Posts tagged #Grand Teton National Park

Death Canyon

Adventure Tuesday 

Hiking in the Tetons

    We went hiking in Death Canyon in the Tetons during our time there. As with all places you have to get there early, to beat the crowd. I am one of those too, one of those who get up early to try to get some views of the nature. I think many people have bears, bison, wolves or any other mammal on their list to see. I have seen a fair amount of bears and bison, less wolves but many coyotes. I would be very happy if I saw a large mammal, from a great distance, but if I don't I am still really happy. I love being outside, I love being able to see views, views of the mountains, views of the deep forest and views of all the tiny little flowers, or the texture of a rock. It’s a magical landscape, once you get down on your knees and start digging in the dirt you start to really appreciate the small things in life.

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Death Canyon Trail

    The Death Canyon trail is about 10.5 miles. This day we weren't aiming for a far or fast hike, we just wanted to be out and about.  W's mom and our friend's parents were with us too, and we enjoyed walking slowly and talking about ecology and geology as we continued towards phelps lake. Once we got to the lake we had lunch, just some sandwiches we brought, but we enjoyed the downtime in the shadows. It was once again a pretty hot day, and the mosquitos were all around us of course. We never ventured into the canyons themselves, but we enjoyed looking at these magnificent mountains and the stories they silently tell. I love being out and about, watch the day slowly go by, I love seeing the details. Sometimes you can’t see the trees for the forest, just like you cant see the forest for the trees.

Magical Landscape of Christmas Trees

    The Rocky Mountain forest is so beautiful. The trees are a lot different from the typical black spruce you see in Alaska. They are in the same family, but belong to different genera. The Douglas fir stands tall in the forest, tall and green, and beautiful. A typical christmas tree. Depending on what elevation you are hiking at in the Rocky Mountains, you will see different species, Douglas fir in the lower elevation and whitebark pine at the higher elevations. Sometimes you even see an Engelmann spruce or lodgepole pine, but mostly in between (in elevation)  whitebark pine and Engelmann spruce. 

Have you ever been hiking in the Rockies? What is your favorite spot?

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Ann Rumbleinthearctic and filed under Adventure Tuesday, Photography, The great wide open and tagged Summer Adventure Hiking Hike The Grand Tetons The Tetons Tetons Grand Teton National Park 2017 Elsewhere Macro Mountains Summer Adventures 2 National Park Summertime Rocky Mountains National Parks.

Holly Lake - Grand Teton National Park

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Adventure Tuesday

The Tetons - July 2017

    This summer I flew out to Jackson, WY, to help W and his field crew with some ecology work, mainly in Yellowstone. We stayed at a lodge in the Grand Teton National Park, just about an hour or so south of where we were doing most of the fieldwork.

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Hiking

    I had just arrived in Jackson a few days earlier when we decided to go on this hike. Originally we wanted to backpack and spend the night at a campsite or alike, somewhere in the mountains, but with all the logistics we figured that a day hike was a lot easier and maybe more doable given the circumstances. I always want to see some grand views during my hikes, and if you can fit in some forest, streams and alpine tundra into that mix I am all for it. A couple of other friends had done this hike the day before and said it was amazing, so we also went on that same hike. If you are planning on doing this hike I would recommend to adjust to the altitude first. Jackson, Wyoming sits at an elevation of 6,237 feet, which also makes the area very dry. I burned my lips so bad this summer in the Tetons and Yellowstone. Holly Lake sits at 9,416 feet, so you will gain many many feet before you reach the end of this hike. I think I got a very light version of altitude sickness, which happens if you are not adjusted to the high elevation.

Paintbrush Canyon, Lakes, Mountains, 2,900 Feet and 13 Miles

    The start of this hike is very mellow, walking along the shoreline of String Lake and watching Mt Moran as it mirrors itself in the lake. At this point the trail is all flat, but you will soon slowly start heading up in elevation. The forest along the trail is a typical mixed conifer forest that you will find in large areas of the park, consisting of lodgepole pine and spruce-fir. You cross Leigh Lake outlet that connects to String lake, and it basically looks like a large stream.

As always we marvel on this landscape, and the ecology behind it. We are both ecologists/biologists, so even the tiniest things matter to us.  This hike is usually has an amazing wildflower display as you go up in elevation. We were a little early for that display but got some wildflowers along the trail within the forest.

