Category: Free Roaming Photography

I’ve always been bored with the naming of many of the geographic features found throughout the United States. How many Boulder Creeks, Deer Creeks, and Bear Creeks are there in this country? Even just right here in Jackson Hole, we have two different Granite Canyons. A quick stroll through Google Maps will uncover many more similarly named areas. And if it’s not something with a trite name, it was named for someone who most likely never even saw the place. Take for example five different spots in Yellowstone National Park all within just a few minutes of driving from each other: Lewis Canyon; Lewis River; Lewis Falls; Lewis Lake; the Lewis Channel Dogshead, all named after Meriwether Lewis of the Lewis & Clark Party, neither of whom ever stepped foot anywhere near what is today Yellowstone National Park. While it was a nice gesture, the names do nothing to add to what the feature actually is. Was this nation really that dull that we couldn’t even think of a descriptive name for a geographic feature? Even the great mountain of Denali, translated to The Great One, was renamed to Mount McKinley simply because he was the president that happened to be in office at the time. Fortunately, that’s finally being corrected. Denali is a unique name, and no one will argue that that mountain is indeed, The Great One.

I frequently drive through different features of the country, all the while wondering, what did the natives of this land call that mountain/river/valley/lake/etc.? It was only recently that I learned that the native name for Devil’s Tower is actually Bear Lodge. (“Devil” being another cliché naming convention – Devil’s Canyon, Devil’s Staircase, etc.) The name Bear Lodge originated from a story of a great bear scratching the sides of the tower, thus leaving the irregularities up the sides of the spire. Maybe it’s just me, but that’s a much more creative name for the site that fires up the imagination, adding an extra layer of fascination with an already captivating natural structure. On the opposite side, according to the texts, the devil is very far underground, so why would he be on top of a giant tower shooting up into the sky? The naming for such a feature doesn’t even accurately follow the myth that it’s associated with.

Many natives of the Lakota, Dakota and Nakota Great Sioux Nation are now working to change the name back to Bear Lodge, and I wholeheartedly support them. I would love to see boring and overused names of geographic features contain more character and intrigue about them by weaving in legends and tales about their names, while also knowing it was the only feature with that name.

So what’s the holdup with changing the name back to Bear Lodge? According to the article linked in the paragraph above:

“Not far from Devils Tower, there are mountains and an area of national forest named Bear Lodge. Changing the name will create confusion and even lead to fewer tourists to the state.”

Interestingly enough, that hasn’t seemed to happen here in Jackson Hole. Grand Teton National Park (which includes the Teton Mountains) is not only neighbored by the Teton Wilderness, but also Bridger-Teton National Forest, and yet, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of confusion from people turning up lost in the adjacent forest because they couldn’t find Grand Teton National Park. But to add to the confusion in the area, there’s also the valley of Jackson Hole itself inside of Grand Teton National Park, the valley named after Davey Jackson, the first non-native to supposedly stay in the area year-round. The valley name is of course not to be confused with Jackson Lake, Jackson Peak, Jackson Hole Ski Resort, or especially the town of Jackson, though it frequently does just that since I’m asked the difference nearly every time I guide a wildlife safari. And yet, Grand Teton National Park has been experiencing record tourism practically every year in recent years despite having so many different features sharing the same names, much more so than the Bear Lodge area.

What about other places? Consider Mount Hood. Thus far, to my knowledge, no one has confused the Mount Hood National Forest with the summit of Mount Hood, so I find it highly unlikely someone will drive right by the sign pointing to Bear Lodge National Monument with the spire dominating the horizon and assume that they need to continue driving in the opposite direction. Fortunately, from what I can tell, it seems most Americans can apparently read text on maps and signs, so the confusion argument is a completely irrational argument based out of fear of the unknown.

What’s another reason? According to the Wyoming Department of Tourism:

“We’ve worked so hard to build it up to the point where we are now, the amount of tourism we have and the spending, we are at a record high for visitors and for visitor spending and local and state tax gatherings as well.”

Leave it to Wyoming to continue the trend of completely missing the gold mine of positive PR sitting literally right under their noses in favor of a fear of change. Rather than embracing the native tribes and creating an extraordinary amount of noteworthy and positive buzz, they’d rather continue a long, drawn-out battle with native cultures, alienating them and their children even further. An alternative option would be to allow the change to happen, and then release all kinds of press showing what a compassionate and understanding relationship Wyoming has with its native tribes, which would attract international attention and would probably cause traffic to skyrocket to Bear Lodge National Monument – sorry, Devil’s Tower – and other areas in the nearby Black Hills of South Dakota.

