StevenI started out early again, around 6am, and headed to Jenny Lake to do what I thought would be a 10 mile hike and to beat the crowds. I was probably the 20th car in the parking lot, but there were a ton of spots here.
I took the boat across the lake (that shaves off around 2 miles of walking). At the end though, it was just a little longer than that.
At the boat dock, they tell you to turn left to get to Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. The trail starts over a bridge with roaring cascades below.
Hidden Falls is only half a mile from the boat dock and a fairly easy hike.
I had read on multiple sites that this was a “strenuous hike” and the worst part was getting up to Inspiration Point because of the quick elevation gain. I made it to the point and thought “that’s it?”
The rest of the trail here goes up at a 9% grade (from what I’ve read) and they said the path through the canyons was an easy hike.
The path runs along side Cascade Creek which means you’re sure to see animals, especially in the early morning.
Sure enough. A moose. Right on the trail. He/she was eating a bush right on the edge of the trail. I was much closer than this picture because it’s around a blind curve, so I slowly walked away so I could get a better picture. It didn’t seem too bothered by me.
The moose didn’t want to move so I started yelling at it, “HEY! MOOSE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!” I all got back was this blank stare, then it continued eating the bush.
A group of five guys I had passed earlier made their way up to me and I told them about the moose. By this time, it finally moved off the trail so we decided to carefully go around the corner. The moose was standing probably 10 feet off the trail and one guy says “We probably shouldn’t be this close” and the other guys said “WELL GO!” We made it past the moose unharmed. I decided to stick with them just in case there were any other wild creatures lurking about.
On the same creek was another moose laying by the water with her calf (laying to the right in the grass). I will say, moose are kinda ugly.
This path is called Cascade Canyon for a reason. There are tons of waterfalls coming off the mountains with most of them being fueled by snow.
It was crazy walking through this canyon with massive mountains on either side.
Just before the fork (my original stopping point), there’s another bridge that goes over the roaring creek.
At the fork, they decided to rest and I decided to part ways and head toward Solitude Lake. I mean, it was only 2.6 miles from the fork and I was feeling pretty good, so why not!
Even though the hike to Solitude Lake got a little steeper, it was bearable. Then suddenly: snow. Lots of snow. Deep snow. It was firmly packed and hadn’t started melting yet, so it wasn’t too bad walking on it. There were a few spots that were slick, but again, I was ok with it.
I stopped here to take a photo and decide if I wanted to continue on through the snow.
I let these three hikers go ahead of me. Just after I took the below picture, the one in the back’s right leg fell in a hole in the snow that went up to his knee. It was at this point I thought, “You know. I’m good.” So I decided to turn back.
Sadly, I was only 1.3 miles from Solitude Lake, but I’d rather come back with both my legs intact.
In a place like Grand Teton, when you turn around, this is what you see:
There are a lot of these little creatures running around in this snowy area. They’re marmots, and I think I read somewhere they can only survive under 77 degrees (don’t quote me on that because I couldn’t find the source when I went to look it up). They’re super fast and very hard to get pictures of because they dart under the rocks to hide from hikers.
What’s nice about Cascade Canyon is you can turn back any time you want, and you’ll see different views from when you came in.
A moose was still hanging out by the water and had a lot of people watching.
I finally made it back to Inspiration Point where the sun is now giving off better lighting for pictures. You can also see the boats taking people across the lake (only a $10 round trip fee if you pay in cash).
I got a few last pictures of the mountains from the boat.
Cascade Canyon was a great trail. It was not “strenuous” as most websites would have you believe. Once you get up to Inspiration Point, it’s an easy hike. Most people stop at Inspiration Point and miss out on lots of good scenery. This was one trail where I thought, “ooh, I need to take a picture,” then I take a few steps and the scenery gets better and I wish I hadn’t taken the previous picture. It was like that through the whole trail.
Highlighted below was my final route:
Tomorrow I head to Stanley, ID and check out the Sawtooth Mountains. It will be hard to beat Grand Teton! Oh yeah, and it’s supposed to be 41 for a high with a 40% chance of snow in Stanley. There might not be too many pictures tomorrow!