We have done a lot of hiking in the High Sierra and have always loved our time up there.  This summer we decided to split our time between the Sierra and a new destination.  My Dad did some research on classic backpacking trips in the U.S. and both the Tetons and the Wonderland loop by Mt. Ranier came highly reccommended.  After looking into the areas and researching the trails, we decided to try the Tetons and made plans to head to Wyoming.  It was very wild country, with bigger animals (moose and elk in the teton backcountry, bison in yellowstone, no grizzly sitings though) and more temperamental weather.  The scenery was like nothing I had seen before, and it was an all around great trip.

Monday, September 8th, 2008:
          I flew into Salt Lake City from San Diego and met up with Christian, Anna, and Dad who flew in from the bay area.  They already had the rental car, so we picked up my baggage and headed out.  It was about a 5 hour drive to Jackson with lots of pretty country on the way.  It was mostly sparsely populated, split between mountains and flatter plains.  We drove straight through Jackson and up to the Hole to get a view of the Tetons before sunset.  After picking up our permit at the ranger station we took a quick drive and then got dinner at the Snake River Brewpub, tasty food and good beer.  Then it was back to our hotel room to get packed up for the hike.

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008: 10 miles, 2600' climbing
            After a tasty breakfast and a quick stop for fuel at a local outdoors shop we headed to the trailhead at the base of Death Canyon.  I dropped off the crew with all of our gear and drove up to leave the cart at our exit point and hitch a ride back to the trailhead with the teton taxi.  We got on the trail around 10:15 am, a few clouds and a mild breeze blowing.  Phelps Lake was quite nice, a large tree-lined lake at  the mouth of Death Canyon.  The trail got gradually steeper for the first couple of miles before leveling off into the main portion of Death Canyon.  As we made our way up the canyon, the trees gradually thinned out and the views began to widen.  The clouds began to fill the sky and the wind picked up as we climbed.  On the final ascent up Fox Creek Pass a few drops began to fall.  We pushed up to the pass and were relieved to see some blue skies to the southwest, though there were many thunderheads as well.  From near fox creek pass we got our first backcountry views of the Tetons and there were views in all directions.  The area near the pass was covered in wildflowers, amazing for this late in the season. After a short climb from the pass, we came around a corner and got a view straight across the shelf and down into death canyon.  We found a good campsite with some shelter by a jumble of enormous rocks.  The views from our site were amazing.  As the afternoon progressed, the weather became less threatening.  The clouds blocked most of the evening light, but it was very beautiful at dusk anyways.  As it got dark, it cooled off pretty quick and a star filled sky came into view.

Wednesday, September 10th, 2008: 11 miles, 1800' climbing
          Up just after 6 for sunrise.  Patchy clouds and light wind, not too cold.  As we ate and packed up the weather started to turn questionable.  Getting on the trail around 7:30, we hustled to get across the shelf and over Mt. Meek Pass.  The clouds and delicate light added to the beautiful scenery and made it hard to hurry.  As we descended into Alaska Basin, it was not yet 9 am and it was clear that weather would be coming soon.  We found a little shelter near a group of ponds and started setting up our tents as it began to hail and lighting cracked over Mt. Meeks.  We jumped into the tents and waited for the weather to pass.  After a brief hailstorm and a few lightning strikes around the basin, it calmed down and we ventured out to pump water and have a snack.  Alaska basin had lots of wildflowers and it would have been nice to have a day to explore it.  It was hard to know what to do, since the weather wasn't getting and worse, or any better, and we hadn't made much progress yet.  After hanging out for several hours, a large patch of blue sky was finally headed our way.  The winds had picked up and we weren't sure how long the window would last, so we packed up quickly and hurried up the trail towards Hurricane Pass.  Nearing the top of the pass, the blue window of sky began to outrun us and clouds started to fill in.  On top of the pass the wind was blowing at a good clip, but the views were dramatic in all directions.  It looked like more weather was on the way, and it was still a distance to shelter, so we snapped pictures and kept moving.  As we made our way to the first campable areas, the sky became solid gray.  Finding no great shelter in the first cluster of camps, we headed further down into the canyon.  After a short descent passing a little waterfall, the trail began to level out into the upper reaches of the South Fork of Cascade Canyon.  Just as it started to rain we came upon a great campsite, got the tents up, and hopped in again to hide from the weather.  It began to snow, then turned back to rain for an hour or so, quieting down around 5:30, in time for dinner.  Great light at sunset, a fresh coat of snow on the mountains.

Thursday, September 11, 2008: 8.5 Miles, 1400' Climbing
            Cool and wet morning, low clouds and fog around.  Slow start.  Heading down the south fork of Cascade Canyon, nice meadows and some small ponds.  Many good places to camp, but most views of Tetons are absent or obstructed.  Hit the junction at the merging of the two forks and started up towards Lake Solitude.  More forested at first, then views began to open up.  Took one of first campsites which was in a flat meadowy area near the creek and set up our tents.  Ate a snack and then headed up towards Lake Solitude.  Began to look like another storm was blowing in, with many dark clouds around upon reaching Lake Solitude.  Beautiful Lake, great views back to the Tetons and of the canyon below.  Canyon is meadowy with patches of trees and mid height shrubbery.  Looked like Paintbrush Divide trail would have been full of views, but glad to have an easier hike today.  Headed back to camp, a few drops but no storm.  Enjoyed a relaxing afternoon exploring around camp and watching a moose across the creek.  Christian discovered that blueberry bushes were everywhere and ate lots.  I waited a few hours to make sure that they were really blueberries and that christian wasn't getting sick, then helped myself as well.  Lots of flowers around camp, curious this late in the season that many are still blooming though into fall.  Great clouds and sunset, moonrise over "Teewinot" Mountain was the talk of the camp...  Temps cooling off significanly at dusk.

Friday, September 12, 2008: 7.5 Miles
            Cold night and morning, everything covered in frost.  Early start, snapping pictures of frosted foliage and snacking on blueberries.  Into lower Cascade Canyon, nice meadows and forested areas, some trees covered in spanish moss.  Started to encounter a lot of people further down the canyon, some groups of 30 or more people...  View of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Pt was nice, but couldn't compare the the alpine scenery of the last several days.  Hidden falls was swarming with people and hardly any more impressive than any of the little cascades upstream.  Kind of long walk around Jenny Lake, back to the car around 11.  Got some snacks and got on the road.

 Tetons Panoramas:

            Once in slide show mode, click on picture to zoom...

Yellowstone:
            After hiking out from the Teton Backcountry, we headed up to Yellowstone and toured the Southwest side of the park.  We visited Geyser Basin and saw Old Faithful, the Grand Prismatic Spring and a few other spots.  The bubbling pools and spurting geysers are very primordial.  Looking into the pools feels like looking into the bowels of the earth.  Very cool.  Lots of wildlife around, and plenty of people.