Grand Tetons

The Birdman and I are planning a trip to the Great Grand Tetons this coming summer...The planning is in the early stages, and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for an semi-easy backpack loop (>50 miles) and something that would take in some of the best views in the area (maybe even some mtn. hikes or circumnavigations...Any info will be greatly appriciated! Thanks in advance ya'll!

I'm looking at hikes now too as me, my family and a friend's family will be there at the end of June and beginning of July, it'd be cool to see you guys.
I'm definately doing something up in Togwotee Pass on the Divide.

I'm partial to the Cascade/Paintbrush Loop, and another good one is going into Death Canyon and up over the Static route. Hard to go wrong with either one.

Another vote for the Indian Paintbrush/Cascade Canyon loop...
i think it's best done in that order, with the wonderful views of the Grand as you hike down from Lake Solitude, and then the peaks soaring steeply from Cascade Canyon...with a nice conclusion at Hidden Falls and a boat ride across the lake. With an early start it's a long but nice dayhike, certainly one of the best mountain hikes in the US.

For a 50 mile loop, you can do pretty much the whole Teton Crest trail. If you go in at Paintbrush and come out at Death Canyon or Granite you'll get the entire range. The biggest problem will be getting the backcountry camping permits to all the spots along the way. I don't know how far in advance you can get permits.

None of the loops/terrrain is easy. You'll be climbing over 11,000 feet and covering some serious climbs, but the trails are in good shape and the scenery is top notch. Bears are a serious concern, so you'll want to hang your food very well, cook away from your tent and in different clothes then you sleep in, etc. A bear canister and bear spray wouldn't be out of the question.

South to North was the traditional way since you could ride the tram up Mt Rendez-Vous and save 4000' of climbing but the tram is now closed for good and the new one won't be ready for next summer. But you can hike up Granite Canyon instead.

They're wonderful trails, enjoy. I'll have a trip report posted of our trip in Sept of the southern section eventually.

-dave-

Teton Suggestions

I have been to the Grand Tetons twice, once in 2004 to backpacking the Teton Crest Trail, and the second time for climbing in 2006 where my friend and I successfully summitted the Grand Teton, Mt. Moran, Buck Mountain, and a smaller mountain called cube point. My trip reports are posted online. I enjoyed the Teton Crest Trail tremendously, and I also enjoyed the climbing trip which required us to backpack off trail into some of the more remote canyons of the range. Off trail backpacking to straightforward in the Tetons and should be considered.

My trip reports are loctaed here:

2004 Teton Crest Trail: http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog/tetons

Climbing Trip: http://www.pbase.com/pudgy_groundhog/gtnp06

If you have any questions let me know...I have a pretty thorough understanding of the range.

I was in the Tetons two months ago and it was amazing. I had encounters with bears, moose, marmots, pikas, deer, and had stunning views. I would recommend the Teton crest trail. We started at Teton Villlage and then took the Tram to the top of Rendevous Mountain. Then we continued onto Marion Lake the first night.
Second Day we hiked through the death canyon shelf and camped in the Alaskan Basin. Third Day, we hiked over Hurricane Pass (where there were stunning views of the tetons) and then camped at the lower end of South Fork Cascade Canyon. Fourth day,we hiked up past Lake Solitude, over paintbrush divide, and camped at Holly Lake. The last day, we left our packs at Holly Lake, and hiked a class 2 scramble up Mt. Woodring. Then we returned to Holly Lake, got our packs, and headed out to String Lake Parking Lot. Each day we probably hiked between 6-9 miles. I highly recommend to stop and enjoy the scenary and do not rush through this area.
My pics are available here. I had meant to write a longer trip report on my website, but that is still on my "TO DO" list:
http://www.penemco.com/matthew/hikes/Wyoming_Sept2006/GrandTetonYellowstone.html

Matt

Another vote for TCT via Death Canyon and Static. I had no trouble getting permits but it was 10 years ago. Even then, compared to the Whites, the place was deserted in late August. You soon leave the few dayhikers behind. There were no other hikers at our campsites either, and we saw few on the trail beyond the popular dayhiker spots. It was the first time I saw metal bear boxes at campsites, and we did see a few black bears, just like home. Unlike home, however, we came upon a herd of moose, bulls, cows, and calves, browsing on willow at about 7-8000'. Moose don't congregate like that here in late August, if ever. With an approaching t-storm, we had no choice but to make our way--very cautiously and only after scoping out the situation for about 20 minutes--through the herd, which was on both sides of the trail in a narrow defile. We kept a very wary eye on cow & calf pairs, but they ignored us entirely. I never have figured out what was up with the moose there.

I can't imagine the videos that they will bring back from the 'big t###' !

Tom Rankin said:

I can't imagine the videos that they will bring back from the 'big t###' !

Click to expand...

Yeah, that first Birdman bear cartoon gives a whole new meaning to ROFLMAO!

