Days 167 & 168, July 11 & 12, backpacking The Tetons


 After spending our first day in this marvelous park visiting all the must-see heavily touristed sites, we’ve sought solitude, which is no easy feat during the summer onslaught. We found quiet on our kayak trip a couple of days ago, but we absolutely struck gold with our recent backpack trip. One can hardly go wrong hiking any of the stupendous canyons along this stupendous range, so we chose to take one of the lesser crowded hikes, hoping we wouldn’t be cheating ourselves of some grand scenery. We were not disappointed. 






Hiking first along stunning Phelps Lake, we veered west to climb into Open Canyon and found an exquisite campsite just five miles in. Close to a plentiful stream, within site of a plunging waterfall, and tucked under massive granite cliffs amidst boatloads of pungent and colorful wildflowers, we could not have found a more perfect spot for an overnight backpack camp.






Our evening was spent hiking (thankfully without packs) to and from our base camp steeply up to the Mt Hunt Divide in the saddle between high mountain ridges. We passed not one soul on the long trek but were well rewarded with waterfalls, streams, wildflower splendor, and breath-taking vistas down into the Teton and Jackson valleys. We’d taken off the jingle bells used as a warning system earlier in the hike because at this point we truly wanted to stumble upon a bear, but we weren’t quite that lucky.






Was a truly stupendous backpack, especially sitting in camp at civil twilight watching the shadows play and shift on the massive granite cliffs around us as the sun and the day  waned. Sheer magic. Oh, and God threw in hundreds of butterflies dancing in the wildflowers as a bonus. 




“Human felicity is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen as by little advantages that occur every day.”   -Benjamin Franklin 

Good deeds:  Back at camp, I put my expensive detailed map of the Tetons on the bathroom shelf with a “free to a good home” note; it was gone within minutes. Did the same with some Valencia oranges. I also gave away two more of my cute flamingo Airstream stones, and I plugged $5 into the change machine at the laundromat. Oh, and a woman needing to buy some laundry detergent got what she needed from me. 


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