Walking through postcards

When quizzing Mick about day hikes in the nearby Teton National Park, he told us about the Teton Crest trail trip he had done with Pam & Liam, when Liam was 8 and showed us photos of that trip. We got keen to also do that trail, partly because the trail started at the top of the Teton ski field and there was a cable car to the top. The trail traversed behind the Teton range through the headwaters of the 4 canyons which drain the range, staying above 8500 feet. Mick & Pam lent us backpacks & we headed to the Park to organise backcountry permits & pickup bear proof food boxes. So the next day we were off, alighted the cable car & were wisked 1000 meters to the top of the Teton range and past an amazing looking skifield which would look awesome in winter. We headed over the back leaving all the day trippers behind and into the

head of Granite canyon. 3 hours later after

waking through alpine forests of aspen & lodgepole pine, across grassy meadows with wildflowers, we made camp in our permitted area.

Lotte was tired in the last hour so Mary & I shared her pack. After dinner we stashed our bear proof food boxes & hung our surplus food in a pack up a tree well away fom our tent because we were learning to be "bear aware". The next day we headed up and out of Granite canyon. The higher we went the better the wildflower's colour show became untill we were walking through a carpet of red, yellow, purple & blue flowers with the occasional humming bird flying past.

The second day was a long one but the scenery just got better & better as we got closer to the big peaks of the Teton range. It was hot and water was short, however we eventually found a spring and could quench our thirsts. It was a very senic 6 km walk along the Death canyon shelf and then up and over a low pass into Alaska basin. On the pass we encountered marmots & pika for the first time. Then into the basin to camp after walking 16 km for the day. Our camp was in a tight grove of trees which gave us protection from wind & lightning.

In In the morning we were entertained by our resident hoary marmot and neighbouring yellow bellied marmot, both of which came up close if you sat still. Very cute little critters the size of a possum with short legs & bushy tails.

There always seemed to be a marmot nearby on lookout duty, giving a shrill whistle if danger lurked. We spent the morning in Alaska basin and found a pika colony. These are little rodents which are related to rabbits who live at a band of altitude. They don't hibernate in winter and spend the short summer harvesting grasses & flowers and making a big pile of hay beside their rocky den to sustain them during the winter.

Back on the trail and up out of the basin to Sunset lake for a swim & lunch. The weather started to change & we hurried up the mountain to Hurricane Pass managing to just stay in front of the weather. I was very aware of the warnings not to be on the top of mountains & ridges during lightning storms, and Hurricane pass was 10400 feet high and exposed. The wind got stronger, it started raining & the thunder & lightning was getting closer. On top of the pass the kids all held hands and ran across the top as fast as possible. It was interesting that both Mary & I no longer noticed the weight of our packs when the pressure was on and we needed to move quickly. Otie (aka the "exploding orange") was wearing a cheap orange plastic poncho which got shredded in the wind. We managed to get onto the other side & out of danger, or so we thought.

Our next challenge was on a steep snow bank on the headwall of Cascade canyon, which after some anxious moments we traversed down into the canyon as the wind got stronger. Mary & I hung onto Lotte & Otie while Max was pathfinder at the front. We were soon back in the treeline and in shelter.

The storm stopped as quickly as it began and we were soon drying out in the sun heading down the canyon & into an idyllic campsite with another resident marmot.

The last day was a hike 8 miles down Cascade canyon with light packs walking underneath the Grand Teton and back into the daytripper zone about 4 miles from the end.

At the end we got a boat across Jenny lake to the van which had been shuttled there by our mate Kevin who had been on the Salmon with us. Back to Mick & Pams for great showers & comfy beds again.

It was a fantastic experience with awesome scenery & wildlife. The Park Service does a really good job & they regulate the number of hiking permits so there were not alot of hikers out the back. We had no trouble getting permits however so I don't think that many people do the multi-day hiking.

On the drive back to Jackson we detoured though the Kelly area and saw 2 herds of bison. It was a thrill to see these animals which had once roamed the American plains in their millions and had sustained the plains Indians for thousands of years. They are primal looking beasts and little different from the depictions of their European relatives in the early cave drawings in Spain & France. There are lots of calves and snorting & bolshie behaviour from the adolescent males.