With Obama recently restoring Denali’s proper name, discussions are beginning elsewhere about restoring a landmark’s native name. People in Seattle are talking about changing Mount Rainier’s name back to Tahoma, or at least something similar. In addition to a plethora of other areas, I would also love to see Zion National Park renamed to its original Mukuntuweap. The name was only changed because people naming the park thought Mukuntuweap would be too hard to remember. Obviously that wasn’t a problem for major landmarks all over Hawaii, such as Haleakala, Na Poli, and Waimea Canyon, to name a few. It also didn’t seem to be a problem for people to remember some confusing native words that later became names of 27 states, including Mississippi, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Wyoming.

Read on Source Site

Distance (one way): 1.5 miles to many more if desired
Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
Best time of year: Year-round

In 2001, Laurance S. Rockefeller donated his family’s getaway ranch to Grand Teton National Park, ultimately becoming the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve (LSR). Upon its completion, the public now had more access to brand new trails and Phelps Lake, a jewel of a glacial lake found at the mouth of Death Canyon. The park created some excellent trails extending from the Visitor Center at the preserve that offer relaxed strolls through the woods to the lake, as well as trails that are a bit longer and a bit steeper for those wanting a bit more of a challenge but that might be short on time.

From the parking area, walk a few hundred yards down the path across an open flat with impressive views of the Teton Mountains to the Visitor Center where you can learn about the history of the preserve and get more information on the area. Whether you’re interested in the history or not, a visit inside is highly recommended. As the trail winds past the Visitor Center, a map on a large kiosk can be found to help guide you on your way. All of the trails in the preserve begin here so regardless of your route, begin hiking from the Visitor Center.

After just a short distance, a small natural, but man-made waterfall spills down a cascade of rocks to entice people to hike further. Just a bit farther up the trail, a small walkway spurs out to Lake Creek at a great vantage point to look up and down the creek. The trail continues another short distance where a fork in the trail is joined by a bridge crossing the creek. The Woodland Trail continues straight ahead, while the Lake Creek Trail crosses the bridge, both of these being the easiest of the two trails in the LSR Preserve, but providing access to the Boulder Ridge Trail and the Aspen Ridge Trail for those wanting to add a bit more distance to their hike.

Both the Woodland and Lake Creek Trails roughly parallel each other directly to Phelps Lake, the Woodland Trail easily climbing the terminal moraine from the glacier that created both Death Canyon and Phelps Lake, while the Lake Creek Trail travels along the creek, providing a relaxing white noise throughout the hike to (or from) the lake over slightly hillier terrain, but still considered easy hiking. The Woodland Trail explores more of the woodland diversity and scenery found throughout the area and continues very gradually higher where it crosses the Moose-Wilson Road and then later, meanders to a junction where you can either branch off to the Boulder Ridge Trail or cut over to the Lake Creek Trail where you can also access the Aspen Ridge Trail. For those wanting to just get to the lake, continue straight ahead. The trail continues to wiggle through boulders and larger ridges before ultimately reaching Phelps Lake. To make a loop from the Woodland Trail to the Lake Creek Trail, take a left at the junction to head south along the shores of Phelps Lake.

The Lake Creek Trail is found .4 miles from the Woodland Trail and also has an outhouse near the lake for those wanting something more than a tree. During the short .4 mile walk, you pass by a shallower section of the lake, providing a nice example of a wetlands area. Shortly after, Lake Creek begins its journey from Phelps Lake down the moraine and eventually to the Snake River.

Once you’ve taken in the views at Phelps Lake, the Lake Creek Trail begins its descent along the creek. Many scenic vantage points of the creek provide a nice break from the trees, as well as a large meadow closer toward the lake. The Lake Creek Trail has a few more ascents and descents along its path, due to the hillier terrain found along it, but it also provides wonderfully different views and vantage points of the creek all along the way. After a bit of hiking, you come to a junction. Left (north) will bring you back to the Woodland Trail if you’d prefer to return that way, while right will bring you to the Aspen Ridge Trail, discussed more below. To head back to the Visitor Center, continue straight.

Shortly after the junction, the trail crosses Moose-Wilson Road, climbs up and down a couple more small ridges, and begins dropping to cross the bridge that reconnects you with the main trail back to the parking area.