I don't have map in front of me and my trip was a few years ago but I'll try to describe the loop we did. If I remember correctly it was 30 something miles? We took a boat across Jenny Lake with lots of sandal wearing tourists that seemed facinated that we planned to carry these "big" packs. We got dropped off and checked out Inspiration Point and then quickly headed up into a canyon away from the tourists. Was this Cascade Canyon? This is where we spent our first night. The next day we climbed over Hurricane Pass to Sunset Lake where we spent two nights and a full day lounging around an alpine lake at about 9k feet. We then went over Static Peak Divide and down into Death Canyon to Phelps Lake where we spent another night. From there we hiked back to the parking area at Jenny Lake to our car. Spectacular place. Lots of animals, jagged peaks, wildflowers, and not too many people once away from Jenny Lake. I found the trails almost "easy" compared to most in the east. Good footing, lots of switchbacks, no mud. The altitude and elevation gains made it taxing but the trails themselves were nice. Have fun!

Rik, that sounds right. Paintbrush is north of Jenny Lake, Cascade is just south of it. Hurricane Pass is south on the TCT, that drops you into Alaska Basin.

Here's some poor video of the December trip: Link to video (20 Meg) Be warned: it's rough and just thrown together right now. A better version will come along someday, as well as the trip report for that part of the journey.

-dave-

My brother-in-law has been a Park Ranger there for four or five years. He works out of Colter Bay. Feel free to PM me if you'd like his contact information. He's a great resource, and I know he'd be happy to chat.

Desi Hiker

Teton Crest Trail receives my vote.

I have heard the Teton Crest Trail is one of the top trails and properly belongs on any life list. I am heading to Glacier NP in June. Happy Trails.

MattS said:

I was in the Tetons two months ago and it was amazing. I had encounters with bears, moose, marmots, pikas, deer, and had stunning views...I had meant to write a longer trip report on my website, but that is still on my "TO DO" list:
http://www.penemco.com/matthew/hikes/Wyoming_Sept2006/GrandTetonYellowstone.html

Click to expand...

Yes, Matt, thanks again for making the presentation along with your buddies to us recently! I really enjoyed your slide show and hearing first hand of your backpacking experience there! The bear story was priceless too!

This is truly a spectacular area from what I learned recently and as I recall hearing Matt and his backpacking buddies tell it, a really great time to go is September as the weather can still be quite comfortable. Also, someone above mentioned not knowing how long in advance one needed to apply for the (backcountry)permit, well, as I recall Matt telling it, about 6 months prior you may request one but they only approve 1/3 of these ahead of time and encourage people to apply once they arrive there. For day hiking only, a permit is not required apparently.

I just did Paintbrush - Death Canyon this summer. Make sure you camp on Death Shelf - it is a really amazing place. Also, you can come down Granite Canyon to make it a longer trip, but I heard that Death Canyon was nicer so that is the way we went. We did the loop in four easy days and had a great time. You can also leg it out a bit more and keep going past Death and Granite Canyons... but like everyone else I would highly recommend Paintbrush Canyon.

Here are some photos - let me know if you want more specific details.

http://gallery.backcountry.net/chomp-wyoming06

After some studying and many good tips, looks like we'll be doing the Teton Crest Trail. Doesnt look as though we will have the luxury of riding the tram this year but Granite Canyon looks as though it'll be a good warm up . We'll definately be bringing home some video from that trip...the views sound like they are A+! Anyone know if there are any non-technical climbs of the Middle Teton, or South Teton or the immediate area. (We'd be up for some 2nd or 3rd class) Thanks everyone for the info thus far.

There are non technical routes on both the South and Middle Tetons, however, they are not accessed from the Teton Crest Trail. I am told by the park rangers that the rock on west side on the Teton Range is of a very poor quality. If you are interested in a non technical ascent of either the Middle or South Teton you should approach via Garnet Canyon which is a fantastic hike in and of itself. There are many other non technical ascents in the range, and all are of a superb quality. I would highly recommend getting yourself to the summit of at least one mountain, it is truely a special experience. The absolute best resource for planning an ascent in the Teton Range is A Climber's Guide to the Teton Range Third Edition(Climber's Guide to the Teton Range) by Leigh N. Ortenburger and Reynold G. Jackson.

I just uploaded the first batch of photos from our trip on the southern end of the Teton Crest trail (Rendez-vous to Alaska Basin, out over Static Divide/Death Canyon) here. There are more photos from Seekers camera that I haven't processed yet. Then I have to write up the trip report.

-dave-

There is a rumor of a company trip to Jackson Hole on May. It will mostly be meetings but hopefully I can swing a couple of day hikes out there.

I'll have to check out the book mentioned. Anyone have any peaks that are not technical that may not have too much snow (or maybe I'll rent snowshoes & bring my crampons) Probably won't have time for the Grand (with a guide & it being technical) but something 8-10K with a great view sould be super.