We have been enjoying our two month visit in the Irwin area of southeast Idaho. The fishing has been fun, the hiking plentiful, the weather mild and we got to see the Teton Mountain Range for our first time. We took a couple trips into Jackson, Wyoming and saw the Tetons from the east. Gorgeous scenery up there and the secret's out, it is crowded in Jackson! We later heard about a lesser know Alta, Wyoming where you can see the Tetons from the west side. It was much less crowded in Alta, more like our cup of tea. Of course the Tetons were magnificent from all sides! Buckle up the scenery is so spectacular that this is our longest blog post to date!
A Landsat image of the Teton Range below. Looking carefully you can see four lakes nestled up against the mountains. The smallest at the south (left) side is Taggart Lake, next is Jenny Lake, the third is hardest to see which is Leigh Lake, and finally the largest and northern most (right) Jackson Lake. Grand Teton Mountain is closest to Taggart Lake, and the reason we chose to hike up to Taggart.
On our way to the Taggart Lake Trail head, we passed a ski resort just north of Jackson, Teton Village. In the summer it looks like a golf course on the side of a mountain. Don't be fooled, they get 500 inches of snow, and it is dry fluffy snow because of the very low temperatures that are common there.
Steve is ready to go at the Taggart Lake Trail head, Grand Teton is the highest peak right behind his left shoulder. This is the view from the east or Jackson, WY side.
Very soon we crossed Taggart Creek, which flows out from Taggart Lake and down into the Snake River below. Snow is still melting here in late July as you can see by the rushing waters. Grand Teton Mountain peeks out above the creek.
Gari is getting so close she can almost touch the Tetons!
There they are.... just at the end of the winding path. Left to right you can see Middle Teton, Grand Teton and Mt. Owen. The little peak between Grand Teton and Owen is part of Grand Teton as far as we can figure.
Not too far and we passed an interesting boulder, reminds us of a Tiffany work of art.
Gari found a large Toadstool along the way.
Quickly the terrain changed and Gari strolls through a stand of skinny Fir trees.
We saw a few trees along the way with wild twists. Our guess is the large snow loads bent some of the trees over into what ended up as contorted shapes.
A view of the Teton Range from Taggart Lake.
Gari found a shady spot on a rock protruding into the lake.
A view from the bridge over the south end of Taggart Lake. From here we can easily see Middle Teton (L), Grand Teton, and Mt. Owen.
On the way back down we passed the Trail Mule Paddock. Gari stops to judge the Mule flesh.
Teton Range, the view from the Jackson, WY side - in this view we can see South Teton (L), Middle Teton, Grand Teton and Mt. Owen.
Gari uses her zoom lens to see close up on the Grand Teton peak. Most of the snow will stay there year round.
The large snow spot seen in the saddle between the peaks is Teton Glacier. It has receded over the past 20 years or more.
Time to hop into Romeo and head to the next sightseeing spot... Jenny Lake.
Jenny Lake, Grand Teton National Park
We met Henry at Jenny Lake, he was just loading up his homemade Cedar and Mahogany kayak after an early morning paddle. Henry was a retired police office from Los Angeles, now living in Jackson, WY. Henry was very friendly, interesting, talkative and quite a memorable character!
A little farther down the road and a stop at Mt. Moran
Mt. Moran is the farthest right mountain.
Jackson Lake, Grand Teton National Park
Gari's famous low shot of Jackson Lake
Steve hikes back up the hill from Jackson Lake
The Teton Range from Grand Teton National Park.... the Jackson, WY side.
A little closer look at some of the glaciers
The strip in downtown Jackson, WY
A last look at the Teton Range from the Jackson Hole east side.
Now the Alta, Wyoming excursion... we passed through sleepy downtown Alta...
...we made a quick scenic view stop on our way up the mountain... we can see the Teton range in the distance...
...on our way up to Grand Targhee (ski) Resort.
We had scoped out some hiking trails at the top of the resort mountain, so we bought a lift ticket for a ride to the top. We leave the resort buildings behind in the shot below.
Gari surveys the changing landscape as we ascend the mountain.
We are getting close to the top of Dream Catcher lift now. It was a pretty long ride of about 15 minutes I would guess. In the summer the resort turns into a mountain biking mecca. You can see the specialized chair for carrying bicycles descending the mountain at the right.
There was a Nature Center at the top. We went in and chatted with the young gal staffing the facility. She was also from the east coast, up state New York, and said they don't make snow at this resort, but they get over 500 inches of snow each year!
We spied a Flicker who had nested in the fascia of the Nature Center chalet.
Immediately behind the Nature Center the spectacular views started! From here we had a clear view to the Teton Range.
The diagram below identifies each peak along this section of the Teton Range, as well as gives a bit of insight into the geologic history of the area.
We were at 9,900 ft altitude above sea level up here and some of the remaining July snow was below us!
A selfie shot up top
Steve takes a knee in awe of the surrounding beauty.
Gari documents the magnificence above.
And off we go headed for Mary's Saddle and a closer view of the Teton Range about 2 miles away. It was more difficult for us hiking at this altitude for sure.
We walked along the ridge, and it was a looooong way down!
A couple from Colorado offered to take our picture so we happily agreed.
Gari's hero shot #1
More beauty from the ridge line.
We spotted some orchid looking flowers along the way.
A view looking back toward the resort below at the rightmost of the frame.
Gari's hero shot at the rock cairn on Mary's Saddle, and the Tetons in all their glory right behind.
A lush valley to the east.
Gari points out Grand Teton Mountain.
Selfie shot at Mary's Saddle.
The hills are alive...
The rock cairn marks the spot.
The trail continues on around Mary's Nipple, but this is where we turn around.
The trail back started off with quite a slant.
The orchid flowers turned out to be Colorado Columbine.
Looking back toward Mary's Saddle where we had been.
Gari inspects the top of the lift before we re-board for the ride back to the bottom.
We took a rest back down at the Resort and had a little snack while we prepared for the next phase of the day's adventure...
...which was a stop at the local Grand Teton Vodka Distillery! We had a great personal tour of the operation by the Master Distiller John, and enjoyed a few samples of the products before completing the visit :)
We clicked a shot of the nice view out back of the distillery before continuing on our way.
We passed The Spud Drive-In Theater on our way back home
There were two big ol' spuds driving Big Murphy out front.. that passenger looks kind-of angry...
Well what do you think? Is the view from the east (Jackson, WY) or from the west (Alta, WY) better?
