Grand Teton National Park: Battle of the Brothers

The Teton Range at pre-dawn

Grand Teton is virtually attached to Yellowstone, and one may consider it Yellowstone's little brother. But like all little brothers it stands on it's own two feet when in comes to it's independence.

We had read that one of the campgrounds within the park, Jenny Lake, is rated in the Top 10 of US National Park campgrounds, so with little fanfare we hauled arse down to Jenny Lake to try and secure a spot. Luck would have it that it was only half-full and we snagged a decent spot. To be honest we weren't, and still aren't, quite sure what all the fuss was about. But still we had a place to sleep and a place to … well you know what.

With camp set and the weather not looking too favourable to hiking that afternoon we decided we take in the scenic drive and try and remain dry. The views you get from both Glacier View Turnout and Snake River Overlook are pretty amazing, but frankly anywhere you look in Grand Teton the view is incredible. Snake River Overlook did provide us with another unexpected highlight with a fox managing to get a hold of a pika, or some sort of mouse in the shrubs next to the car park. Not the big game kill we were after but we'll take it.

Snake River Overlook

On the way back to the camp site we stopped off at the Jenny Lake Overlook and it was here that the storm finally hit. We actually got to watch the wind and rain race across the lake, and by the time it hit you, you knew it was going to be a decent storm. I'm not too sure how strong the winds were but by the time we made it back to the car, the carpark was a minefield. Trees were being snapped and blown over everywhere you looked.

Incoming storm rolling across Jenny Lake

With that we hightailed it back to camp via a few route changes due to trees falling across the roads. Not long after arriving at camp were we moving again, given a rather large tree across the road had just come smashing down about 10m from our tent. Our neighbours were due for quite the surprise when they returned from their day's activities – it fell about 2m away from their tent.

Storm damage within the camp site

We weathered the storm from the safety of the visitor centre's carpark – a safe distance away from the fall zone of any nearby trees. The storm didn't do too much more damage in our area but it had caused extensive damage throughout the park – bringing down power lines at the south end of the park meaning we were back to basics for the next few days with no power or running water.

Sunset from Signal Mountain

The next day continued in a similar vein, turning out to be a day of near misses.

We had read that the sunrise viewed from atop Signal Mountain was a must do whilst you're in the park. So at the crack of dawn, well actually 45 minutes before the crack of dawn, we headed out to Signal Mountain. One of the benefits of being up so early is the abundance of wildlife around – if only we had a camera with battery charge! Luckily the old phones these days take decent photos and we sufficed with that. We later stopped off at one of the park's northern campgrounds that still had power and hung around the toilets (like the creeps we are) and got a bit of charge back into one of the cameras.

Sunrise over the park

What we hadn't considered was how much damage the storm had done overnight, and lo and behold, the road up to Signal Mountain was closed. So we had to settle for the Mount Moran Turnout to take in the sunrise – not a terrible second option but wouldn't have had much on Signal Mountain. We confirmed this later when we finally got up the mountain for sunset, and given the vantage points it was obvious why it is highly recommended for sunrise, but still a must do at any time of the day.

Sunrise lighting up the Teton Range

After some animal watching at a few of the viewpoints we decided to make the most of our early morning and tackle Cascade Canyon – a leisurely 13.6 mile round trip plus a few added miles to take in Inspiration Point (far more inspirational than its namesake in Yellowstone) and Hidden Falls.

View into Cascade Canyon from Inspiration Point

The hike takes you around the shores of Jenny Lake and then up into the heart of the canyon itself. A somewhat short detour brings you to Inspiration Point which provides you with one of the best views in the park – out across the waters and the park itself. True, given you are actually within the Teton Range itself, you aren't actually looking at the mountains, but very few views within the park aren't so it's somewhat unique. And definitely a great spot to sit and take it all in for a few minutes.

Inspiration Point

The hike through the canyon is rewarding in it's own regard, and following a porcupine for a few hundred meters was definitely the highlight in terms of animal spotting, but we also got quite the shock when what we thought was thunder was actually the start of a rock slide from the top of the canyon walls. The crack of thunder we thought we had heard must have actually been the crack in the rock wall that started the slide. We didn't actually get to see any rocks falling but we did see the column of dust the proceeded it. It set Nicole off into 'action plan' mode if anything of the sort happened again.

Cascade Canyon

One would think that was enough excitement for the day but again the day of near misses struck right at the end.

After ducking in to find Hidden Falls we were back on the trail just above Jenny Lake when an older couple came charging the path yelling, 'have you seen the baby?' My first reaction was, 'what f_cking baby, and where are it's parents?' But in her haste the old duck had forgotten to say 'bear' at the end of her sentence. Reluctantly we admitted we hadn't seen the cub, or it's mother for that matter, to which she responded, 'But you can't miss it. It's right by a tree'. This in a field of a thousand trees, and what had the mother bear chained the poor thing to it so she wouldn't lose it, or didn't it have legs? Anyway we didn't get to see the bear cub, but that exchange was a great way to cap off a pretty rewarding but strenuous hike.

But our day of near misses wasn't quite done with us. Upon arriving back at camp our new neighbours came over and shared some more exciting news. A young male bear had been roaming through the campsite and took a liking to our tent, Old Bluey, but was more interested in theirs. Apparently he wasn't too fazed with the attempts of our other neighbours to get rid of him, and the ranger's rubber bullets didn't concern him much either. Luckily everyone in the area had followed the camp rules and all foods and strong smelling substances were safely stowed away in the bear bins, not the tents, and once he was done satisfying his curiosity, he made his own way out. All this excitement and we weren't there to savour it!

Phelps Lake

For the hiker in you, I would say Grand Teton slightly out points Yellowstone but both stand alone as must do's on your All American Road trip.