The Grand Tetons - From Jenny Lake through Cascade Canyon

The Grand Tetons - From Jenny Lake to Cascade Canyon

Another magnificent day in paradise ... we rode the boat shuttle from the East Boat Dock of Jenny Lake (6,783 elevation) to the West Boat Dock (near Inspiration Rock) to hike the Cascade Canyon Trail to the Forks (area with the trail intersects with the South Fork Trail and the Lake Solitude Trail).  This trail allowed us to penetrate more deeply into the Teton Mountain Range under the shadow of Teewinot Mountain (elevation 12,325 - Shosone for "Many Peaks") and along the raging Cascade Creek. This was our longest hike, steep in the initial ascent into Cascade Canyon, yet gradually rose to the forks of Cascade Canyon as we hiked along Cascade Creek.  

Each step brought another "Kodak moment" as glacial melt waterfalls tumbled off of Teewinot Mountain racing down to Cascade Creek.  Valhalla Canyon was indeed to home to the Nordic Gods.  On the opposite side of the canyon were the jagged and rocky slopes of Mount St. John (elevation 11,430) with enormous rock outcroppings (The Jaw, The Rock of Ages, Storm Point and Symmetry Spire) and the slopes were littered with huge, house-sized boulders likely brought down during one of the periods of volcanic activity as the area runs along the Teton fault line.

Spring wildflowers littered the way ... a yellow-bellied marmot tried to join us for lunch (must have smelled the jerky and Marcona almonds) ... and a moose remained still enough while chomping down on "moose munchies" near the water's edge for us to capture a picture of her (him?).

We were quite grateful to ride the boat shuttle back to the East Boat Dock of Jenny Lake as this has been our longest hike on this trip and the cool wind across the lake brought a couple of tired hikers back to life.

Pictures do not do this hike justice ... just use the pictures to create your own image of Valhalla and you'll have some idea of the beauty of this hike.   And, the data that Paul collects from the GPS may not have been entirely accurate as we were experiencing battery problems (and definitely not traveling 46.3 mph maximum speed).