We’re in Dubois! We got the best long hitch ever and we’re ready to link back up with the trail, the guide, all the people, and heading to the Wind River range!
We are officially back on the (official) trail!
New shoes! (v4.0)
We made it through!! We are all the way through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Park, and it’s time for shoes! We have a whole bunch of pictures and posts to write, so check back below since we will back date them. Holy s***! We’re back in Civilization for a moment, and found an REI!
Out of the Tetons – Sunset Lake through Death Canyon Shelf
From Sunset Lake we climbed the ridge and looked out over Alaska Basin and into the Park. We had a very pleasant day ahead. We were hiking out of the highest part of the range, the terrain looked easy according to the maps, and this was the last day of the perfect weather we hoped to get in the Tetons. The trail became a national park trail again as we made our way to the huge escarpment which towered over the Death Canyon shelf.
The huge cliff wall above Death Canyon was reminiscent of the Chinese Wall in Bob Marshall Wilderness but without the dense forest such that the huge house-sized boulders fallen from the wall could be seen for miles in the distance. The scale of these rocks and cliffs is hardly imaginable even in person. We passed lots of other backpackers along the way to the head of the canyon and Fox Creek Pass.
Somewhere on the other side was Marion Lake and that sounded like a good place to break for lunch and a swim. After all of the scenery over the last few days, we didn’t expect to be too impressed but we were impressed nonetheless. This place really is magical! We took a swim, rested, and pushed on. After the last few days, everything now was just dessert.
We made the last intense climb and then crested Phillips Pass when a helicopter could be seen flying around overhead. As it got closer we could tell it was SAR. They started circling and looking directly at us. Unsure of how to signal that we were ok, we just continued hiking and tried to look normal (or at least “normal” for us). They eventually moved away but could still be heard. A few minutes later they rose again over the pass lifting a stretcher just a few hundred feet from where we first saw them! No wonder they thought it was us! We later heard a report of an injured hiker being rescued, but no terrible news.
Around this time we started to see our first storm clouds and heard our first thunder. We raced downhill toward the area we planned to camp as the storm grew closer. As the wind picked up, we knew we would have to make camp quickly and soon. In a haste, we found a flat spot near the trail, pitched, and braces for what was coming. Luckily we didn’t get the full force of the weather and managed to get some acceptable sleep.
The next morning, we were woken by passing hikers well before daylight. These folks from Jackson Hole like to get out early! Since we pitched a bit too close to the trail we broke camp in record time and started out into the sunrise. The clouds were breaking and the morning looked like it could be pretty nice. We hurried past funny trail markers and a mountain bike trail named “Jimmy’s Mom” (which filled some time with appropriate jokes), in a rush for town food. Besides breakfast and coffee, new shoes and a long hitch out of Jackson Hole to Dubois we’re all waiting to be had before dark today and we had to make good time.
The Heart of the Tetons – Green Lakes to Sunset Lake
We woke early, packed camp, and got moving. This was going to be a long morning. It would take what it takes.
We only had about 1.7 miles to hike before we left the trail completely and started hiking over the alpine terrain. The vegetation at this elevation was short, not intrusive, and interwoven with rock slabs so navigation here would be the easy part. Grand Teton came into view again, but this time was going to stay as we moved higher and closer to the heart of the mountain range.
Along the ascent we decided to crest a ridge with views into a huge valley with no trails or people. It’s rewarding to know that not many people get this view without working for it!
Onward around the gentle side of Littles Peak, the meadows began to give way to steep gravel and soil with slides of large rock. Eventually we reached the narrow ridge we would have to cross by climbing over the two boulder piles balanced on top. The valleys to either side of the ridge we’re again pristine and without trails.
Once we reached the snow fields and bare bedrock on the other side the real work began. We had to find a route down a steep glacial Cirque and descend from 10,400 ft down to 9,060 ft in about half of a mile. We began down a promising depression in the terrain and the travel soon turned to climbing as the route was over talus and boulders. We could identify the few cliffs to avoid as these were rimmed with trees and flattened before they dropped vertically. Moving slowly and carefully, I scouted ahead for waterfalls along the drainage before calling Rattle to follow.
