We have arrived in the gorgeous Grand Teton National Park for a four-night, three full days stay to explore. The Grand Teton and other mountains of the Teton range are visible almost anywhere you go in the park along with glistening gold Aspens and other fall foliage. Stunning landscape.
On our first full day we headed over to Jenny Lake, which one of the most popular spots in the park, with many of the hiking trails starting from across the lake. You can reach the trailheads via a ferry or hike 2 1/2 miles around the south shore of the lake. Due to the crowds when we arrived, we decided to do an alternate hike that day and come back a little bit earlier the next day.
My good friend Terri in St Petersburg told me about Moose Ponds Trail, which is also near Jenny Lake and a park ranger mentioned there were moose seen there this morning. Due to the time constraints with Murphy being alone, Dave graciously headed back to our campground and Greg, Helen and I hiked to Moose Ponds. And we were not disappointed. There was a bull (male) moose laying down in the sun, a cow (female) moose walking in the pond snacking on yummy pond grasses, and a calf walking around the edge of the pond and sometimes laying down. At the pond there were lots of people quietly watching and photographing the moose. In one of the pictures of the bull moose, you might see a few backpacks laying nearby. We do not know exactly what happened, but the owners of the backpacks were back about 20 yards hoping the moose would get up and walk away so they could reclaim their backpacks.
Helen had her awesome telephoto lens and she and Greg took tons of pictures. We probably stayed there over an hour or more watching the moose. It was the highlight of the day.
I don’t know if you remember, but when we first were in Montana on our way to Alaska, I discovered how yummy huckleberries are and I greatly enjoyed huckleberry ice cream bars. Well, since we have been back in Montana and Wyoming, there are loads of huckleberry goodies. In Yellowstone, I had a yummy huckleberry float and bought huckleberry twists and a decadent huckleberry chocolate bar. And if that wasn’t enough, I had read there were delicious huckleberry milkshakes at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton. So, Greg, Helen, and I stopped on our way back from our moose viewing to indulge. And did we indulge. I am glad I do not know how many calories were in that milkshake; it was delicious. And what did I spy right behind Helen’s seat? Cinnamon rolls. We asked the server about them and she said they were huckleberry glazed cinnamon rolls. Oh my! You know I had to try one. I shared it with Greg for another taste test and it was delicious. Soon, I’ll post the winners of our cinnamon roll taste tests from Canada & Alaska.
For our second full day, we left a bit earlier to hike the Jenny Lake trails. As mentioned before, there is a ferry that takes you to the trailheads on the other side of the lake, or you can hike 2 ½ miles to the same location. Since we were hoping to hike at least 7 miles, we chose to take the ferry.
It was a quick 1-mile boat ride to the other side of the lake and the four of us started up, first stopping at Hidden Falls for a photo op. Since the next stop was more climbing, Dave decided to head back via the ferry and then to the campground and hang with Murphy. Greg, Helen, and I next stopped at Inspiration Point to catch our breath and admire the view. Dave took a picture of us as he headed back down.
The three of us continued upward through Cascade Canyon. With its U-shape, it was formed by glaciers that retreated over 15,000 years ago. Cascade Creek now runs through the bottom of the canyon, filling Jenny Lake. Absolutely gorgeous. It is hard to capture the beauty of the canyon and surrounding mountains through our cameras. I hope you get a sense from the photos below.
We turned around at 3 ½ miles, to give us 7 miles for this hike. Going downhill is so much fun, except for the steep, narrow ledge that we hiked up to Inspiration Point and now must go down. Greg took pictures of Helen and I navigating the trail heading down. Phew!
The next day, Greg and Helen were up for doing a more challenging hike (higher elevation gain/more miles) and I wanted to hang with my boys (Dave & Murphy). Greg & Helen first started their day parked alongside the road (with lots of others in what is termed a “Bear Cam Jam” (camera traffic jam)) as a mama Grizzly and her 3 cubs had been spotted the previous day, but no luck that morning. The pictures below are from a quick photo the previous day.
They then embarked on a challenging 8.2-mile hike with 2,326 ft of elevation gain, including several boulder and rock scrambles. The long uphill climb ended at gorgeous Delta Lake which sits at 9,016 feet. Their lungs must have been burning. Great job Greg & Helen!
For our last day in Grand Teton National Park, Dave, Murphy, and I first stopped for breakfast (more on that in a bit), then drove the 42-mile scenic drive around the park. It was a clear day and the sun was gorgeous on the Teton range. We kept stopping at the various overlooks as each had a different perspective on Grand Teton and its nearby mountains, plus the fall foliage was stunning. We also stopped at the iconic T.A Moulton barn, which is seen in many pictures of the Grand Tetons.
We also drove into nearby Jackson, WY, a resort town in the valley of Jackson Hole, WY, famous for a ski resort named after the valley. It was a zoo in the small town, with traffic backed up all over. We did spy an Elk Antler arch and stopped for a quick photo while walking around the town. We were ready to head back to the peace and quiet of our campground!
Above I mentioned some yummy huckleberry treats we emjoyed and we had even more! The Pioneer Grill in the Jackson Lake Lodge where we had those scrumptious huckleberry milkshakes also had a huckleberry compote brownie and huckleberry pancakes. Yep, I could not resist. Dave and I had dinner there one night to sample the huckleberry brownie (we could not eat it all) and breakfast the next morning so I could enjoy huckleberry pancakes. I am going to miss these scrumptious huckleberry dishes.
We are now heading south to visit the “Might 5” Utah National Parks; Bryce, Zion, Arches, Canyonlands, and Capitol Reef. And, we have a special treat when we get to Bryce, which we will soon share. We can’t wait!
Thanks for following along. Only 1 month left of this year’s adventure. It has gone by so fast.
The Grand Teton is pretty grand Brenda, Wonderous Wyoming Dave, and at least I got to go for a car ride and explore Murphy.
You guys are turning into mountain goats, with your mileage and elevation gains while hiking!! Way to go!! Clearly you are huckleberry powered 😊
So many hikes, so many waterfalls, are you bored yet? Hahahaha! So happy to see smiling faces and observing those gorgeous views. Enjoy!
Beautiful! It seems like you’ve been gone forever! I wonder how you’ll adapt to real life! 😊
Thank you for taking me out of this troubled world into places of such beauty and peace!
Safe travels !
Reta
You guys rock! Mighty are those mountains! Stunning photo’s!