The Still of the Night

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Today, I backpack into the scenic heart of Grand Teton National Park, Cascade Canyon.

The canyon starts on the far side of Jenny Lake.

The first part of the trail is incredibly popular.

It’s so popular, the park runs a shuttle across the lake to the trailhead.

Unfortunately, the popularity meant I would be tripping over people on the first part of the hike.

I figured this problem would diminish as I went up the canyon.

Hidden Falls

The boat shuttle is very quick, and the view is beautiful.

Grand Teton and its neighbors tower over the lake, and grow as the boat crosses.

It ends at a wooden dock next to a wooded cliff.

A trail climbs the cliff and follows it to a creek.

Short of being paved, the trail is definitely a tourist trail.

It’s lined with wooden fences throughout to keep people on the official path.

The trail reaches the creek at a closed bridge.

The stream was absolutely roaring.

It was so high that the stream had no visible rocks, just a long series of white froth.

The bridge was unsafe from the high water.

The cascades just below it made a pretty and popular picture.




From here, the trail follows the stream up to another bridge.

This one was higher above the water and safe to cross.

The trail split at this point.

I crossed the bridge into a forest of pine trees.

The forest led to a rock slide.

Crossing the bottom of the slide, I reached the end of the trail and Hidden Falls, the highest waterfall in the park with a reliable flow.

The waterfall is a steep series of cascades.

The water level was so high that every drop ran from one side of the rock face to the other, and three separate drops gave off spray.

Normally, none of them do.

This is a good omen of what is to come.

Inspiration Point

Back at the split, I took the other fork.

The trail needs to climb the same tall cliff that Cascade Falls runs over.

The first part was a bypass for yet another unsafe bridge.

It scrambles up the steep rocky hillside on a series of crude wooden stairs and dirt paths.

At the top, it reaches the official trail, which immediately passes through a series of rocky switchbacks directly up the cliff.

At one point, the trail was sandwiched between a sharp rise on one side and an equally sharp drop on the other.

I’d hate to do this one in the rain.




At the top, the reason so many people make that steep hike becomes clear.

The trail reaches Inspiration Point, an exposed overlook of Jenny Lake.

The view really is inspiring, with the blue lake below, mountains on both sides, and Jackson Hole stretching beyond.

Cascade Creek is clearly visible as a ribbon of white.

The point is the official mouth of Cascade Canyon, a glacial valley whose beauty must be seen to be believed.
It takes actual effort to take bad pictures during this hike.

Cascade Canyon

Leaving the mouth, the trail passes through pine trees with views of mountains behind them.

It soon reaches the creek.

The water level is still high.

At one point, the creek slides over a rock face, with enough force that three separate rocks generate rooster tails.

The trail passes out of the pines into a mountain meadow, where the creek wanders through high grass.

A bull moose was eating the grass on the far side.

Mountains, including Grand Teton, tower behind it.

This was one popular photograph.




The meadow is just the appetizer for what comes afterward.

The trail passes through more pine trees, until it reaches a rock slide.

The rocks had partially blocked the creek, forming a pond.

The pond is, of course, surrounded by mountain outcrops.

A stream of water cascades down the side of the mountain into the pond, forming a long waterfall.

Mere words can’t capture the beauty of this scene.




After the rock slide, the trail enters a pattern of pine trees alternating with open meadows.

The meadows give huge views of the surrounding mountains.

With all the melting snow above, more cascading waterfalls appear on the sides of the valley.

Some of those streams cross the trail, and a few of them partially flooded it.

Wildflowers start to appear, yellow and white.




Gradually, a snow covered mountain appears in the distance.

This mountain is directly in front of the valley instead of on the side.

Closer and closer it comes.

The trail finally enters more pine trees and crosses a big branch of the creek on a long bridge.

The branch is the North Fork.

The trail then reaches an open area under pines, next to a long cascading waterfall.

This open area is the place where the canyon forks.

I had been hiking for five hours by the time I finally reached it, although some people need less than half that.

North Cascade Canyon

My permit is for the North Cascade, so that is the branch I took.

The trail enters yet more pine trees, and eventually crosses a bridge over the stream.

The water level was so high part of it was running over the trail in front of the bridge.