Paintbrush Canyon - Mountains, Creeks and Forest

We were greeted with forest, streams and flowers, right of the bat. We would have to earn the mountains and the alpine ecosystem of course, some total elevation gain of 2000 feet. The deep forest, consisting of a mix between lodgepole pine, spruce-fir species does remind me about the Swedish forest to some extent, but at the same time this forest is extremely different. This is bear country too of course, and we had our bearsprays and voices of course. Clapping and talking loudly is something we are both very used to. They warn for moose too along some of the brushy edges of the creeks up along paintbrush canyon too. As we slowly make our way up and onwards we walk through deep forest. And when you least expect it, it opens up and give you these amazing views. Just like when we were driving through Canada I almost feel saturated with mountains, but there is more.

Snow

Eventually we get high enough in elevation that we start seeing more and more snow on the ground. It’s July, and temperatures down in the park and around Jackson has been around 85-90F. Up in elevation we have a panorama view of mountains, snow and waterfalls. The tree line is still present here, although the trees are more and more sparse as you continue upward.

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Holly Lake

    We were treading through a rugged landscape mixed with deep forest, creek crossings, and snowfield traverse. The end point of our hike was an alpine lake, Holly Lake. A beautiful lake at an elevation of 9416 feet. Originally W wanted us to continue after the lake, up on the ridge, before heading back, but that did not happen. We were satisfied with the lake being the end point of this hike. I for one was happy about this, because I was pretty beat after that approach. The last few miles before the actual lake we were treading through snowfields that were starting to melt. But what a view once we got there. I am always so blown away by these landscapes. I have to pinch myself in the arm to make sure it's for real. We hung out at the lake for a while, watched some kind of small animal roam around on the other side of the lake. Watched these waterfalls that were on display. We were really lucky about the weather too, but as always in the mountains the weather can quickly turn.

Heading Back

    Most often I am not a fan of out and back trails, with the exception of hikes that includes a view, which seem to be the norm nowadays. Usually when you hike up you keep looking back at the landscape behind you, and you get treated by that landscape all right in front of you when you walk down. Every single view of this hike was absolutely spectacular! These fantastic rock outcrops mixed with a constant view of creeks, small waterfalls and huge trees are like something from a different planet.

Just like the way up, we had an amazing view walking down. Creeks, waterfalls and forest. What more can you ask for?

Have you done any hiking this year that blew your mind away?

Posted on September 5, 2017 by Ann Rumbleinthearctic and filed under Adventure Tuesday, The great wide open, Photography, Nature and tagged Adventure Wyoming The Tetons National Parks Hiking snow snowcover 2017 Elsewhere Grand Teton National Park Ecosystem Ecologist Mountains Mountain Summer Adventures 2 Hikes National Park Rocky Mountains Holly Lake Summer.

Wild Places in the US

Wednesday Thoughts

“National parks and reserves are an integral aspect of intelligent use of natural resources. It is the course of wisdom to set aside an ample portion of our natural resources as national parks and reserves, thus ensuring that future generations may know the majesty of the earth as we know it today.” - John F. Kennedy

Our Public Lands

    These last two months I have been traveling extensively through parts of the wilderness of this country. It is Amazing to see all these public lands, let it be a National Park, National reserve, National Forest or any other public land. How lucky we are that these places have been set aside, for us, for you, to enjoy. Unfortunately there are people on this planet who do not care about the wild places, greedy people who care more about money than our public lands. 

Yvon Chouinard, Patagonia's founder, is standing up for our public lands. Stand with him. Text DEFEND to 52886 by August 24.

Nature and Politics

    The video below always makes my eyes tear up, it hurts my heart to hear politicians talk about Alaska the way they do. I can only feel sorry for them, that they do not appreciate these wild places like you and I do!

For hundreds of generations, the Gwich'in people of Alaska and northern Canada have depended on the caribou that migrate through the Arctic Refuge. With their traditional culture now threatened by oil extraction and climate change, two Gwich'in women are continuing a decades-long fight to protect their land and future.

Wild Places

    This summer has made me crave more and more of the wilderness. Can you believe that I can crave more than what I have already craved. It's like a disease, it spreads and grows for each year. How do you feel about the wilderness?

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Ann Rumbleinthearctic and filed under Wednesday Thoughts, Science, The great wide open and tagged Science National Park National Forest Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone Photography Wilderness into the wild Deep Forest Elsewhere Summer days Summer Mountains Grand Teton National Park 2017 Summer Adventures 2 National Parks.