Hiking Teton Crest Trail

[JM8888]

Anyone hiked this trail in mid July? My sons and I are hiking the trail this July. Any recommendations for what to do or not do? Our plans are to begin at the tram drop off from Teton Village, hike to Death Canyon the first day, onto through the south cascade the 2nd day and to Paintbrush pass for the 3rd and final night. Any challenges? I am a fairly new hiker, so any suggestions are appreciated. JM

[toejam]

I think you'd be missing some of the best campsites. When I did it we camped at Marion Lake the first night. Alaska Basin the second. Death Canyon Shelf didn't strike me as a great place to camp, and Alaska Basin was one of the coolest places I've ever been. Third night we had a beautiful site on the North Fork Cascade Creek, and Holly Lake the 4th night. If I had to do it in 3 nights, I'd hike on past Holly Lake and out on day 4 - my last day was really short. I highly recommend the places I camped the first 3 nights. Paintbrush Divide had a lot of snow when I went in July.

[JM8888]

Thanks for the information. Not sure if we can change much at this point as we do have permits at the sites mentioned, but will certainly look into when we arrive. On another topic, any challenges on the hike itself? This is my first "long" hike so I was curious as to any type of information regarding the trail, etc.

[toejam]

You may be able to change campsites when you pick up your permits - they reserve a bunch for walk-ups and Alaska Basin isn't even in the NP, so I don't think you need a permit (somebody is sure to jump in if I'm wrong). But your itinerary would be awesome anyway. I'd been backpacking in Colorado for 12 years when I went and couldn't believe how beautiful it was.

The trail is pretty much a no-brainer - really plain, signed, and gets a lot of traffic. Enough altitude to get you out of breath, but I wouldn't expect any problems. I think the biggest mistakes noobs make are 1) carrying a bunch of stuff they'll never use, 2) enslaving themselves to their itineraries, 3) enslaving themselves to some random "rules" they read on the internet, and 4) underestimating, or putting limits on, their physical ability. Have fun and don't hurt yourself. It should be great.

[Dogwood]

Although not exactly what you re hiking sandwiched a basically Teton Crest Tr thru-hike into the middle of a SOBO CDT Thru-hike going the direction you mentioned the last wk of July to Aug 2 2010 from the top of the tram back to Grassy Lake Rd/Flagg Ranch on the southern side of Yellowstone NP where I had left my CDT SOBO route where I had elected to take the Bechler River Tr SOBO to Flagg Ranch. Hiked through 4" of falling heavy snow as I entered Alaska Basin. Pretty much agree w/ all that Toejam said although w/ all the campsites mentioned IMHO you can't go wrong w/ the scenery. There are ups and downs to be sure though. Iconic sharp pointed Mt scenery somewhat reminiscent to me of some of Patagonia. GREAAAT hike. I'll do it again at some pt. Get a Nat Geo TI GrandTeton NP or Sky Terrain Map or equivalent. Try throwing a ferry ride and Visitors Center stop in to enhance the journey.

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