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September 2-3, 2001 |
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| We entered the Grand Teton National Park from Yellowstone and our first stop was at Flagg Ranch for breakfast (which was delicious, moderately priced, and excessive portions - highly recommended). After we ate we drove south and noticed how the low water level caused most of the northern part of Jackson Lake to dry up. The lake was dry from the northern point down to where the dam is at the Snake River (near Jackson Lake Lodge). We stopped at the Colter Bay campground to set up our tent and to relax for a few minutes. |
| After camp was set up we drove to the Willow Flats for some excellent views of Mt. Moran and several other peaks. Then we drove to Oxbow Bend which offers an excellent reflection of Mt. Moran in the Snake River. This area is very scenic (it also has lots of wildlife - otter and moose can be seen here). Then we continued on our drive south to the Snake River overlook and finally to the town of Moose. We then drove up to Jenny Lake where we waited in line for the boat that takes you across the lake. A boat leaves every 20-25 minutes, but there was quite a line because it was Labor Day. We finally made it across the lake and we started our hike to Hidden Falls. These falls are a short hike from the boat dock (about .5 miles). Hidden Falls is more of a 200 foot cascade, and it is well worth the trip. After Hidden Falls we hiked up to Inspiration Point which offers panoramic views of Jenny Lake and the surrounding area. After we took a short break we hiked up the Cascade Canyon trail to get into the heart of the mountains more. We only hiked about a mile but the scenery was awesome. Then we turned back and hiked down the trail back to the boat dock and waited for the boat to pick us up. Once we rode across Jenny Lake on the ferry, we drove back to our campsite. |
| Once we arrived at our campsite we made macaroni and cheese with tuna and it was delicious. After we rested a while we drove to the Willow Flats to see if there were any wildlife. We did see a bull moose but he was lying down in the weeds and you could hardly see him. As a result, we left and drove to Oxbow Bend to watch the sun set over the Tetons. The clouds became colorful as the sun proceed to set, which gave us wonderful opportunities for photos of the sunset and the reflection in the Snake River. Once the sun had almost set we drove back to the Willow Flats to find that Bull Moose was up and walking around. We got some good video of him using my nightvision video camera, and then we left. We got back to our campsite and made a small fire and relaxed before we went to bed. |
| We woke up the next morning and packed up our gear and headed south. We drove through the Jenny Lake loop drive. We did not see any wildlife, but it was nice and quiet because there was no one else awake yet. We stopped at String Lake for some excellent photos. The water was extremely still which gave it some excellent photo opportunities. It was extremely quiet and we almost wondered if an animal would come out of the woods to get a drink of water. The only wildlife we saw were some loons and a few crows. Afterwards, we drove down to Jackson Hole, then to Hoback Junction, then off to Pinedale where we would camp in the Wind River Range. |
