Kyle and I had been planning a post-graduation trip to Glacier National Park for about a year now - about two weeks before we were supposed to go, a lightning storms lit three separate wildfires, closing down half of the park. We really want to experience all of Glacier when we go, so we decided to wing it and headed to Grand Teton National Park instead. We spent 5 days in the park hiking, kayaking, camping, and seeing wildlife (so much wildlife!).
The area we call Grand Teton National Park is located on the land which was originally home to the Shoshone, Bannock, Blackfoot, Crow, Flathead, Gros Ventre, Nez Perce and other tribes. Indigenous people arrived to this area 11,000 years ago, hunting, fishing, and living off the land. National parks belong to all of us now, but I'm trying to make an effort to remember the history of these areas as well as their present-day beauty.
Day Two:
Our first full day in the Tetons was rainy, and clouds shrouded the mountains. Grand Teton is pretty accessible and there are a lot of pretty drives through the park, so we decided to make this our driving day.
We drove through pretty much every road in the park, including some unpaved ones (pictured above) in search of wildlife. We saw a big herd of buffalo in the distance and some pronghorns! We also drove through Mormon Row, a cluster of farms that used to be home to Mormon homesteaders in the early 19th century.
Day Three
What a day! We hiked around Jenny Lake, starting out in the fog fearing we would have a repeat of the day before. Slowly the mountain peaks emerged through the fog, giving us incredible views. One of the best parts of this trail was a little off-shoot to Moose Ponds where we saw and mama and baby moose wading in the reeds. The morning was so still and there was no one else around -- except a few mountain goats up on the ridge.
The Jenny Lake trail is about 7.5 miles (+1 mile for Moose Ponds) and 800 ft elevation. I'm glad we set out early because by noon-ish when we finished it was starting to get busy. After Moose Ponds, we stopped at Hidden Falls, then continued around the lake.
We spotted an Osprey nest perched on this dead tree. Two babies inside were being very vocal and stretching their wings! They've got a pretty good view from up there.
We also saw quite a few mule deer along the way - this gal was one of my favorites, she just sat there, eating grass, chewing away, believing herself hidden from us.
After this hike we spend the afternoon relaxing in the sun at our campsite, reading, drinking wine, and cooking dinner. Little did we know we probably had company -- we found bear poop right behind our tent the next morning!
We woke up early to watch the sunrise at Oxbow Bend. It was freezing, but well worth the half hour standing outside, waiting for that alpenglow to hit!
...we decided to hike up to Grand View Point. This trail is 5 miles with 1300 ft. elevation gain - the views were worth that steep trek!
After lunch, we headed to Colter Bay Marina to rent kayaks! We spent two hours out on the water, exploring Coulter Bay, soaking up the sun, and taking in this view:
Day Five
Our last day in the Tetons and our longest hike of the trip - the Lake Solitude Trail is 14 miles with 2500 ft elevation gain. We took the Jenny Lake Ferry across to the trailhead and then started up the steep Horse Trail (the first part of the trail is currently closed).
This trail was unreal.
Finally, we made it up to the lake where we ate lunch and watched an Osprey diving for fish.
The hike back down was even more beautiful:
Some hikers heading the opposite way on the trail gave us a heads up that there was a black bear on the trail ahead of us - this guy was about 50 feet off the trail, so we were super cautious. We made sure he knew we were there and carried our bear spray, but honestly he couldn't have cared less that we were there - he was just eating berries and chillin in the sun!
So, one of our greatest dreams came true - we got to see a bear in the wild! Luckily he was a happy, content, very chill guy.
We made a list of all the wildlife we saw on this trip (I didn't have my zoom lens with me, so unfortunately I don't have great pictures of most of these): moose, bear, marmot, pika, snakes (two different ones), skink, chipmunks, squirrels, bison, mule deer, elk, pronghorn, skunk, and a lot of birds (mountain bluebirds, geese, swan, osprey, and many more!).
Day Six: Yellowstone
On our way home to Seattle, we took the scenic route through Yellowstone. When we were there in 2014, we didn't stop to see Grand Prismatic spring - the super colorful one everyone alway posts photos of. We decided to stop by on this trip but...
it was super steamy/foggy, so we weren't able to see it at all! Oh well. We'll get it next time.
Yellowstone was gorgeous, as always.
That was our trip! One highpoint, two national parks and a national monument and we headed home. We'll be hittin the road again in a few weeks, so stay tuned for more posts!
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