We backtracked a few times to reroute and correct. We reached one of two converging grassy lanes slick with moisture but fortunately littered with rocks for footing. This was the most intensive part of the descent and we took our time. After reaching the talus again and more careful routing, the terrain gradually eased and we were almost able to descend upright instead of scrambling on our hands and feet. Eventually we were able to navigate the last .2 miles with trekking poles mostly in hand and reach an established trail. From camp to the shore of Lake Solitude took about 6 hours.
If there was a fair reward for our hard work, we found it. After a dip in the frigid lake we hiked beautiful, well groomed NP trails down North Fork Cascade Canyon and up South Fork Cascade Canyon all the way out of the park boundary to (aptly named) Sunset Lake. The trail was beautifully scenic and the climb to Hurricane Pass was a breeze compared to the day’s beginning. We were also completely high on accomplishment after completing the toughest part of our route away from the CDT. We camped in a popular area and ate dinner with fellow weekend backpackers as we watched the sunset from our camp on a cliff overlooking the alpine valley.
Into the Tetons – Flagg Ranch to Green Lakes
We left Flagg ranch and the Snake river to begin our climb into Grand Teton NP. I love starting at a river and climbing up to glaciers! The feeling of grass gradually turning into trees and the trees to alpine meadows, the gradual thinning of the air, and the cool wind at the top are indescribable. This was also the last five days of our own route. Eventually we would be back to the official CDT and all of its wealth of guide information. We’ve been flying solo for a while.
The hiking was easy-going aside from the high grass of the river valley. As we crested Jackass Pass we decided to take a long lunch since we didn’t have many miles to travel before we reached a flat spot on the map where we might camp. We dried our gear and took a long rest.
Soon after we left the pass and descended to Grizzly Creek the trail disappeared. We were in Jedediah Smith Wilderness and apparently on a little-used section of the Teton Crest North Trail. This trail is in wilderness, does not connect to the Teton Crest South Trail, and doesn’t have the maintenance budget of a national park, so we expected it to be rough. But we did expect it to be THERE! We would have to navigate by map and GPS alone. The soil caved below every step as we bushwhacked for miles through mountainside meadows and over ridges to make our way toward Nord Pass. Later we found another hiker describe this route online as “summer postholing” and damn they were correct. Somewhere along the way I hurt my primary metatarsal and this was killing it. We reached the valley before Nord Pass and luckily found a slightly level lumpy site in the trees. I took a shotload of ibuprofen and Tylenol and called it a day.
Luckily, the trail became apparent as we hiked into the next morning. We must have reached a junction somewhere where a more popular route joined the North Crest trail. Dead Horse Pass was coming next and would be a helluva steep climb. And it was. They named this pass appropriately.
We reached the top and sat for lunch to admire the view. The trail was quite good now and we had faith it would continue to be so. This route was just passes and valleys and we could see exactly where we crossed the last mountain. Cool AF!
Passes are so damn rewarding! Just over the top of each one is another incredible view. We descended into the valley and made our way to an unnamed pass beside Green Lakes Mountain. We were pretty sure there would be camping up there. We crested the pass and an enormous alpine valley full of streams and lakes spread out before us! The Crest of Grand Teton peeked over the horizon and Littles Peak was visible for the first time (far right in the photo).
Looking behind us we could see both passes we climbed earlier, almost perfectly aligned to the north.
Someone with a team of horses was camped just along the western side. We descended and made our way past the horses grazing in the shade (and one having the best time rolling in the dust!)
We found a perfect flat camp near the southernmost lake with a view of Littles Peak. We would leave the trail to bushwack over that peak in the morning in search of a route to Lake solitude within the national park in the morning. For now, we were still in the wilderness and perfectly allowed to camp and rest. This route was starting to look promising, but so much ahead was still unknown.
