Grand Teton National Park Backpacking review

The Teton Range and Yellowstone seem to be heavily discussed on this board. So, finally, here it is.

Last summer my girlfriend's grandparents rented a house in Idaho about an hour away from Grand Teton National Park (GTNP)... My eyes lit up as I heard the news, and it was obvious to anyone that I would gladly accept an invite, which we did. Six months later we made the long drive from Baton Rouge.

This is aimed toward hikers/backpackers.
Time: last week in July
Goal: Four day backpack
Here's the map.


So after months of reading and preparing, and a lot of money spent on gear, we began.

DAY ONE: Death Canyon and Shelf Drive as far as you can on a rough dirt road to get to the trailhead. Her grandparents dropped us off, and I was immediately informed by a fellow hiker that he saw a grizzly on the way in. Great.
Here's the first overlook, Phelps Lake. This overlook is exactly one mile into the hike. The elevation is 7,200 feet and the 750 acre lake is about 600 feet below. It is one of six major lakes below the Teton Range, and there is an excellent jumping rock and beach area for families. This can be a nice day hike in itself. Aside: they call it Jackson Hole because of the valley that lies between two large mountain ranges, the Teton Range, and the Wind River Range.



Continuing...at two miles we're about to die. It's incline after incline. I'm wearing about 45 lbs of gear because I'm an idiot. She's got an uncomfortable pack (since resolved), and we BOTH have bear cannisters, which are mandated. One would have been enough. We packed wayyy too much food. Lesson learned.
We're into the Canyon at this point. It's narrow and steep, that's why it's called Death Canyon. There are lots of big bugs.



We're many miles (7-8) and probably as many hours in by this point. My girlfriend is ready to kill me, and then I've got to give her the bad news. We've got to climb up to that bright blue speck before to set up camp. I kept wondering how the hell we'd get up there. Pictured here is Death Canyon Shelf.



It's getting colder, windier, cloudier, and later, but the Grand is in view! ...and it would tower over us for the rest of the backpack (this picture actually looks back at our hike from the Canyon, which has made a hard turn to the left as seen in the map at the top). Immediately to our left is the shelf that we must climb.



...but to get up there we've got to hike the switchbacks from hell. As lifelong flatlanders, we simply weren't prepared for this. I was questioning the decision, and she was questioning life. Switchbacks to Fox Creek Pass 10,600. This is about 1,000 ft incline in just one mile.



Getting to the pass that you see above included our first of many snow crossings, and finally we reached the shelf. It's relatively flat now, and the view is to die for. seen below:



There were actually several groups of hikers on the shelf. As many as allowed I assume. GTNP backcountry camping requires a permit, which we got for $25 the day prior). The entire shelf is what's called a camping zone, and it is clearly marked. You can pick your spot anywhere within the zone. We ate, we hid our food, we cleaned our utensils, and we set up the tent in horribly windy conditions. Even weighted down with rocks and all, there were several moments that night where I thought we'd get lifted from the ground. I'm sure it wasn't actually that bad, but I bet some gusts reached 50 mph. We were high up with little cover. The trees helped little.



DAY TWO:The Shelf to Alaska Basin to Sunset Lake
Day two was extremely comfortable compared to day one. We were both in good spirits when we realized the worst was behind us. So after oatmeal and coffee, we enjoyed the amazing scenery and cool temps. Around 35 that morning.
The photo below looks back on a hard day's work. The notch in the middle of the picture is the opening of Death Canyon from Phelps Lake (some 10 miles ago). The photo is taken from around the blue dot on the satellite image.





Pictured below:To the left is the end of Death Canyon Shelf before as we hit Mt. Meek (10,681) and Mt. Meek Pass. Next is the descent into Alaska Basin via the Sheep Steps, which arrive suddenly






...Dropping down into Alaska Basin was pure joy. The Basin is actually not part of the National Park, and it can be accessed from nearby Grand Targhee Ski resort as a popular day hike or or two day backpack. The features are stunning. It's basically a bowl so there are tons of little creeks and ponds that form from snow melt that runs off the mountains above. You can see Idaho if you look west. The Basin:







So that was stunning, but we knew we had another climb to get out of the basin. See below for perspective.



but over those switchbacks awaited our day two campsite, Sunset Lake...just when I thought it couldn't get any better:










So we thoroughly explored that area, and the next and final day presented on last climb.

DAY THREE:


We had to get to the other side of the ridge to Hurricane Pass. I had google imaged pictures of the pass and of Schoolroom Glacier for months prior to the trip, but nothing could have prepared me for what I still can't believe I saw with my own eyes.
But first, some pictures leading to that point:

Looking back on Sunset Lake



Reaching Tundra, but again looking from where we came.



Just a couple hundred yards from Hurricane Pass 10,700...you can see so much from here.






The saddle. This moment was filled with anticipation as I couldn't wait to look down below.



And there it was... Schoolroom Glacier





We were in complete awe at this point, but the descent was quite the challenge. Note the drop... (we didn't slide by choice, but it was fun)!





Got us some glacier water (the wall, or moraine, surrounding the lake was over 50 ft tall).





So that was the high point in every aspect of the word. We practically ran down Cascade Canyon to the Ferry at Jenny Lake.
the way down



Near the bottom of Cascade Canyon (a great day hike)



Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point, the most popular of any trail in the park.



Doing it again this year with her (mainly UT/CO)