WOW! I'm so thrilled to be blogging about this particular hike as I never in a million years would have thought I'd be able to do it. Due to my crazy fear of heights, I will never climb up to Inspiration Point, to connect with Cascade Canyon. However, Tom is so wonderful....he checked it out for me (actually walked down it when he did his Lake Solitude hike) and there was a horse trail that goes AROUND it....with no shear drop off's. Oh, its a steep hike all right, but its doesn't have those scary (to me) trails along the edge of a cliff. As luck would have it, the trail is closed during the week as the park service is working on the trail, and only open on weekends until Labor Day. Then its closed for the season and the only way up would be Inspiration Point and I'd be out of luck. So....lucky me....with a wonderful hubby that checked it out for me....and perfect timing as far as construction goes....was able to do the hike on the last possible day the trail was open for the season....Labor Day!
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| the day started out with thick fog in the valley |
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| nice and sunny by the time we got to the boat |
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| we took the ferry across |
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| passed this "wildlife" |
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| I'm so excited for this awesome hike |
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| nice refreshing ride across the lake...it was pretty chilly-around 40 |
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| steppin' away from the dock... |
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| here we go....starting the trail |
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| yup...this is the way |
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| this is the horse trail actually |
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| nice display of fungi |
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| nicely wooded trail |
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| so far so good |
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| more 'shrooms |
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| hearing voices! no...its the climbers over there |
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| Susie...you're gonna love this! |
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| so far its a beautiful trail |
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| going up up up |
So, as I said, the trail does go up, up, up....no getting away from that. It was a really nice trail though, through the woods and with plenty of great views. Since we thought we'd be the only ones on the trail (since most people take the much shorter Inspiration Point trail), we were talking loudly and making ourselves known in bear country. Hahahah. Then, we heard voices on the trail and looked behind....and there were actually people! Turns out, its the route the climbers take to climb the face of one of the cliffs! We were talking to one young couple, and they explained the whole scene to us. They sure are brave! They basically follow tiny offshoots of the main trail (which isn't that wide to begin with) and make their way to the cliff. Some of those trails are hard to find, i guess, because they were having trouble finding a way up. I asked them a bit about climbing, and they said its best just when there are only 2 of them, and not a whole group. Kudos!
So back to our hiking...it was a while before we reached the Cascade Canyon, but once we did...WOW oh WOW! It was beautiful. I've never hiked in a canyon like that before, with the mountains on both sides enveloping you. I really liked that feeling. There was plenty of walking through forests, but always with the mountains on either side of us. Well, I guess that's what a canyon is, right?
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| here we are...in the canyon! |
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| Yippee...I made it!!!! |
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| such a nice hike |
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| looking for moose |
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| lots of nice people on the trail....offering to take our pic! |
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| the Grand Teton |
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| moose country |
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| isn't this awesome? |
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| back in the woods |
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| so pretty |
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| that bird was BLUE |
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| taking a little break at a gorgeous lake |
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| another nice hiker offering to take our pic....OKAY! |
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| click click...just like me! |
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| moving along |
We saw several waterfalls, which were amazing. We could hear them from across the canyon too. And the smell of pine...just wonderful . It was a great experience. I'm so glad Tom found a way for me to get up there!!
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| this is an amazing hike |
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| nestled between mountains |
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| still some up! |
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| the glacier....that starts the waterfall |
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| walking further into the canyon for better views |
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| oh, there are still wildflowers blooming! |
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| waterfalls from the glacier |
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| we can hear this! |
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| isn't this amazing? |
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| more waterfall view |
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| there's more Susie...come on |
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| so nice |
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| another view |
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| walking further into the canyon |
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| fall is coming! |
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| lunchtime! |
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| told ya this was a great hike! |
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| looks fake, doesn't it? |
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| ready to go further into the canyon |
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| nice trail and lots of people on it |
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| scenic |
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| ANOTHER nice hiker offered to take our pic |
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| what can I say? |
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| this is so great |
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| walking along taking it all in |
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| just look at the view |
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| fall...colors....nice! |
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| enjoying the hike! |
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| more cascading waterfalls |
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| heads up...fall is around the corner |
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| puddle jumping and lots of mud! |
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| capturing fall |
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| so scenic |
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| cascading waterfalls....can't get a good shot of this...its really awesome |
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| hiking along |
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| nice |
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| that's a good shot of that waterfall |
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| nice |
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| so scenic |
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| lots of yellow! |
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| we can hear this too, on our side of the canyon |
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| really nice |
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| look at that! |
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| just photogenic.... |
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| beautiful |
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| fresh snow sprinkled on the top |
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| nice |
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| snowmelt |
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| really nice! |
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| heading back now |
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| does that say "autumn" to you? |
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| moving right along and enjoying every minute |
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| nice...looks fake though...hahahah |
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| looking for moose...one last time |
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| another nice hiker....they are all over! |
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| heading back now |
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| the people ahead of us slept at Lake Solitude the night before (it poured!) |
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| check out these runner!!!! Are you kidding me? |
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| glacial rock |
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| how many shades of green do you see? |
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| cool |
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| close up |
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| so peaceful...smell the pine too! |
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| getting close to the end of our canyon hike |
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| love the water, as usual! |
We didn't hike the entire canyon (know your my limits), but we hiked probably about 7 miles or so. We also didn't see any wildlife (bears or moose) on our hike. Tom was a little disappointed, as the last time he had seen 5 moose. Its okay. It was wonderful anyway! The scenery and the whole ambiance is amazing. Oh, and on the way back, we took a little side trip to Inspiration Point! It was pretty scary for me...had to stay away from the edges, but the view was great. It was the only way I'd ever be able to get to Inspiration Point, so I took full advantage of being up there. Honestly, I'm so impressed by all of you folks out there NOT afraid of heights! The world is your oyster!! So, instead of walking quickly down the Inspiration Point trail, we went back around, and went down the horse trail. We caught the boat, thankfully, as my feet had enough. Time for new hiking shoes!
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| okay...ready for Inspiration Point? |
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| yikes...there is quite a drop off |
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| oh boy...what am I doing here? |
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| can you see how steep the drop is? the pic doesn't do it justice, trust me! |
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| ooohhhhh |
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| really?? NOW??? |
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| oh, an amazing view...worth the heart palpitations! |
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| the view is great! |
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| I am at Inspiration Point! Thank you Tom!!!!! |
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| my hero |
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| This is awesome.... |
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| isn't that beautiful? Jenny Lake in the Tetons |
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| YEAH! I made it!! |
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| my feet are killing me right now!! |
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| those puppies are barking!! (know what I mean Grandpa?) |
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| another nice hiker taking our pic....they had a good laugh about my height issue |
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| oh good, here comes our ferry now...isn't that water gorgeous? |
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| i need new shoes! |
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| wasn't this a great day? |
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| heading across Jenny Lake |
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| this guy was waiting by the dock |
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