Yellowstone – Lower Geyser Basin to Flagg Ranch
Thunderstorms rocked our campsite twice the night before, the first of which brought lightning directly overhead. I hope for a calm night after such an eventful evening, but at least the morning was calm and foggy as the sun started to shine. I was the first one out of the tents just before sunrise as a bison was grazing nearby.
We all left early. Milkman headed south toward Old Faithful and we went north. The steam from Imperial Geyser was visible from camp just over the next ridge and we wanted to see it.
We made our way back to Old Faithful in time for the lunch buffet and mistakes were made. We didn’t leave Upper Geyser Basin until around 4 so we had to haul ass to our campsite. The next few days were going to be pretty easy though. There were no mountains between us and Flagg Ranch and we were to follow the Bechler River out of the park.
We underestimated the river a bit. There were a few crossings as the river grew larger and larger downstream. One of these crossings was a bit sketchy. The water was swift and hip deep in one channel, and could have been much worse earlier in the year. Glad we missed the flood warnings for this one or we would have been stuck!
Eventually the river got wider and calmer by our last day in the park. We got up early and hurried down the trail to Grassy Lake Road which would lead us to Flagg Ranch and our resupply boxes. We were making great time, feeling great, and everything was going well. That is, until we checked the maps and realized we made a wrong turn and we’re 3+ miles off course! Oh well. Since we had to wait another day to get our food, we camped, got to the ranch early, ate convenience store food, and loitered in the woods. We needed a break anyway.
First glimpse of the Tetons
Just saw ’em on the way into Flagg Ranch!
While in Imperial Meadows…
We were at camp… Rattle and I introduced ourselves to Milkman, who was preparing his dinner. His tent was pitched in the only grove of trees near the fire ring, so Rattle went to find a place to pitch near his as I started back toward a grove about 100 feet away. I had to poop, and it seemed like the place one might poop at this campsite. I confirmed this and started getting ready. I got out my TP and spade, found suitable soil, took off my shorts, and got ready to squat.
I looked around and thought to myself, “Cool, I can see for a long way in so many directions. This is a pretty good and safe place to poop.” As I squatted and scanned my surroundings, I spotted her. A huge grizzly and two cubs had entered the meadow from a group of trees. They were about 45-50 feet in front of me and moving in my direction.
I threw my shorts back on and grabbed the bear spray from my pack. I’m still not sure why the shorts were the first thing to grab. Both of my legs were in the same leg hole in the shorts liner, but it was good enough. I had no intention of running. I started saying “Hey Bear” in a loud low voice and aimed my bear spray at the group. The cubs were actually quite big and looked pretty capable. The sow heard me and we locked eyes for a moment.
At just this moment Milkman, who saw her from the fire ring about 150 ft away, started yelling “Get out of here bear!” My first thought was, “Oh shit, don’t yell!”. My immediate second thought was “Oh good, it’s working!”. She stood on her hind legs, looked at him, sniffed the air, looked at me, and turned. The fur on her body rippled as she and her cubs ran in the opposite direction.
The sow and her cubs didn’t immediately leave. They circled widely around the camp toward the mountain and then ambled slowly along the mountain’s treeline hundreds of yards away. They went in and out of the forest a few times and even stalked an Elk with a calf for a while before disappearing from view.
All three of us were really glad to have additional company that might.
I must say this:. If a bear was going to scare the shit out of me, now would have been the time. But it didn’t. After everything in my body relaxed, Rattle came back with me and was my cat hole lookout while I finally finished my business.
UPDATE:
We ran into Milkman while passing through Old Faithful Village the next day. I got to buy him a much deserved and very appropriately named beer for being there the night before!
Yellowstone – Upper Fire Hole to Lower Geyser Basin
The sunrise view beside our campsite was unreal! We got up, packed up, and hiked early to the next geyser to try to catch an erruption before heading into the most developed part of the park.
We sat beside Lone Star geyser for as long as we could before the priority of breakfast could no longer be ignored. We saw several minor eruptions and had the site to ourselves in the early morning fog.
