers clinging to the slopes are big enough to have names.  I ended only hiking one full day here because the first day I tried, it started hailing shortly after I set out that afternoon.  I learned the weather around these mountains could be very temperamental . . . but more on that later.  By the time I drove back to my campsite the 1st night, there was no evidence of rain or hail and I could just enjoy the campfire and the stars.

a pic of the Tetons from the Jackson Dam
On the far left is the Grand Teton
and Mt Moran is on the right 

I felt right at home camping
in the pine forest

The next morning, I woke up and then drove down to the Leigh Lake trailhead (6798 ft) where I started up to the Paintbrush Canyon trail.  The hope was to make the 19 mile loop up Paintbrush Canyon and down Cascade Canyon.  The pass that connects the two tops out at 10,720 ft.  If I made it through then I would see two of the most popular trails in the park, but it would be a long day with a lot of vertical climb.


The path started out easy enough and I passed a lot of travelers who were enjoying the lake views and the abundant huckleberry bushes that grew up and down the slopes.  Pink, purple, white and orange wildflowers started appearing as soon as I got clear of the trees and continued all the way up the mountain. The path crisscrossed streams and creeks that dripped or roared down the mountain respectively.  In fact, I was rarely outside of sight or sound of running water the entire hike.

 At one point, as I was passing a hiker coming down the other direction, we both look up and 2 bull moose appear out of the thicket on the other side of the creek, less than 30 yards away! They were

Paintbrushes were the trail's namesake

Never far from running water

a lot more interested in what they were eating than either of us, and I got some cool videos.  I passed a lot of travelers who also reported seeing bears, but they all said the bears were more interested in the berries than any people.  Still, I was glad the Yuchas had armed me well and am also grateful that I never got the opportunity to personally see bears in the wild.

2 Bull Moose

Views up the trail ahead from Lower Paintbrush

A few miles into the hike, the gradual uphill trail turned into switchbacks.  As I climbed up to Holly Lake, signifying the end of the Paintbrush Canyon Trail, I had to stop every 10-15 minutes to get enough oxygen.  The view was worth it.  When I got to Holly Lake (9410ft), I enjoyed a late "lunch" while watching the marmots play in the meadows next to the water and enjoying the view of Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake at the base of the Tetons.  I had the whole place to myself for half an hour.  Gorgeous.

Views from my lunch perch

Marmots playing in the meadows

Hiking next to glaciers

The next leg should have been over the pass to Lake Solitude at the top of Cascade Canyon and I set out thinking I had already hiked about 7 miles of the 19 mile circuit.  My legs were feeling good, even if my lungs were working hard so I thought I would have plenty of time to finish the loop.  But

Overlooking Holly Lake on the way
 back down

The view from my highest point
before turning around
Note the menacing clouds rolling in
from the left

after climbing at least another mile  up  switchbacks, I ran into a couple of hikers on the way down from the pass.
They said a storm was coming and pointed out that I had a long way to go.  Sure enough,  I could see dark clouds, previously blocked by the mountain, start to roll into view.  As badly as I wanted to complete the trail, I didn't want to get caught in the mountains during a thunderstorm.  To make matters worse, if I slowed down because of the rain, I would be very tight on time to make it back to my car before dark.  So, very reluctantly, I turned around and hiked back down the same path from where I came.

It was the right decision.  The rain started about 30 minutes later and continued for the rest of my hike.  There would have been no views to enjoy from any vantage point on the mountain during that rain.  To make matters worse, my knee started complaining soon after turning around and grew worse and worse the longer I continued to go downhill on it.  I guess it's reality's way of reminding me that I'm not as young as I used to be!  I was dripping wet from the waist down, cold, and grateful to reach my car several hours later.

It later occurred to me that the only people I saw during the last 3 hours of my trip were folks who were heading to their backcountry campsites on the mountain.  The 1st couple of guys had been staying next to Lake Solitude for 4 days and were looking for one last night on the mountain before heading home.  The next couple were the ones who convinced me to turn around.  I passed another couple headed up to their campsite at Holly Lake, and finally crossed a group of 6 fresh faced girls in ponchos on their way up the mountain to get to the camping spot they reserved above Holly Lake.  They had a long way to go up the steepest part of the trail and less than 3 hours before their world turned pitch black!  It had taken me at least 2 hours to hike that distance and, although they had the advantage of being younger, several of the girls were doughy and all of them were carrying full packs.  I will always wonder if they found their campsite that night.

I guess the national parks see all sorts of idiots come through  . . . but I probably shouldn't judge . . . I did set out to hike a 19 mile loop by myself in bear country with very little fitness training.  And it was worth it.  The views were spectacular, the verdure beautiful, the wildlife captivating, and the challenge rewarding.  Someday I will come back to finish the loop.

Views of Jackson Lake on the drive back to my campsite

Hiking tally on Wednesday, August 5th

Time:

• 5 hours up (including a half hour at Holly Lake for lunch)
• 3 hours down (and would have been faster if my knee hadn't complained so loudly)

Distance round trip:  ~15 miles

Vertical Climb: ~ 3000 ft (at least)

Wildlife spotted:

• 2 bull moose
• 2 mice
• At least a dozen marmots 
• 2 mule deer, each with a fawn
• 4 geese, countless robins, 1 woodpecker
• 0 bears.

Next Stop: The Beartooths