Backpacking: Trapper Lake

It's my first summer in Jackson Hole, so I felt that it was only natural to venture into Grand Teton National Park for my first backpacking trip of the season. Since there still seems to be a lot of snow at higher elevations, David and I decided to head out to Trapper Lake. This little lake sits right underneath the towering summit of Mount Moran at the north end of the Tetons. The trail passes big beautiful Leigh Lake, complete with white sand beaches. Gorgeous is all I can say about Leigh Lake.

Leigh Lake Trailhead.

Bear Aware!

On the beaches of Leigh Lake.

As we wound along the lakes edge, we began spotting morel mushrooms. I guess that it's quite popular to go morel hunting in Jackson. I felt like I was the only person that didn't know about these little gems. I was at a friend's house last week and she had cooked some up with polenta and goat cheese and they were delicious! Unfortunately, we didn't end up taking any home due to lack of sufficient transportation for the delicate little fungi. :/

Nom, nom, nom! Morel mushrooms!

Leigh Lake, Mount Woodring behind.

Reflections of Rockchuck Peak & Mount Woodring on Leigh Lake. Paintbrush Canyon lies between the peaks.

After passing even more stunning views of the Tetons from the edges of Leigh Lake, we crossed a wide open meadow and ended up near the shores of Bearpaw Lake. It was significantly smaller than Leigh Lake, but still beautiful. Finally after a few more steps through the forest we reached the tiny Trapper Lake. There was only one campsite there, which we had gotten a permit for in advance. The lake had a nice creek running into it which ran from the Skillet Glacier on Mount Moran. It even had a perfect rock to sit on right next to it, perfect for soaking in the peacefulness of my surroundings.

At the foot of Mount Moran.

Trapper Lake.

Forest views.

David and I set up camp, and then realized that we had cell phone service. Pretty lame, in my opinion. I usually am pretty excited to shut my phone off when I'm in the backcountry. I guess that's the problem with the Tetons -- it's like wilderness in your own backyard, therefore, cell towers are nearby. Anyway, I called my friend Anna because she had been waffling back and forth about coming out, and she decided to give it a go. I felt bad soon after because the storm clouds started rolling in not long after I ended the call. David and I were right in the middle of eating dinner when the wind picked up and rain started sprinkling down. It turned into a downpour pretty quick so we retreated to the shelter of our tent.

Party poopers.

It cleared up fairly soon after it started and Anna arrived with a friend not long after that. We made a fire and enjoyed s'mores and good stories for the rest of the evening. It was so good to be sleeping in the wilderness again...sort of.

I woke up the next morning, half paranoid and groggy from my not-so-good night's sleep. I woke up shivering, and then I kept thinking I was going to get attacked by a bear for the rest of the night. It's weird how when you're camping even the tiniest little noise sounds like a woolly mammoth is rummaging through your campsite. Ugh. It took a lot of coffee and even some yoga for me to feel right in my mind again.

Cosmic dancer...a little stiff...

Anyway, while we were eating breakfast, we spotted a moose across the lake. As we observed it, we saw its baby come out of the bushes! It was so cute and gangly, although I was really happy that I was far away from it...moose can be very aggressive.

Mama moose and her baby!

Other neighbors.

David and I decided to head out on a day hike into Paintbrush Canyon. It was definitely one hell of a day hike. It was 3.4 miles back to the south end of Leigh Lake, then another .8 to the Paintbrush trailhead, then another 2.5-ish into the canyon. We didn't go too far into the canyon because storms seemed to be thundering towards us and the clouds were growing a dark shade of gray. I would have loved to make it to Holly Lake, but that's a trip for another weekend I suppose. There might have been too much snow there anyway. My feet were screaming on the way back to camp, as I realized that I had hiked over 13 miles. Yikes! At least that will get me in shape for longer hikes into the backcountry when I want to be out of cell phone range :)

Mushrooms on the mind in Paintbrush Canyon. These probably aren't edible though.

Of course when we got back to camp, we were famished. It was time to eat some of that delicious freeze-dried stuff. We set up shot next to the creek and took in the oh-so-tasty and well-deserved nourishment. I slept so good that night.

On our last day, like usual, we made breakfast and coffee and started to pack up all of our campfire-infused clothing. We were standing over by the "bear box" when we heard a large snap in the bushes. Before we could move, a moose came galloping by, no more than 40 feet away from us. I kind of just stood frozen for a minute, wondering what had happened, and thinking about how thankful I was that it wasn't a bear. As we hiked back out to the parking lot, we couldn't stop thinking about our next trip...