Soon afterwards, things change.

Until this point, the hike had felt like a summer hike, with clear trails and warm conditions.

After the bridge, it abruptly changed to late winter.

Snow banks appear in the trail, and the air is rapidly cooling off.




The trail breaks out of the pines into more open canyon.

This part was open for reasons that hikers usually don’t want, avalanches.

Banks of snow had obviously slid down from the surrounding peaks, taking trees and everything else with them.

The uprooted trees were still visible in the snow.

I crossed these very carefully.

Between the avalanches are clumps of surviving trees and open rocks.

The snow banks progressively get larger and larger and the trail harder to follow as a consequence.

I’m starting to worry that I will never find my campsite.




People backpack in this canyon because all the incredible scenery so far is just the preparation for what comes at the end.

All of a sudden, I got my reward for the long hike.

The trail enters a coulee, a high mountain valley carved by a glacier, right at tree line.

My guidebook describes this one as “possibly the most beautiful place you have ever seen”.

The description is accurate.

The valley was ringed by mountains on all sides, with waterfalls sliding down the steep slopes.

Behind was the saw tooth peak of Grand Teton in all its glory.

The trail abruptly turned, crossed the creek on another bridge, and climbed a hillside completely covered in wildflowers.

I wanted to stay there until the light disappeared.

Campsite With a View

Unfortunately, I still had to find my site for the night.

At the top of the hill, the snow started in earnest.

I was now definitely in a wintry land, with drifts stretching everywhere.

I found the trail mostly by following other people’s boot prints.

Thankfully, the signs indicating usable campsites were above the snow, and I managed to find one.

I would have to pitch my tent on snow tonight, but at least the cooking area was on bare rock.




An old hiker saying is that the most refreshing drink of water in the world is a mountain stream just after a long hike.

Tonight, that was certainly true for me.

I drank from the North Cascade Creek tonight, after filtering it, which was cold and pure.

This is water direct from snowmelt, which none other can replicate (being thirsty and exhausted certainly helps too).




After the sun set, I stood outside my tent in the cold air looking at the stars.

I was alone in the stillness of the night, surrounded by white snow and black rocks.

Something truly peaceful lives in this landscape, where the stress and bustle of daily life just disappears.

I felt like I was in a citadel, a citadel of the mountains.




Just before going to sleep, I noticed three faint lights waving in the darkness.

The lights drew closer.

They had to be fellow hikers, trying to make their way in the dark.

They saw me, and I invited them over.

They were far behind schedule.

I had room on the snow, so I invited them to share my site for the night.

The offer is both altruistic and selfish.

Altruistic in that finding another site in the dark would be nearly impossible; selfish in that sleeping in a group reduces the danger from wildlife.

They gladly accepted.

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Photos

The Most Beautiful Valley in Wyoming
The trail through the wildflower carpeted coulee of North Cascade Canyon

Cascade Canyon from Jenny Lake
Cascade Canyon, the most beautiful area of the Teton Range, and the most popular hike, from the boat across the lake.

Hidden Falls
Hidden Falls on Cascade Creek, in really high water. Note the spray at the top of the falls

Feel Inspired?
The view from Inspiration Point: Jenny Lake with Jackson Hole beyond. Note the boat in the center of the photo, the lake shuttle.

Moose Meadow
Mountain meadow along Cascade Canyon. A bull moose is barely visible in the bushes on the far side of the creek.

Cascade Canyon
The beauty just goes on and on

Landslide Pond
A pond formed by a landslide in Cascade Canyon. The view is up canyon toward the Wigwams, where the canyon divides.

The Most Scenic Campsite in the US
This is a view of Grand Teton and Mount Owen near sunset, from my campsite!

Jenny Lake Trailhead
When the view from the parking lot is this good, imagine the hike to come!

Inspiration Point bypass trail
Bypass trail after the high creek closed a bridge

Cascade Creek Rapids
Rapids along Cascade Creek, in really high water. Note the near absense of visible rocks in the stream

Inspration Point shelf trail
The notorious shelf trail just below Inspiration Point. Just as scary as it looks

Cascade Creek rapids
Multiple drops produce roostertails from the high water level

Cascades in Cascade Canyon
The walls had dozens of waterfalls like this