For those wanting to add a bit more distance to their LSR experience, start off on the same trails, but consider taking either the Boulder Ridge or Aspen Ridge Trails to access Phelps Lake. Both of these trails explore a bit more of the terrain leftover from the terminal moraine of the glacier that carved out Phelps Lake. The Aspen Ridge Trail is accessible via the Lake Creek Trail at its midway junction, whereas the Boulder Ridge Trail is accessible a similar distance up along the Woodland Trail. Both will extend your mileage and provide you with more diversity found throughout the preserve. The Aspen Ridge Trail in particular offers some great views toward Granite Canyon and the southern Tetons.

All four trails together will add up to about eight miles, but for those wanting even more, you can throw in the Phelps Lake Trail which wraps around Phelps Lake to add even more diversity and discovery to your day. Along the way, you can stop at Huckleberry Point on the south side of the lake for a great view of the area. Prior to making this post, I hiked in the area and started off from the LSR parking area and went up the Aspen Ridge Trail, then did the Phelps Lake Loop to the Boulder Ridge Trail, headed back toward the lake via the Woodland Trail, then came back down the Lake Creek Trail. All of this added up to 11.95 miles from, and back to, the parking area which can be seen on the map below. Many locals overlook the LSR for being too easy, but adding the extra miles is a great way to experience the preserve and Phelps Lake in a more extensive way. If you have all day and want even more adventure, make a side-trip up into Death Canyon for some of the best views from a canyon in Grand Teton National Park.

Those more in tune with how the natural world works will notice two obvious things along the trails:

1. The forest is very old and looks to be ready for a forest fire to clear out the clutter. Despite what many think, forest fires are an extremely important and helpful process to help create healthier forests by clearing out cluttered undergrowth, nourishing the soil, and thus allowing healthier and more vibrant vegetation to grow. When a forest begins to look like the one in this area, it’s “ripe” for a lightning strike to restart the natural renewal process.
2. There is a tremendous amount of aspen trees dying. This is due to a lack of predators in this particular area, allowing elk, deer, and moose to browse all summer long on all the younger trees attempting to grow throughout the summer. Especially visible along the Aspen Ridge Trail, you’ll see many older aspens that have already reached the end of their life, while new trees are only about a foot high due to the over-grazing from too many prey species. It’s a shame that we allow a handful of short-sighted individuals to have such disastrous consequences on the natural world.

For those wondering, the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve Trails are still open in the winter! While the LSR Visitor Center and the Moose-Wilson Road are closed, winter recreation is permitted along the Moose-Wilson Road and along the trails themselves. This allows people to park at either end of the Moose-Wilson Road at its closures and snow-shoe or cross-country ski in. On the north end, the closure is at the Death Canyon Trailhead Junction, while at the south end, it’s at the Granite Canyon Trailhead. Either starting point will provide a great day out on the snow, but those not familiar with the area should have a good topographic map as well as map reading skills if you plan to head to Phelps Lake. It can be very easy to get lost if you’re not well familiarized with the terrain.

If you’re a resident, or have flexibility in your travel plans, be sure to maximize your hike by experiencing the following seasonal highlights:

• Wildlife: Late May to late June
• Wildflowers: Mid-to-late June
• Wild Berries: Mid-August
• Black Bears: Late-August to mid-September
• Winter Recreation: December to April

Getting there: From downtown Jackson, take Highway 89 north out of town for 12 miles to the Moose Junction and make a left. Follow that road for about .7 miles and take another left onto the Moose-Wilson Road. Continue south on the Moose-Wilson Road for 3.7 miles until you see the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve entrance on your left. Pull in there and follow the short road till it dead ends at the parking area. Alternatively, you can also take the Moose-Wilson Road from Wilson and/or Teton Village and access the LSR from coming into the Moose-Wilson Road from the south.
NOTE: RVs, campers, buses, and trailers of any kind are not permitted on the Moose-Wilson Road inside the park.

Read on Source Site

Distance (one way): 1.5 miles
Difficulty: Strenuous
Best time of year: Fall, Winter, Spring

Picacho Peak remains one of my all-time favorite hikes. It’s a great adventure up a solitary desert peak for any skill level!

Located nearly halfway between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, Picacho Peak shoots out of the desert floor over 1,400 feet, ultimately reaching an elevation of 3,374 feet above sea level. Interestingly enough, it was also the site of the second western-most battle in the Civil War.

The hike begins on the floor of the Sonoran Desert as you begin ascending toward the walls of the peak. In spring, you’ll notice a blanket of colorful wildflowers accompanying the saguaro, barrel, and other cacti variety along the trail, which climbs steeply as more detailed is revealed in the cliffs ahead. There’s quite a bit of interesting geology for such a (relatively) small peak in the middle of the desert! There’s sandstone, limestone, and even gneiss. Once the trail meets these cliffs, providing hikers with a great view of them, the trail then begins a large switchback ascending up the eastern cliff of Picacho Peak. The vast desert landscape begins to unfold beneath you as you climb higher and higher. You soon find yourself at the saddle with an impressive view to the east, and now to the west as well. Those who have exhausted themselves or have a fear of steep inclines and/or heights may want to end their hike here.