He rest of the day was spent wandering around Upper Geyser Basin after breakfast and trying like hell to let our food coma pass. The entire place was amazing (even if a little like a theme-park) and it was nice to feel like a tourist for a day. BTW, the architecture of the Inn is phenomenal!
We finally left Upper Geyser Basin after watching several eruptions and made our way along the boardwalks and paths north to our campsite in Imperial Meadows just passed Fairy Falls. Along the way we spotted a bison carcass next to a geyser. Very Yellowstone!
Milkman, another thru hiker from New Zealand by way of England, was already pitched there and was welcomed company at a campsite away from the main CDT.
Back into Yellowstone
We were stuck in Gardiner and strolling around town when we met Doug and Tah, a local couple out walking a very friendly pack of three dogs. Of course I wanted to meet the dogs. After talking for a while Doug, a landscape architect working in Yellowstone, offered to give us a ride to Grant Village so we could catch up with our permit and get back on trail. The next morning he picked us up at our hotel and we headed back into the park.
Unfortunately Tah couldn’t join us, but she packed us each an awesome breakfast bowl with spiced oat milk, apples, grains, sprouts, and edible flower petals (quite an amazing and delicious surprise). Doug took his time driving us back through the park. He pointed out his favorite spots and even stopped at several spots along the way so we could get out and look around! I wish we could have spent more time with these awesome people!
After dropping us off at Grant Village, Doug headed out and we started off to West Thumb Geyser Basin to spend some time wandering around the thermals before camping for the night. We had no Idea what to expect (which is common for us on this trail) and we’re pleasantly surprised. The West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake is a caldera within a caldera. It is deeper and younger than Yellowstone Lake and its shoreline is littered with thermal springs and geyser cones. We walked along the boardwalks until it began to hail lightly and we decided to start the walk back to Grant Village.
This is when the storm really began dumping on us. The hail reached the size of dimes and nickels and kept coming. The lightning was bright and close. As we hunkered in the forest waiting to finish the road walk, hail accumulated all along the blacktop. When the storm showed signs of weakening we started the final miles of our walk and trudged through ankle deep ice water and hailstones. Eventually a park employee asked us to jump into the bed of her truck and drove us back to Grant. The park closed the road and sent snow plows to clear the 2-3 inches of hail accumulation. Apparently snow fell elsewhere in the park as well.
Finally warm-ish and dry-ish inside the cafe in Grant, we met up with Space Maker (a previous friend from the AT) and a few other thru hikers and swapped trail info and stories before walking back to our campsite to find out how our tent fared in the storm. Luckily the hail wasn’t nearly as bad at our campsite and our gear was safe. We spent most of the evening hanging around the campground bathroom, occasionally warming our hands with the hand dryer and chatting with Fire, the other thru hiker at our camp. We all turned-in for the evening and parted ways in the morning.
Although much of the front country in the park is fairly developed, it was still full of cool stuff to see (and lots of people as well). Seeing some of the features and the fragility of the crust around the thermals, I do understand the need for some of this development to make it safe and accessible to visitors. Nonetheless, we were glad to head into the backcountry and get away from the automobile tourists. The following day we finally got the chance to catch up with our backcountry campsites and headed for Upper Fire Hole.
On the way through the wetlands to Shoshone Geyser Basin, Rattle fell almost chest deep into a bog! I wish I had a video! Her phone was submerged but survived.Â
We finally reached the basin and got to walk among the thermals in the backcountry without all the tourists and boardwalk. The landscape was surreal and alien and again caught us by surprise. Suddenly we found ourselves on scorched ground with sulfurous steam all around while walking along an otherwise serene creek. It was gorgeous!
Upper Fire Hole campsite lies along the official CDT and for once in a very long time we shared camp with several thru hikers! We were earlier to camp than most and pitched our tent with an incredible view of the steaming spring beside the campsite. We ate well and hurried to bed, knowing the next morning we would reach Old Faithful Village and a $17 AYCE breakfast buffet!! National parks sometimes come with perks for people like us!