I booked it out of Arches a day early and at 0915 in order to get to the campground before the big weekend since I was under the impression that the campground I wanted, Signal Mountain, was first come first served. Well It is now a reservation campground and is sold out but I only found that out at 2115, a full day of driving to Tetons. Luck was on my side and I was able to get a site for the next 6 days here at Colter Bay Campground and that campground gets a gold star for having a site for 6 days for me. I also have to say that it is in the low 40’s and raining outside right now so I am thankful for Dundee and the Webasto heater that is contained in Dundee. The drive in had some very cool views as you can see from the photos the mountains still are snow covered and maybe have more snow on them tomorrow. Also the fog/rain came in and it created some cool looks which I hoped I was able to capitalize on with my camera while driving. I am also amazed that it is May 26th and the sun was up until 2100 or so and I am sure it will be up early in the am as well. Days are getting longer but still cold and there is snow on the ground here. Pants maybe in order for me. Day 2 of the Tetons it was in the low 30’s last night and when I hit the road it was only in the high 40’s today. The high was in the 60’s so it was not too bad. I have to say that there are some photography nuts here at the park and they want to see wildlife. When I exited the campground there was a line of cars, NPS police and wildlife management and people walking to an area where some sort of wildlife was seen. I kept on going as it was a total cluster. Funny thing when coming back to campground at night there were people parked at that area with their tripods and huge lenses sitting in chairs waiting for the time when the wildlife will come out of the woods to eat. I drove past this group and came to a pullout/trail head and there was 2 moose (one on each side of the road) enjoying a breakfast mean.
SIgnal Mountain – the road to the top of Signal Mountain reminded me of a back road in Harford County where I grew up. It was windy and not quite 2 lane but two cars would have to pass on the road so go slow was the objective. I recall when driving on a back road as a kid in our 1 ton Chevy pickup, I hit some bush with the mirrors and my dad was seated in the passenger seat and you would have thought I hit a tree by his reaction. Well Dad I did not hit anything today so you would be proud of me. Interesting tidbit about is that at the top of the mountain the view was good despite the clouds but there is a cell tower so reception and speed was great. Let’s hope I can find other places to update the blog along the way or will have to drive back up there to do my updates. I went up to signal mountian again in order to use the reception and have to say that I was able to make some calls but not update the blog.
Colter Bay Campground – I booked in the non RV area so no hookups for the campers and no generators, no problem as I can’t use either one anyway. The site is somewhat small but has a nice tent pad and the drive is a pull through. Notes all around the campground (on table, on way in, and bathroom) say you are in bear country and to store things with smells in your car or your bear vault at your site. I will be keeping Dundee closed to keep the warmth in for sure and that way no vault is needed. Just remember to lock the doors as you never know if a bear can open a Sprinter door.
Jenny Lake Trail – It was a pain in the butt to find parking at Jenny Lake Visitor Center/Trail head at 1100 in the AM. If you are going either go early in the AM or later in the afternoon as I spent some time to find a spot. After securing a parking spot, I went to the trailhead for me was by the boat dock. I hit the road in a counterclockwise route and the first part of the trail is paved but then it becomes a trail you would expect to see in the mountains. The dirt, some rocks and some mud were on the agenda for trail conditions, even some snow was on the side of the trail but it was not pretty white but ugly dirty snow. I ran into a hiker who had an NC State hat so I started a conversation with him and we hiked together, see people along the way. The trail was not hard at all going this way with 900 feet of elevation gain/loss. There are plenty of photo chances while hiking this trail as lake is crystal clear, mountains in the background and even some rushing water. The trail comes to String Lake and you cross with a bridge over a stream with rushing water feeding Jenny Lake. Once on the “other side” of the lake you now look back on the visitor center and head towards the West Short Shuttle Boat Dock and Inspiration point. The hike here is not hard and anyone could do this walk but there is some distance to the hike from my starting point to the boat dock was about 2.6 miles. Once you get to the boat dock you run into people, who want to hike but took the boat and are going to Inspiration Point. Once you are back on the Jenny Trail from Inspiration Point you get more elevation changes but the surface does not change. Those boat people or 1/2 way hikers are on this part of the trail since it is the fast way to Inspiration Point. Overall the trail is good and a nice needed change from Arches Primitive Trail. The trail was easy to follow and had markers when there was an intersection.
Inspiration Point Trail – pick up the trail head at the West Shuttle Boat dock and then it heads up for 1 mile. The trail also have off shoots for Hidden Falls or you can connect to Horseshoe Trail which will take you back to Jenny Lake Trail. I thought that I might see Fonzie, or Richie up at Inspiration Point with a girl but it is not that kind of Inspiration. When you are going up you cross a bridge at the Hidden Falls Trail intersection and up you go to the first landing spot. This is a wide open spot that gives you a nice view of the lake. Continue up the trail and you can then come to the second landing and even have a bit better view of the lake. Lastly, you get to Inspiration Point and this gives you the best view of the lake on this trail. The trail is mainly dirt and rocks I a stair and switchback method to the top. The last third has some tight spots but is doable for most people.