[See image gallery at www.freeroamingphotography.com]

From here, the hike gets a lot more interesting! It immediately drops a few hundred feet with the assistance of a steel cable for support, negating much of what you just climbed. Once you bottom out, there are many scrambles up the rock faces, again, the cables there for support if you need them. More experienced hikers will enjoy the hand-over-hand climbing. The trail can be easy to lose due to its vertical nature along this stretch, so once you finish one of the short scrambles up, make sure to look around to get your bearings and see where the trail is headed next.

The trail soon reaches a crevice that most would prefer to have some climbing gear along for, but thanks to well-placed steel cables the climb is made much easier, though still intimidating for anyone with a fear of heights. Most will appreciate the adventurous nature of the hike by this point.

[See image gallery at www.freeroamingphotography.com]

The trail climbs higher and higher, getting more and more exposed, until you finally reach a rather untrustworthy looking bridge that takes you over a large gap in the rocks. Despite its looks, the bridge is secure, though looking down through it could cause a bit of vertigo. Fortunately though, once you’re past the bridge, the trail gets a lot easier. The final ascent up to the peak is an easy walk up, and once on the summit, the 360 degree panoramic views of the vast Sonoran Desert are awe-inspiring.

Enjoy yourself at the top. You still have to climb back down (and then up).

[See image gallery at www.freeroamingphotography.com]

Getting there: From Downtown Phoenix, drive about 70 miles east (south) on I-10. Take exit 219 and go right at the intersection. You will need to pay a day fee to access Picacho Peak State Park and the hiking trail. Shortly after the entrance station, look for Barrett Loop on your left. Find a place to park toward the top of the loop and begin your ascent up the Hunter Trail to reach the summit. If you’re traveling from out of town, Picacho Peak State Park also includes an excellent campground.

Read on Source Site

Distance (one way): 6.2 miles (to the end of Cascade Canyon)
Difficulty: Easy
Best time of year: Summer, Fall

On a normal summer day, I wouldn’t go anywhere near Cascade Canyon unless I were coming out from a larger, overnight trip. However in late July of this year, we received an unusual dusting of snow in the higher elevations. I probably would have gone backpacking to get a better view, but I had already made plans days earlier to be in town in the morning. However with those plans cancelled at the last minute, I decided to spend the morning getting some good views, and the closest views I could get in the shortest amount of time were in Cascade Canyon. I knew String Lake would look spectacular as well, so I started there at sunrise.

The String Lake trailhead itself has some spectacular views of the Tetons from several different vantage points. At the trailhead, the trail bends west, toward the Tetons, to wind around more of String Lake to ultimately fork to either head to Leigh Lake or up into Paintbrush Canyon. Another option even branches off to complete a loop around String Lake. To get to Cascade Canyon, I began heading south just 100 yards or so to the bridge that crosses the lake, where it begins to transition from less of a lake and more of a runoff of rapids, connecting String Lake to Jenny Lake.

The trail winds along the connector through a relatively recently burned forest from 1999. Along the way, great glimpses of the Tetons whet your appetite on one side, while on the other the water cascades down the rapids providing some peaceful natural white noise. You’ll soon come across a fork. Left will continue you along Jenny Lake and up toward Cascade Canyon for 1-1.5 miles, the other will bring you around to the other side of String Lake to make the loop toward Paintbrush Canyon. I continued left, and enjoyed having the trail to myself at such an early hour, taking pleasure in the little things that were all around. Soon enough, I found myself on the northwest side of Jenny Lake with tremendous views of the fog clearing off of the Cathedral Group of Tetons.

The trail continues along the burned area, skirting the lake and teasing views of the Tetons as they get closer and closer. As I got closer to the older, unburned forest, I noticed a healthy black bear near the trail, but as soon as he saw me, he was gone. Unfortunately it was one of the camera shy bears, otherwise known as “still wild.” Once in the older forest, my views were blocked of the Tetons, so I quickened my pace to get up the Horse Trail access to Cascade Canyon, which is found just before (north) of the boat dock, which fortunately still hadn’t made its first trip yet for the day.

