9/25/11
Awesome day today. We awoke at 5:00am to drive from the Madison campground in Yellowstone to Grand Teton (GT) which lies just south of Yellowstone. The range at GT is truly breathtaking and our decision to get an early start to make an all day hike appeared to be a good one. We arrived at the Jenny Lake Campground in GT at about 8:30am, set up camp and then got information about hikes at the local ranger station. We decided to do the 9 miler Amphitheater Lake hike and arrived at the trailhead at about 9:30.
The hike was directed towards a pair of lakes, Amphitheater Lake and Surprise Lake, high in the Teton Range. It was a 4.5 mile trail that ascended about 3000 feet. We were prepared for a 6-8 hour, strenuous hike. The hike up was certainly strenuous at parts. We made good time by reaching Amphitheater Lake, the farther of the two, by about 12:00. The view there was nothing short of spectacular, a PRistine mountain lake surrounded by impressive peaks and glaciers. As we sat there to eat lunch, we even spotted a bald eagle soaring above.
After an hour rest at Amphitheater lake, we began the journey down. We briefly stopped at the second lake which also had great scenery. The journey down the mountain was less demanding than the way up and we were able to really take in the beautiful scenery, including a great view of Jackson Hole below. The trail along the mountain alternated between open grassland and pine forest. In addition there were deciduous shrubs throughout that had begun to change colors for the fall, adding spectacular yellow, orange and red colors. There were also numerous lakes at the base of the mountain.
We made it back to the car at about 3:30, making for about 6 total hours of hike time and bout 9 miles roundtrip. At that point, our legs were tired and we headed to a nearby town for beer and pizza. In town we serendipitously met David again.
Awesome day today. We awoke at 5:00am to drive from the Madison campground in Yellowstone to Grand Teton (GT) which lies just south of Yellowstone. The range at GT is truly breathtaking and our decision to get an early start to make an all day hike appeared to be a good one. We arrived at the Jenny Lake Campground in GT at about 8:30am, set up camp and then got information about hikes at the local ranger station. We decided to do the 9 miler Amphitheater Lake hike and arrived at the trailhead at about 9:30.
The hike was directed towards a pair of lakes, Amphitheater Lake and Surprise Lake, high in the Teton Range. It was a 4.5 mile trail that ascended about 3000 feet. We were prepared for a 6-8 hour, strenuous hike. The hike up was certainly strenuous at parts. We made good time by reaching Amphitheater Lake, the farther of the two, by about 12:00. The view there was nothing short of spectacular, a PRistine mountain lake surrounded by impressive peaks and glaciers. As we sat there to eat lunch, we even spotted a bald eagle soaring above.
After an hour rest at Amphitheater lake, we began the journey down. We briefly stopped at the second lake which also had great scenery. The journey down the mountain was less demanding than the way up and we were able to really take in the beautiful scenery, including a great view of Jackson Hole below. The trail along the mountain alternated between open grassland and pine forest. In addition there were deciduous shrubs throughout that had begun to change colors for the fall, adding spectacular yellow, orange and red colors. There were also numerous lakes at the base of the mountain.
We made it back to the car at about 3:30, making for about 6 total hours of hike time and bout 9 miles roundtrip. At that point, our legs were tired and we headed to a nearby town for beer and pizza. In town we serendipitously met David again.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario