Grand View Hike

I was up and out of Gros Ventre campground by 7 am to get up to Colter Bay. We wanted to get here early to be sure to get sites. I left extra early because I wanted to stop and get pictures in the overlooks as I drove! The morning sun was perfect for getting some great shots of the Tetons!
After we secured our sites for the next five nights, we packed lunch and headed out to Two Ocean Lake. It's named Two Ocean because it sits right on the Continenial Divide so some of the water flows to the Pacific Ocean and some goes to the Atlantic. We found a picnic table and in between swatting horseflies, mosquitos and other bugs, we had a nice lunch!

After lunch Dad and I were going to hike to Grand View. We had a very hard time locating the trail around the south side of Two Ocean Lake. The northern trail was clearly marked and there was a trail head sign with a trail going down to the lake behind it. We walked down that, but it was in the tall marsh grass and didn't look like a maintained trail. We finally decided to hike the other hike in the area - going by Emma Matilda Lake because we knew where that trail was. We walked up there and that was also where the south Two Ocean Lake trail was! The trail head sign was misleading!
The 3 miles along Two Ocean Lake was almost entirely flat! There was a little uphill, but that was it! The trail was also mostly shady, a few times we passed through an open meadow, but it was short and wasn't too hot! We had some nice views of the lake, but mostly it was trees and wildflowers.
The mile up to Grand View was a different story! It was pretty steep, gaining about 1000 feet over the mile! But it was short and shady until the top. The view at the top was really nice. We could see Two Ocean Lake and Emma Matilda Lake. Then we walked to another viewpoint and saw the entire Teton Range!

The downhill part wasn't as nice. The first part was ok, shady, with views of the Tetons, and not too steep. But the last mile or so was across the sagebrush meadow and it was hot! But soon we made it to Jackson Lake Lodge, where Mom was waiting.
When we found Mom she told us that while she'd been driving back from Two Ocean Lake the Jeep had developed a problem. The fan was making an awful noise and emitting a very foul odor. Uh-oh. We were planning to do a 200 mile "car hike" into Yellowstone tomorrow. This wasn't going to work.
While Mom and I checked out the gift shop at Colter Bay General store Dad called the Jeep Dealer in Jackson. They suspect an animal got up in there and said they could fix it tomorrow. So, tomorrow morning Dad will take the Jeep back to Jackson, leaving Mom and I here to entertain ourselves.
Then it was back to the campground to make dinner and run generators.

Posted with Blogsy