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Day 72 - Grand Teton Cascade Canyon

Everyone I passed on the Cascade Canyon trail today had wide, grinning smiles that said "this is the best day ever!"  Cascade Canyon is reached by boat across or hike around famous Jenny Lake at Grand Teton. I chose to hike. 

First stop was the powerful Hidden Falls, flowing strongly with glacial melt from the surrounding high mountain sides.  The mist off the falls came fifty feet to the overlook. Next stop was a hike up the mountain side to the "inspiration point"-- a high view across the lake to the valley. 


Then Cascade Canyon put this inspiration point to shame. After about a mile of gentle upward hiking the views opened up to the glacier U-shaped valley on all three sides. There was even a lake formed by spring runoff about two miles in. Continuing up canyon, views of Grand Teton and sister peaks came into view, until I reached the end of the canyon. I turned back at this point, having heard stories of difficult snow travel up the east and west high passes and having eight miles left to return. 




I returned down the canyon quickly and then looped 4.4 tired miles around Jenny Lake, all the time enjoying gorgeous views of the white and grey pinnacles across the lake. Back at the van, I drove on to a close-by informal and free national forest campground that an online site had described as having "the best views of the Tetons in the park."  Thank you Internet. Here was the view. 



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