Grand Teton [Wyoming] National ParkUnited States. Department of the Interior
History
Grand Teton [Wyoming] National Park
United States. Department of the Interior
Grand Teton National Park (Wyo.)
=_The Teton Glacier Trail_= extends up the east slope of the Grand Teton
to two alpine lakes, Surprise and Amphitheater, at altitudes close to
10,000 feet. By means of the 17 switchbacks on this trail the hiker or
horseman climbs to a point on the face of the Grand Teton, 3,000 feet
above the floor of the valley, throughout this ascent enjoying matchless
panoramas of the entire Jackson Hole country, and witnesses a view
extending eastward 80 miles to the Wind River Mountains, whose peaks and
glaciers are sharply outlined against the horizon. Amphitheater Lake, at
the end of the trail, occupies a protected glacial cirque and is the
starting point for Teton Glacier, the most accessible of the ice fields,
three-fourths of a mile northwest from the end of the trail. Though
seasoned hikers make the climb from Jenny Lake to the glacier by way of
this trail, one can, if he chooses, take horses as far as Amphitheater
Lake, and continue on foot with a guide over to the glacier.
=_The Indian Paintbrush Trail_= starts near the outlet of Leigh Lake and
follows up the bottom of Indian Paintbrush Canyon to connect with the
Cascade Canyon Trail by way of Lake Solitude, a lakelet of rarest beauty
at timber line near the head of the north fork of Cascade Canyon. The
wealth of wild flowers along this trail gives name to the canyon, and
early or late in the day one may see big game, especially moose, near
the lakes and swamps. This trail affords superb views of Jackson and
Leigh Lakes eastward beyond the mouth of the canyon, and westward along
the Divide glimpses of snowclad ridges and peaks.
=_The Cascade Canyon Trail_= passes through a chasm whose walls rise
sheer on either side for thousands of feet. By this trail one penetrates
into the deepest recesses of the Tetons. It skirts the base of several
of the noblest peaks, Teewinot, Mount Owen, Table Mountain, and the
Three Tetons, and it enables one to see these titans not only at close
range but from new and impressive angles. Lake Solitude may be reached
by means of this trail, by taking the Cascade Canyon-Indian Paintbrush
loop trail leading up the north fork of Cascade Canyon.
=_The Death Canyon Trail_= traverses the full length of a canyon which
in its lower portion is of profound depth and grandeur, as awesome as
its name, but which above opens into broad, sunny meadows. No canyon
better illustrates the difference between the rugged, alpine landscapes
developed in the crystalline rock of the Teton east border and the
softer contours formed in the sedimentary strata to the west, near the
Divide.
[Illustration: ALONG THE TRAIL AT THE HEAD OF CASCADE CANYON
_Grant photo._]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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