![]() We would be hiking from Alaska Basin to Upper Paintbrush Canyon. The news that followed was the hardest to hear because it cut our trip a day shorter than we had planned, and it also committed us to a 15-16 mile hike over two of the hike’s toughest passes on our third day of hiking. The nearest available zone for our second night was in Alaska Basin, which was a 10 mile hike over two passes. We learned that the nearest camping zone with availability was at the southern portion of Granite Canyon, which was slightly out of our way, and it was already late in the afternoon. When it was our turn to speak with the backcountry staff about our itinerary, most of the camping zones were at or near capacity. We had chosen an easier pace because while Brantly was fit, this was his very first backpacking trip. Our original goal was to spend four nights and five days taking an easy hike from Teton Village back to Jenny Lake on the Teton Crest Trail by way of Granite and Paintbrush Canyons, for a total distance of just over 40 miles. ![]() A smoky view of the iconic Teton Range from the road, prior to our hike We were hearing rangers re-directing numerous people to alternative camping areas, as all of the prime backcountry camping zones had met their capacity early in the morning. We were forced to try our luck with whatever was left over of the first-come, first-served backcountry camping zones.īrantly and I waited in line for a half hour behind a crowd of backpackers and peak-baggers who were in the office buying their permits and renting gear. I had several friends who were on the fence about joining me on this trip well into June, so I couldn’t book the reservations by the park’s May 15th deadline. We had taken turns driving from a full tank to a quarter tank while the other attempted to sleep, but neither of us were successful in getting any quality sleep.īackpacking at Grand Teton National Park requires a backcountry permit, as well as reservations for camping in designated dispersed camping zones. ![]() We were tired from our 25 hour, overnight drive from the Chicago suburbs. We arrived many hours later than we had planned after unplanned stops, 80 miles of dense fog, and a wrong turn slowed our road trip. My new hiking buddy, Brantly, and I arrived at the Jenny Lake backcountry office in the mid-afternoon on a hot day in late July. Enjoy the story and the photographs (click on any photo to see enlarged versions), and get your trail map here. The following trip that I took to Grand Teton National Park in 2016 is one of a few “exotic” destinations that I may write about on occasion, between posts about local hikes, food, and gear.Īlthough short, coming in at only three nights, this was one of my favorite hikes ever, and I plan to do it again at some point. The big out-west mountain trips are the ones that we’re all really preparing for while we’re scouring maps of the plains for some decent topography to hike near our hometowns.
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