For a short background on this series, see my first post.
August 2015 – Paintbrush & Cascade Canyons – Teton Range, WY
My first takeaway from this trip was that I wasn’t a big fan of backpacking in Grand Teton National Park. Why? In the park, we were only allowed to camp in designated spots, and we had to have a permit for the specific spot we were staying at for that specific night. Had we been able to reserve these a little bit ahead of time, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. But we weren’t, so we had to go to the visitor’s center the day we wanted to start our trip and see which camp spots were open on which nights, and then try and figure out a trip that worked with the camp spots available.
I will point out that if you can commit to the trip early in the year, you can reserve backcountry camp spots in advance (this year the reservation system was open Jan. 8 through May 15). So if you are able to set your trip in stone that early, then this can work for you. Also, there are probably a couple hikes I could do where I could camp just outside the park and then do day hikes into the park.
Thankfully we were able to figure out a way to do the loop we wanted. However, I hesitate to go back to the Tetons for backpacking since I really don’t want to take a two day road trip (one way) only to find out the route I want to do isn’t available. It’s also a bummer since it doesn’t allow any flexibility. If you get part way into your trip and decide you want to change plans, you’re out of luck. I’ll probably be back at some point, but if I’m not able to get reservations made ahead of time, I’ll likely choose somewhere else to go. Just keep this in mind if you are planning a hike in a national park.
Second: if the trail disappears, take some time to evaluate and see if you can find it. We came to a spot on the trail where it seemed to disappear, except for a faint path going up a steep hill with loose rock. I really wasn’t a fan of following that path, but I didn’t see another route, so my brother and I took it. It put my brother and I in a dangerous position, and a couple hikers behind us started to follow us as well. It turned out the actual trail did go a different way that was much safer. Thankfully someone further down the trail who knew the correct route started running towards us and yelling, and the two hikers behind us ended up taking the actual trail. But had I just taken a minute longer to try and find the actual trail, I likely would have found it.
Third takeaway was that I really missed having my DSLR. I only took my cell phone on the Cloud Peak trip and on this trip. My cell phone got some decent pictures, but I could have got much better pictures with my DSLR. So, although a pain, for each trip from this point forward I have lugged around my DSLR.
Brent Umphlett Photography Blog 