We decided to start from the tram on Rendezvous Mountain, at Teton Village. It is a cool ride, and cuts off some miles and a couple a' thousand feet elevation gain. From left to right, Eric, Jeff, René, Mark and William Johnson; and me, Jann and Pete.
Jeff deciding he should have brought his heavier pack, with the better shoulder suspension.
At the top of Rendezvous Mountain.
First camp was in the Middle Fork Granite Canyon group site.
All the groups sites in the Park had bear boxes for food storage overnight. You can see it in the upper left.
A mommy and baby moose wandered a few yards from our camp, and didn't seem to mind us at all.
Eric spinning plastic.
René trying to get Jeff's attention.
Morning of the second day. Off to Death Canyon Shelf.
Jeff and Eric resting at Lake Marion.
Jann wanted to show us the Lake Marion group site as we passed by.
We had lunch at the climbing rock. Pete and Mark executed a series of death-defying maneuvers during the hike, hoping that they'd have to be carried out to help, but never seemed committed enough to getting injured.
On the shelf, overlooking Death Canyon.
It really does drop significantly just after Mark. Death Canyon is a beautiful sight, to which photos can't really do justice. The far canyon wall looks like a maintained parkland. Like a links-type golf course.
This is the cliff above the Death Canyon Shelf. If you blow this up, and look at the top left third of the photo, you can see a mountain sheep and her baby, walking the cliff.
View of the Tetons from the Death Canyon Shelf group camp. There was some smoke from wildfires in Idaho and Wyoming.
Interrupting Mark's morning devotional.
Next camp was Alaska Basin, at Mirror Lake.
Here, Pete shows us how it's done.
Eric and William, getting used to the freezing water.
Jann too.
Eric contemplates an 8-foot drop.
And manages the courage.
It gets pretty deep after that rock he's standing on.
Mark tries too.
"How do you dive?" he asks.
Jeff, doing laundry.
René decides it will be fun to get in the water too.
And regrets it. I wish we had video of this..
Our favorite little campsite in Alaska Basin.
Slaving away in the kitchen.
Alaska Basin is in the National Forest, so no bear box. It took some skill, and some effort, and some brains, and Pete climbing the tree, to get the packs up. But we eventually managed.
William's favorite spot.
Morning of day 4, leaving Alaska Basin.
Filtering at Sunset Lake, on our way to Hurricane Pass. We bought an MSR Autoflow gravity filter, and loved it. Much better than pumping.
Sunset Lake.
At the top of Hurricane Pass, with Grand and Middle Teton in the back. Jann is standing on rocks.
South Fork Cascade Creek, and Mark.
Same, and me.
René and Jann, resting.
Pete and Jeff.
Mark's swing, in South Cascade group site.
No fires were allowed, but this is a wood-burning stove, don't you know..
Our hardest day, by far, was day 5. We hiked down the rest of South Fork Cascade, and then up and up North Fork Cascade, to Lake Solitude. And then we had Paintbrush Divide. It was a long slog, but very beautiful. Here, Pete and Mark slide down a little snow field at the top.
At the top of Paintbrush Divide. From the fork in Cascade Creek (7,800 ft), to the top of the divide (10,700 ft), it was about a 3000 ft elevation gain.
Devotional Rock, at the upper Paintbrush group site.
Jeff had a very nice hammock system. He likes it much better than sleeping on the ground.
On our last day, we're headed down Paintbrush Canyon to String Lake. You can't see it, but in the background is Leigh Lake, and Jackson Lake.
Waiting for Pete to get back with the Suburban.
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