Saturday, 7 October 2017

Wyoming, US, #2: Jedediah Smith Wilderness - Grand Tetons

After the eclipse we drove via Jackson to the west side of the Grand Teton national park. This is a stunning area with fantastic views of the Grand Tetons, but without the crowds. We camped at one of the simple but nice forestry campsites at the end of the road and did 2 long day hikes. The first hike was up to Table mountain, which has a fantastic view of the Grand Tetons. Afternoon thunder storms were threatening to spoil our hike; the last part is quite exposed so we stopped and waited to see how the storm developed. Fortunately, the storm stayed in the valley north from us and eventually dissipated so we decided it was safe to continue to the top, which we now had all for ourselves. Amazing views all around, fascinating landscapes and geology! The second hike was a long round trip to the beautiful Alaska basin. We didn't see any bears, moose or bighorn sheep, but we did see quite a few yellow-belllied marmots, pikas and chipmunks. And lots and lots of flowers!

First view of the Grand Tetons

Table Mountain trail - view towards Alaska Basin

Waiting for the thunderstorm to move on

Our destination - Table Mountain

The amazing view of the Grand Tetons from Table Mountain

Tony on the top of Table Mountain

View from Table Mountain toward Alaska Basin

So many flowers (and marmots, pikas and chipmunks)


Alaska Basin

Alaska Basin trail

Alaska Basin trail - lots of flowers here too

Alaska Basin trail

Bison near Jackson

Horned owl

Dinosaur quarry

Dinosaur quarry

Glenwood canyon along the main highway back to Denver

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