08/01/07 Hiking Coal Creek Trail (7.2 miles round trip to Taylor Mountain):
The Jedediah Smith Wilderness is on the the back side of the Grand Teton National Park which is in Wyoming. Most of the access points are in Idaho though.
This wasn't a very exciting trip (for me) except for one thing. It kinda pushed me into a tougher kind of trip. Most of the day hikes on this side of the Tetons seem to be in the 3000 foot range. I've only done 1 3000 foot hike before and that was in about 5-6 miles. I'd also done 1 2000 foot hike in 2 miles. This one was almost 3000 feet in 3.2 miles with 1000 foot gain in 1 mile near the end. I figured if I could do this one I should be able to do others in the area.
This is mostly a walk in the woods with a steady uphill grind with a gain of almost 2000 feet in 2.4 miles. Here I jumped to the Taylor Mountain Trail and climbed 1000 feet in 1 mile. That was tough. I'd walk 10-15 steps, more or less, then rest 5-10 seconds, then repeat the process. It took me 4 hours to do the 3.2 miles.
The views were pretty good, almost 360 degrees.
Hey, no bugs today. Not one single mosquito!
08/02/07 Hiking Baldy Knoll (11 miles round trip):
This trail starts up a steep, jeep trail and gains 700 feet in about 1 mile... sucked a lot of the energy of my legs right at the start. A local guy passed me on the way up. He uses this road for his daily exercise.
The trail levels out at a gate/cattle guard after a mile and then passes around a pond. The road seems to give out and what is left is an apparent narrow drainage runoff. We had some rain last night and the sides were slick with mud. I was soon slipping and sliding and started thinking about what it would be like on the way back down. Didn't seem like a lot of fun. Clouds were threatening somewhat so I turned back. The trip back down the jeep road was quite slow as I tried to keep from slipping on the steep trail.
Nice views of Victor and the valley if you like that kind of stuff. A sign said a population of 840. Lots of apparent new houses and some new ones going up so that number might be out of date.
08/03/07 Hiking Alaska Basin Trail (15.4 miles round trip to Alaska Basin Lakes):
I wasn't really going to the Alaska Basin Lakes on a day hike. In fact I wasn't even supposed to be on that trail. I was supposed to be doing the Devil's Staircase and Teton Canyon.
Had some more rain last night. I camped at the Teton Canyon Campground because I wanted to be sure of a space in the parking lot, if that makes sense. The lots are right beside the campground and they were full when I got there. So I figured I'd stay at the campground and walk to the trailheads.
There are two trailheads, North and South Teton Trails. North just says it goes to Table Top Mountain, South to Devil's Staircase, Alaska Basin, Mount Meek Pass, Hurricane Pass and Buck Mountain Pass.
Nasty storm clouds still swirling around at 8am but I took off anyway after making sure I had my rain gear. The trail is mostly flat or just a slight incline the first 2.7 miles to the trail junction. The first part is through forest with a number of views of big cliffs on both side of the valley. Lots of purple flowers growing waist high and chest high.
The junction to the Devil's Staircase is 2.7 miles. Somehow I got on a little path and was ready to turn back when it joined a well beaten trail. Thinking I was now on the Devil's Staircase Trail I continued. The Devil's Staircase climbs 1000 feet in 1.1 and horses are supposed to not be able to climb it. My first indication I was on the wrong trail was the switchbacks I encountered were barely moderate and there were piles of horse crap on the trail. Oh, well! I was going to do the Basin Trail anyway so continued.
The Alaska Basin Trail continued through this narrow valley with lots of views of walls on both sides. A couple of switchbacks took me up 2000+ feet. It was an enjoyable hike that I ended at a horse camp with some nice views overlooking a valley with cliffs on the other side.
The trail follows the South Fork the first few miles and then veers away only to return near it twice in the next few miles. Once at about 4.5 miles. Possible camping on the other side amongst the bedrock if you want to hop the creek. Again at about 5.3 miles. There's a lot of bedrock on the other side of the bridge for some possible camping.
08/04/07 Hiking Devil's Staircase (7.4 miles round trip):
This is where I was heading yesterday when I took a wrong turn. Traipsed through the same 2.7 miles to the junction again. The sun was out when I was getting ready but the clouds moved in as I hit the trail making photographing difficult. Devil's Staircase is nothing more than some switchbacks that are supposed to rise 1000 feet in 1.1 miles. GPS said 7700 feet at the bottom yesterday and 8568 at the top today. I forgot to check the bottom out again today.
A sign says Not Recommended For Stock. Of course there's horse droppings on the trail. Most of the trail is not bad for them but some of it is, both steep and rocky. Who ever does take their animals on trails like these should have something unpleasant done to them.
There's some nice views on the way up and nicer ones once on top of the bench. Lots of purple flowers acting as a foreground for cliffs rising still farther yet.
Got a touch of rain on the way down. 1 hour 15 minutes up and 50 minutes back down. Lots of slippery place on the steep spots and I had to be careful.
Got some sun once down in the valley again and was able to get some good pictures of the flowers & walls.
Only 2 little trickles of water on the way up although there's supposed to be a stream 1/4 mile down the trail once on top. I went 1/2 mile or so without seeing it. Some flat areas for camping on the way up and lots of flats on the bench at top.
08/06/07 Hiking Table Top Trail (12 miles round trip):
This was a long one and I didn't make it to the summit. 6 miles one way with 4100 feet gain in elevation and one of those miles is almost flat. The trail starts off gaining 800 feet in the first 1.2 miles, some of that in the first half mile or so as the trail rises sharply and then levels off some. Beard's Wheatfield Trail junction bears off to the left at that point as you approach two pinnacles looking down on you from the top of the ridge.
I actually thought the trail would go up over the ridge but it just follows it to the end of the valley created by the North Fork of Teton Creek. There were 4 crossings of the North Fork in the next 2 miles, all of them rock hops with a couple of log bridges for those who want them. I was surprised to find the trail had risen another 1000 feet by the 3 mile mark and the 4th crossing.
You can look up from there and see a flat topped mountain but that isn't Table Top Mountain. Table Top is actually at the end of the valley, kinda in the left hand corner with a knob sticking up on one side. The trail will lead up switchbacks to the right of a cirque and then there's another 2 miles along the ridge.
The next mile is all up hill approaching the cirque and then up over it. 1300-1400 foot gain too. Not knowing where the trail went I had a panic attack when it looked like the trail would follow a runoff straight to the top. I then came to a switchback and saw it apparently running into another runoff heading straight to the top. I'd have turned back from either on of them.
Fortunately the switchbacks were fairly moderate all the way to the top of the cirque. They took all the strength out of my legs though because there is no let up. I still had 2 miles and 1000 feet to go at the top of the cirque and I was already 4 hours into the hike and I gave up right there.
But it was worth it. Halfway up the switchbacks you can see the Grand Teton begin to stick it's head up over Table Top Mountain. It gets larger as you go higher and then another Teton appears beside it. Near the top of the cirque the 3rd Teton appears. Climbing a small ridge at the top reveals many more peaks and ridges behind it.
I had lunch at the top of the cirque looking out over the Tetons. What an awesome view it must be from Table Top Mountain. It will always be too long a hike for me though. I think hiking times range from 8-10 hours round trip, maybe more. What I might do is backpack in to the 4th crossing, camp there and hike up the next day. That would give me an additional 3 miles, 2 hours and about 1800 feet to apply on the actual day of the hike and I'd pack back out on the 3rd day. This hike might be worth it.
08/07/07 Hiking Beard's Wheatfield Trail (10.4 miles round trip):
Weird name for a trail. If comes from the fluffy white tops of wild carrot plants that grow towards the top. Apparently a field of them reminded someone (Beard?) of a wheat field, hence the name of the trail. It's a good one though.
It rises 2500 feet to the top of the ridge and then drops down 2000 feet. I had no intention of dropping down and stopped at the crest.
The first 1.2 miles are the same as the Table Top Mountain Trail and rises 800 feet. Then comes 1000 feet in the next mile up switchbacks. This would be pretty boring except for what's going on across the valley. There is a huge wall that alternates between rock benches across the front and rows of trees. As you rise up the switchbacks you can see peaks begin to appear to the left of the wall. After a while the start to look familiar and after a while, if you're as slow as I am, you realize they're the same peaks you saw from the little hill above the cirque yesterday. As you go higher still you again realize that that must be the Alaska Basin Trail down there. Very pretty, if all hazed up from the early morning sun.
It took me an hour to reach some trees and then pop back out in the open. Before that, the Grand Teton began appearing over some ridges to the left of Alaska Basin. It kept getting bigger and bigger and soon the other Tetons appeared, even larger than from the cirque near Table Top Mountain. The sun really hazed everything at that distance up though and all I could really see was their outlines at that point.
The trail wound around a large hill and followed a runoff up the remaining 700 feet. It was here I found a profusion of wild flowers and wild carrots. The made for very pretty views and a good foreground for a number of pictures with Table Top Mountain Valley and the Tetons in the background.
I finally reached the crest at the 3 mile mark and found more views on the other side. A large wall of rock with a lot of crumbled rock spreading out from the base. Then a large, flat area of bedrock for maybe 1/4 mile or more with just a little vegetation growing on it. It looked like it was the top of another cliff or wall of rock below. Then more peaks. I could see the trail dropping a couple hundred feet and wasn't about to go near it. My legs had had enough.
Back across the valley, the views were superb. Alaska Basin off to the right and Table Top Valley and the Tetons off to the left. I climbed another hill for an even better view, had lunch and then started back. The whole time I saw one couple and then a ranger backpacking in to do some work. Not another soul on this trail.