Hermitage Point Trail – The start of this loop is by Colter Bay Maria and is a total of 9.7 miles and is mainly flat. Great thing about this trail it is a loop and along the way you get to see some great sights. My journey started and I went by Heron Pond first and this is a postcard view while hiking the trail. You can see the glaciers on the mountains and the pond. Ducks and geese hang out on the pond but I did not see any other wildlife on the pond while hiking in the AM. The trail is dirt and glacier rocks (look like river rocks) for the most part of the trail to Hermitage Point. Some part so the trail are muddy and even standing water you will have to navigate but nothing that a good pair of boots will make easy work of while hiking. Once you get to Hermitage Point you can continue a bit further back the other way and find the Hermitage Point campground a backcountry campground. It consists of a few bear boxes and a fire pit. The way home, I went counterclockwise was a dry trail that was dirt and the glacier rocks. The start is a bit uphill but entire trail is a fairly easy climb. The trail is also well marked with the various points of interest that you will see along the trail. These points of interest are Heron Pond, Swan Lake and then Hermitage Point. During the hike back I was able to walk along the lake shore and see the geese swimming and also enjoyed the view. Overall if you can handle the distance it is a very nice hike and is doable for anyone.
Swan lake –
Heron Pond –
Emma Matilda Lake Trail – to start off I could not find the trail head at the Jackson Lake Lodge and had to ask for directions. The trail head is behind the coral and you will have to go under the bridge. Once at the trail head you have the choice of right or left. I chose to go right on the trail and head towards Oxbow Bend Turnout. The turnout is on the road but that is the direction I went and I could see people on the road while hiking for a few miles. The trail is a bit more than a game trail but it is not wide and was hard to follow in some points near Oxbow as I got lost 2 times at the same area. The trail comes to a Y and both of the ways go to the Emma Matilda Lake so I took one of the two and about a 1/2 mile in the trail could not be found, so back to the Y I went. I took the other one and again about a 1/2 mile in the trail cold not be found so back to the Y I went and had to backtrack to the last intersection. This little bit of getting lost cost me about 3 miles. Once on the correct trail it lead me to Lookout Rock. The trail will split off to Lookout but it is only a few yards up the trail the Lookout and it is worth the trip. At this point you could turn back around and go back the way you came or as I did decided to go around the lake. The trail is 10.7 miles and has 1100 feet elevation gain/loss. The elevation gain/loss happens many times over the course of the hike to be ready for some moderate climbing but nothing too hard. The trail from lookout point is called South Emma Matilda Lake Trail and it is 3.3 miles to the North Emma Matilda Lake trail. The South trail is in the woods and there was plenty of signs of various animals like Moose, Elk, Deer and Bear along the trail. The prints and poop were all old and I was not able to see any of these animals on the South Trail. The trail is maintained and is dirt but is a nice walk in the woods. At the intersection with the North Trail, I saw a couple looking at something and it was a bald eagle! The eagle was sitting on a branch up in a dead tree for about 15 minutes that I could tell and then flow off into the mountain further up. That was a cool sighting! Off to the North Trail I went and the first part is 1.7 miles and this is through various meadows and is along the lake. The trail is not wide but maintained and easy to follow. You will be walking on a fairly flat trail then up you go! The trail then interests with an off shoot for Two Ocean Lake and that would have added about 7 miles to my trek so that is for another day. The Two Ocean intersection it said that the lodge was 4 miles and boy was I tired at that point but I had to keep going. Up and down the trail went for the next 4 or so miles. Some of this was through the woods other times big meadows but all I saw alive along the path was a grouse type bird. While on the South trail I saw a couple carrying two kids, heard another two people when I was at the lookout but that was it! The North trail is when I saw all the people, two at the intersection and one other walking. That is the extent of people for me today during a 5.5 hour hike but then the last 30 minutes of the hike I saw 10 people on the North Trail. It sure was nice walking in the forest and not hearing people just natures sounds. The trails (North and South) have areas where there are tons of trees down in a jumbled mess but the trail was clean of trees across the trail. A few times along the trail you have to walk on log bridges to stay out of the water on the North side. The trail is nice and I had fun doing it but not sure it is worth another go around for 10.7 miles. Maybe part of the way net time with an offshoot to Two Ocean Lake. Observation: why do people walk with long pants and no shirt when it is 65 – 70 degrees out? Is it to show off a body that nobody will see or is it that you are just too hot from walking?
Animals along the way
Grand View Point – I started again at the Jackson Lake Lodge and headed out to Two Ocean Lake ad Grand View Point. The trail to Two Oceans was nice and similar to that of the Emma Matilda Lake trail from yesterday for some parts but once you get to the closed parking area you then walk on a fire/service road before once again heading to a trail. At one point of the trail there was a junction that said Two Ocean 0.4 miles and Grand View Point 0.9 miles. Well I went to the Two Ocean and when I got to the junction of the North and South trails of Two Ocean, I decided that it would be best for me to not continue around the lake as it was 6.4 miles and yesterday was a long day. Cutting the trip short I then headed back to the Grand View Point trail. The 0.9 miles to Grand View was all up as the point is 7,586 feet and I would say that the trail was at a minimum 1,000 feet in elevation gain. Well the view from the top was worth the hike up. I then went down the other way and it did not seem as steep. No getting lost today and the overall trip was 8.7 miles. Some of the trails used yesterday were used today I have to say that if yesterday was not such a long hike I would have gone around the lake but next time.
