Our very last hike in the Tetons was a foray into Granite Canyon. The day was cool and crisp, and hints of fall were everywhere. This trail started across a relatively flat meadow, before entering the forest. We crossed a stream early on, and followed some horses for a bit. We tried to take a lot of breaks and photo shoots to give us some distance from them. Haha! And we definitely had to watch our footing!
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| pretty chilly starting out |
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| Tom is trying to warm his hands in the sun so I wouldn't make fun of him with gloves on |
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| check out the gloves! |
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| fresh mountain stream |
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| so so clear |
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| nice |
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| heading into the forest |
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| let's go.... |
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| heading up |
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| and up |
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| fall is here |
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| smell the pine! |
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| nicely maintained trail |
The water in the mountain streams looks so clear and refreshing. And I just love the sound. Combine that with the strong scent of pine and wow! Zen.
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| just look at that |
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| closer |
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| closer |
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| and closer still |
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| nice |
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| a bit more forest |
It wasn't long before we were in the canyon, and the terrain changed dramatically every here and now. We'd be walking through giant rocky areas, and then enter a forest.
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| we hear the pikas but don't see them |
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| walking through the canyon |
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| and the tall trees in the forest |
pretty tall
We passed back country campsites located right off the trail. They actually looked like great campsites.
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| good place to pitch a tent, right near the stream |
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| back on the trail |
As always, we had some great views along the hike through the canyon. The trail went up, and up and up, ever so slightly. According to the ranger's description, we thought it would be more level once we reached the canyon, but that was just not so. I had the Fitbit on, and logged over 24,000 steps and 100 flights of stairs. That's a lot of "up"! Hahaha. It was a really nice hike though, and we were not disappointed. All the hiking trails are different!
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| nice views above |
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| the trail goes up a lot! |
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| and is very pleasant |
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| the views are great |
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| in a bit of forest again |
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| the canyon is so picturesque |
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| hey look, a flower! |
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| heading further into the canyon |
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| more nice views |
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| so nice |
After about a couple of hours of hiking, we found the perfect spot for lunch alongside a stream. The seating was just perfect-if you like to sit while eating lunch that is! Some of us would rather stand:)
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| our lunch spot |
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| refreshing area with good seating-hahah |
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| table for 2 please |
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| view from my "chair" |
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| just so nice |
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| not ready to sit |
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| such clear water! |
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| steady now-hahah |
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| just so nice |
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| what a great experience we are having! |
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| I agree! |
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| my favorite kind of trail |
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| refreshing sound too |
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| how peaceful and refreshing |
The foliage affords lots of photo ops as well. Check out the tops of the pine trees. they are just perfect triangular points. How does that happen?
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| perfect points |
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| couldn't resist |
Though we could hear pikas, we only saw one as it skittered away under a rock. We were looking for all sorts of things, but saw no wildlife. We were hoping to spot some moose, but they are just so elusive and we didn't see any. We may have walked by 100 of them, but we didn't see any. Other hikers along the trail seemed as desperate as we were to spot them, because after a friendly hello, that was always the next question! Did we see any moose or bears? (No)
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| another field of rocks to walk through |
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| the canyon views are great |
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| more |
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| again...the trail switches through forest for a bit |
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| a clearing when you least expect it |
The trail had so many different landscapes and we enjoyed them all. I especially love hiking with the stream within sight and sound. The views within the canyon are incredible. Very special to be able to be surrounded by mountain peaks. The pictures tell the tale.
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| so nice |
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| close up |
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| continuing on |
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| amazing views |
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| more |
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| just so nice |
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| more views of the water |
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| this is a nice hike! |
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| ah...nice and cool in the woods |
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| another nice view of the triangular peak |
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| cool |
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| fall is in the air! |
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| more |
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| love walking along the stream |
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| great view out of the canyon looking back |
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| searching for moose in the willows |
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| we should head back soon! |
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| nice |
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| another nice shot |
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| Hey Tom, we really should head back soon! |
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| okay...if you insist |
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| mountainside looks fake doesn't it? |
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| great pic...captures it all |
After about 3 hours of hiking in, we decided to start the return trip. Tom was searching high and low for moose! No luck. I was enjoying the flowers, as always. On the way back, I only took a couple of pictures, hoping to remember the hints of autumn we passed on this very enjoyable trail. We ended up hiking 8 miles or so. Not bad!
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| almost out of the woods now |
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| fall in the meadow |
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| its still hot in the sun! |
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| is that Sue? ahahahhahah (no way!) |
This ends our wonderful summer in Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Park, an experience we will never forget!
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