The Horse Trail climbs up the back side of Inspiration Point for about a mile or so, connecting with the Cascade Canyon Trail west of Inspiration Point. Also due to construction and trail enhancement efforts, this is also the only route this season to get to either Cascade Canyon or Inspiration Point. Most visitors head straight to Inspiration Point and tragically never see the tremendous beauty just a short distance up Cascade Canyon. I had no interest in seeing Inspiration Point that day, so I continued back into Cascade Canyon to get the great views of the tallest Teton Peaks with some new snow on them before it melted off.

The views throughout the canyon are impressive at any time of day, but in the (still relatively) early morning light with clouds and fog breaking up throughout the peaks, revealing the recent snow, the trail was simply euphoric to be on. Knowing I had it to myself gave it an extra layer of peace as well. Over the course of the 3.5 miles to the back of the canyon from the Horse Trail fork, waterfalls poured down the south side of the canyon from the highest reaches of the Grand Teton and Mount Owen, all the way down to Cascade Creek nearby, while pika constantly called out from the boulders. A couple of miles up the canyon, I was getting a shot of the peaks with the July snow on them and a local couple on their way toward Lake Solitude (or possibly farther at their pace) caught up with me and made a general comment about how nice of a morning it was. I mentioned, “Especially with the new snow on the peaks.” They looked up at it apparently having not noticed it at all prior, nor apparently had they seen the weather alert about the storm the previous day. Even so, their pace never even slowed. They simply looked curiously up at the peaks and continued on their way. I personally was having plenty of fun soaking in the views on my way up the canyon until I had finally reached the fork to head into the South and North Forks.

I was hoping to make it as far as either Lake Solitude in the North Fork or Schoolroom Glacier in the South Fork, but checking the time, I had already eaten up half the morning and I unfortunately had plenty to do in the afternoon. They’d have to wait for another hike.

I had drunk a liter of water at breakfast, but since I hadn’t had any water to bring with me, I had filled up a liter earlier in the hike and was just now getting around to purifying it. The fork is also a good spot for a snack, so I went to grab one and knocked my bottle of freshly-purified water onto the ground. I couldn’t help but laugh that I had carried that liter of water for about 4-5 miles for no reason. I was able to fill up again though just a short distance back down the trail.

On my way out, the trail began to fill up with people. Backpackers coming out of the higher elevations caught up with me since I stopped frequently for photo ops. Other tourists that had gotten an early start were also out exploring the deeper reaches of the canyon. Between the growing number of people and the sun getting higher up in the sky, my motivation for photography began to wane and I started making my way out, but not before watching a cross fox run right past me on the trail! Unfortunately he was so quick I wasn’t able to get my camera ready in time for any decent shots, but I was delighted to have seen my first cross fox in Grand Teton National Park after living here for nearly seven years. The only other cross foxes I’ve ever seen have been in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

Along the way, I took a little pleasure in seeing the diversity of people that were out on the trail. There was the large family decorated in Cabela’s gear who weren’t acknowledging a single other person, all of them looking like they were satisfying a requirement being back there than actually enjoying it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, there was an extremely friendly and excited Australian couple who couldn’t wait to tell me about a deer nearby. They were wearing different pieces of clothing that showed their support for predatory animals in the ecosystem, and were also very easy to strike up a conversation with.

Once I was back on the Horse Trail, there were significantly more people, many of them wondering how much more they’d have to climb and if this supposed great view was even worth the effort. Of course since Inspiration Point was their destination, many will never even see the best views just a short distance in the other direction. I always like to have a quicker pace going downhill to go with the momentum, but of course with so many people, I had to jump off the trail to let them by or dodge them completely. The crowds never did let up all the way back to the parking lot, so I was thankful that I had had that morning of solitude all to myself in such a typically populated area.

TIP: To avoid the crowds, try hiking these trails either at sunrise or in the fall after the Jenny Lake shuttles have stopped operating for the season.

To see more images from String Lake and Cascade Canyon, check out my gallery of the Teton Mountains Backcountry.

Getting there: From downtown Jackson, drive north 12.3 miles to the Moose Junction and turn left (west) and continue through the town toward the entrance gate of Grand Teton National Park. Once through the entrance gate, continue north approximately 10 more miles, until you reach the North Jenny Lake Junction. Take a left (west) there and follow that road for 1.5 miles until you reach an intersection. Take a right (west) and park at the first pullout on the left just off the intersection. To include more of String Lake in this hike, follow the road until it dead-ends into a large parking lot. The String Lake Trail will follow the lake back to this parking lot as well. From the first parking lot, look for a wooden foot bridge crossing the lake to get you on your way up the trail.

Read on Source Site