Bull Frog Toes - Adventures and Stories: The Teton Crest Trail - Wyoming - Part 12 - Day 3

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NOTE: Click any picture to enlarge.

Hurricane Pass is a very raw place. The wind blew hard from the west and it was a nice day. It did not take much imagination to conjure thoughts of fierce storms with blinding snow sweeping in during the depths of winter. There was hardly any vegetation on the windswept scree that littered the high pass. The back side of the Tetons, while shorter in prominence from their eastern flank, were still impressive for their ability to survive the brutality of the elements. I for one was ready to move off this pass and nestle myself into the protection of the beautiful Cascade Canyon. The rest of the gang followed suit; we moved on.

Flyrod - Hurricane Pass - before plunging into Cascade Canyon

Cascade Canyon - long way down.

View toward Idaho - nothing to stop the wind.

There was still snow at this elevation and we were lucky to see one of the year round glaciers - Schoolroom Glacier - that was tucked into the backside of the Wall. Experts say someday it will be gone - climate change, global warming, or whatever other label to put on the phenomenon. It was melting into a pond that again looked somewhat man-made. How did the walls of the pond get shaped into the perfect bowl to hold the water? It also had a neatly cut drain at one end. Nature can form some curious shapes. It was nonetheless interesting to see.

The trail took a series of switchbacks below the glacier and into the lush green canyon. Such a contrast to the exposed pass above. The sound of roaring water was just starting to provide the soundtrack for our afternoon decent.

Schoolroom Glacier

There is the TCT starting down the canyon - gives this picture some scale.

Switchbacks down into the canyon

Flyrod and Sugar heading down fast

Flowers and the green return. The Wall in the background.

It was a pretty tough day, physically and mentally; there were some cracks forming in our little group. We had crossed the Alaska Basin - down, then up. Then we climbed up and over Hurricane Pass (10,372 ft). Then we dropped down into the South Fork Cascade Canyon - 2,000+ ft vertical drop from the pass to our camp at around 8,200 feet. So we were going to push as far as we could into the canyon to save some miles the next day. On the menu for tomorrow would be the epic climb up and over Paintbrush Divide (10,720 ft) - a 1,685 ft vertical gain over just 2 miles - from Lake Solitude to the Divide - a 15% avg grade. Tough climb - it weighed heavily on us.

The day had split our group up by late afternoon. Whitey and I dawdled along down the canyon trail, with Sugar and Flyrod deciding the destination was greater than the journey; they were anxious to make camp and settle in. They forged off ahead with instructions to go as far into the canyon as possible before we get out of the camping zone. They left an arrow mark in the dirt on the trail to point us to the trail leading to our campsite. What a perfect spot it was. Under the Tetons with a roaring stream flowing down from the mountain above.

There was some talk that night of quitting and taking a short cut down Cascade Canyon to Jenny Lake; to cold beers and soft beds the next night. Flyrod was tired and frustrated and wanted some relaxation time for himself. Sugar was also tired and ready to shortcut out the next day with Flyrod. Whitey and I were both tired as well. Whitey had been suffering from a bad head cold since we got to WY. It was hard for him to breath and keep up but he knew it would be a while before he would get a chance to get out again with the guys - with twins on the way he would be pretty busy at home. He wanted to push on - and I was not going to quit just yet either - I was going to finish this. We agree to table the conversation until morning - then decide.