PCA Trail Guide to the West: XC 07/2009 KAM

We book it up the road and make our way to Jackson, WY.

The tourist just love the elk horn arches found at the entrances to the city square. Not sure what the boys did, but the adults enjoyed a taste at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar. The trail dust cleared out of our throats, we head on into the Grand Teton National Park.

Grand Teton National Park is a United States National Park located in northwestern Wyoming, south of Yellowstone National Park. The park is named after the Grand Teton, which, at 13,770 feet (4,197 m), is the tallest mountain in the Teton Range.

The origin of the name "Teton" is not definitive. One possible origin is that it was the name given by French trappers in the area. ("Tetons" means nipples in French.) Another possible source is that the mountains derive their name from the names of one of tribes in the Sioux Nation.

Grand Teton National Park was established on February 26, 1929. The park covers 484 square miles (1,250 km2) of land and water. There are nearly 200 miles (320 km) of trails for hikers to enjoy in Grand Teton National Park.

Part of the Rocky Mountains, the north-south-trending Teton Range rises from the floor of Jackson Hole without any foothills along a 40 miles long by 7 to 9 miles wide active fault-block mountain front system. In addition to 13,770 ft high Grand Teton, another eight peaks are over 12,000 ft above sea level. Seven of these peaks between Avalanche and Cascade canyons make up the often-photographed Cathedral Group. Jackson Hole is a 55 miles (89 km) long by 6 to 13 miles (9.7 to 21 km) wide graben valley that has an average elevation of 6,800 ft (2,100 m) with its lowest point near the south park boundary at 6,350 ft (1,940 m). The valley sits east of the Teton Range and is vertically displaced downward 30,000 ft (9,100 m) from corresponding rock layers in it, making the Teton Fault and its parallel twin on the east side of the valley normal faults with the Jackson Hole block being the hanging wall and the Teton Mountain block being the footwall. Grand Teton National Park contains the major part of both blocks. A great deal of erosion of the range and sediment filling the graben, however, yields a topographic relief of only up to 7,700 ft (2,300 m). The glaciated range is composed of a series of horns and arêtes separated by U-shaped valleys headed by cirques and ended by moraines, making the Tetons a textbook example of alpine topography. Rubble piles left by ice age alpine glaciers impounded a series of interconnected lakes at the foot of the range (Jackson, Leigh, String, Jenny, Bradley, Taggart, and Phelps). The largest lake in the valley, Jackson Lake, was impounded by a recessional moraine left by a very large valley glacier as it retreated north out of Jackson Hole. Jackson Lake covers 25,540 acres (103.4 km2) and has a maximum depth of 438 feet (134 m). There are also over 100 alpine and backcountry lakes. Map of Wyoming National Parks and landmarks, showing Grand-Teton south of Yellowstone (upper left), across the state from Cheyenne. Just to the south is Burned Ridge, the same glacier's terminal or end moraine, which runs down the center of Jackson Hole roughly perpendicular to the range and cut in two by the Snake River. After exiting its dammed outlet at the southeast corner of Jackson Lake, the Snake runs down the valley and through the 10 miles (16 km) long glacial outwash plain south of Burned Ridge. The river's headwaters are in a part of the Teton Wilderness a short distance north in Yellowstone National Park and its destination is the Columbia River far to the west, which in turn empties into the Pacific Ocean. Terraces have been cut by the river into the moraines and outwash plain in the valley. About 50 miles (80 km) of the 1,056-mile (1,699 km) long Snake River winds through the park where it is fed by three major tributaries; Pacific Creek, Buffalo Fork, and the Gros Ventre River.

We begin our hike up to Inspiration Point, and stop here to enjoy the cool air by these falls.

The boys can't resist a little rock scrambling.

Now, where do we go?

Jenny Lake, as we hike up to Inspiration Point.

The brave rock scramblers

Wonder if anyone notices that Blackwater shirt?

Even the old fat guy made it up to Inspiration Point.

We opted for the boat ride back.

Our quick stop in the Grand Tetons ends, and we head up to Yellowstone National Park.

Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America's first national park. Located in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho, it is home to a large variety of wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves, bison, and elk. Preserved within Yellowstone National Park are Old Faithful and a collection of the world's most extraordinary geysers and hot springs, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Gesyer by Old Faithful Lodge. If only this hot water was soakable, but at about 180 degrees....

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872, is a national park located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho. Yellowstone was the first national park in the world, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features,

especially Old Faithful Geyser, one of the most popular features in the park.

It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is dominant. Native Americans have lived in the Yellowstone region for at least 11,000 years. The region was bypassed during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 19th century. Aside from visits by mountain men during the early-to-mid-19th century, organized exploration did not begin until the late 1860s. The U.S. Army was commissioned to oversee the park just after its establishment. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the National Park Service, which had been created the previous year. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468 square miles (8,980 km2), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges.

Yellowstone Lake is one of the largest high-altitude lakes in North America and is centered over the Yellowstone Caldera, the largest supervolcano on the continent. The caldera is considered an active volcano; it has erupted with tremendous force several times in the last two million years. Half of the world's geothermal features are in Yellowstone, fueled by this ongoing volcanism.

Lava flows and rocks from volcanic eruptions cover most of the land area of Yellowstone. The park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly intact ecosystem in the Earth's northern temperate zone.

Hundreds of species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles have been documented, including several that are either endangered or threatened.

The vast forests and grasslands also include unique species of plants. Grizzly Bears, wolves, and free-ranging herds of bison and elk live in the park.

Forest fires occur in the park each year; in the large forest fires of 1988, nearly one third of the park burned. Yellowstone has numerous recreational opportunities, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing and sightseeing. Paved roads provide close access to the major geothermal areas as well as some of the lakes and waterfalls. During the winter, visitors often access the park by way of guided tours that use either snow coaches or snowmobile.