Teton Crest Day 2

The second day of our trip proved to be one of the most challenging.  The weather was extremely fickle. We were so hot the first day so we were grateful for the clouds on the second day. They seemed to keep us a little cooler. We took our time packing up camp. I mentioned bathing in Marion Lake in the last post and I wanted to say it was the most glorious way to start the day!

I took a risk of being seen in the buff but I have always wanted to go for a dip in a lake but they're always too cold. I couldn't believe how warm the lake was. I had my bath then got dressed and then we packed up the rest of camp.

We started the slow climb out of the valley and headed toward the Death Canyon Shelf. The Shelf is a great place to really pick up speed. It's a relatively flat section of the trail full of wildflowers and incredible rock formations. The shelf is also the place where you get the first glimpse of the Tetons.

Dan absolutely loved this part of the trail. When he first saw the Tetons in the background he realized why this trail is so magical. We stopped for a short snack on a big rock and took in all our surroundings. We thought we were making great time...until we came to our first sign.

There was still some up and down on the trail and when we got to our first sign we realized we had barely gone a few miles. We still had 5.7 miles left to go and we were headed into the hottest part of the day.

I don't do well in the heat and I started getting worried about getting to camp before dark so I was one nervous wreck! Death canyon shelf doesn't have a tree cover or streams so I guess it lives up to its name.

The clouds let up for a few hours and we just kept hiking trying to beat the storm that we could see building behind our sunshine. We pushed harder once we saw the storm building. Living in the Tetons for many summers, I came to expect an afternoon storm between 3:00 and 4:00 everyday. Sure enough, the storm came fast and suddenly we were pulling out our rain jackets.

We were kind of running from tree patch to tree patch. We were at one small tree patch when I told Dan we should try to get to the next one because this storm was looking fierce and I didn't feel safe where we were. We made a mad dash for it and as soon as we got to the next patch of tall trees the storm let loose. The BEST part was discovering 2 other hikers in the trees!

We all hunkered down and tried to stay warm and dry while the thunder and lightening impressed us for the next 1.5 hours. What a sight and sound that storm was. The skies turned black, the clouds were swimming in the air, and the thunder was really loud. We chatted with the two hikers who were a father and son duo from Boston. They told us they do at least one big backpacking trip a year. They had backpacked all over the country and told us great stories about their adventures.

The storm cleared a tiny bit and we decided to take our chances and get to Alaska Basin since it was not much of an elevation gain and only 2 miles away. I had a feeling the storm wasn't over and boy was I right!

After about 20 minutes the storm came back for round 2 and we were completely exposed. The only thing we could do was continue hiking and get down off the exposed rocks. We hiked as fast as we could and tried to stay brave through the lightening and thunder even though inside we were total wimps!

The lightening seemed to strike right by us several times because we would see a bright flash and then the thunder hit almost immediately after the flash. We hiked down off the rock face until we reached some trees on the outer edge of Alaska Basin.

Our biggest mistake was not taking rain gear to cover our packs. I knew our bags weren't withstanding the water and when it was time to set up camp we would probably have wet sleeping bags. We huddled in a patch of trees for about 45 minutes and then decided the rain wasn't stopping and we needed to find a place to set up the tent.

We made it to the heart of Alaska Basin and found our solo hiker friend that passed us during the storm. He was one of those minimalist hikers who didn't even have a tent...only a bivy sack and a rain shield held up by his hiking poles and some twine around a tree. He hollered at us through the storm and said we could share the camp area with him.

We did our best to set up our tent in the pouring rain and took off all our clothes and changed into our long underwear and just sat in the tent while the storm finished its business. We took all our wet stuff out and hung it on trees and tried to keep our tent clean and dry.

The sun was starting to set and I made dinner while Dan got everything organized and we were finally ready to sleep. Dan woke up extra early each morning to start breakfast and clean up camp which really helped me out. Backpacking is a totally different experience now that I am a lot heavier and annoying health issues.

Day 3 will be up soon, so stay tuned!

SIGNS!!! We officially entered the national forest and left Grand Teton National Park at this moment

Nature's own cobble stone road

First glimpse of the Tetons!

Cute Dan

A poor attempt to capture the wildflower magic

Wildflowers were everywhere!

The lovely fossil rock

Fox Creek Pass's own Stone Henge

Those are the friends we met along the trail on the first day who let us camp with them

Fossil Rock

Does it get any better than that view?

This was the only moisture for miles

Leaving Fox Creek Pass

Saddest realization that we still had 5.7 miles to Alaska Basin

Why are you smiling??? Don't you understand what this means?

Looking down into Death Canyon

Water....Water....

We stopped for lunch in this boulder field

Enjoying 45 minutes of blue skies along the Death Canyon Shelf

Dan loved this area with tall pine trees and huge boulders

Death Canyon winds around and ends with lovely Phelps Lake.

Death Canyon...sensing the storm coming

And now we fast forward 5 hours to the point where we are trying to get warm in the tent. We didn't dare take our camera out in that storm! Too bad we missed a lot of exciting moments.