Skip to main content

Day 73 - Grand Teton Paintbrush Canyon

I had my first bear encounter today. Returning down Paintbrush Canyon, I saw a blonde bear on all fours thirty feet ahead on the trail. He looked up at me and I looked up at him, both in stare.  I originally thought he was a grizzly due to his coloring but park literature said black bears can be blonde so the way to determine between them is a shoulder hump and claw size.  He quietly walked across the trail into the woods, a bit afraid of me. I stood tall and silent and stopped for a minute watching alertly as he continued deeper into the woods. I slowly walked forward along the trail past him and we went our separate ways. I had my bear spray attached to my pack and had practiced my hiking pole spear throwing technique earlier, but neither defensive move was required. I didn't take photos for obvious reasons but did see another bear while driving later in the day. 


On to the day. First stop was to the Mormon barns, early structures of early settlers and a popular vantage point for photographs. Next was Schwabacher Point, a boat landing on a river, also popular with photographers due to its reflective nature. 



Next stop was the hike up Paintbrish Canyon, a 2900 foot gain, brutal hike up to an alpine lake. I passed only five people while on this twelve mile hike upcanyon. I passed through a dense forest for the first few miles (site of bear encounter coming back) but then the views opened up. Another wow canyon. 


I passed a young hiker with an ice axe attached to his pack and he said he turned back at the switchbacks due to snow. I didn't know where the switchbacks were exactly so I pushed on. I came to a point where the runoff stream seemed to have washed away the trail and diverted up the near side of the hill, hoping my off-trail route would intersect the trail above. After a small climb, I reached a snow covered section. The snow was maybe a foot thick but was solid enough to hike on so I broke fresh trail up the canyon valley, crossing a stream near a fallen tree and then going up a wooded, snow free section. I eventually came to the trail and followed it over a fast flowing stream and then continued up a very steep but safe hill (an open flat section below the hill would catch me if I fell).  Feeling like I was almost at the lake, I hiked joyfully after this steep climb only to find myself below a four-times as high hill filled with boulders in the center and thick forests on the side. I considered my options: hiking up the boulders was way too dangerous but the forest march while long looked doable if somewhat dangerous. The snow was softening in the afternoon sun making a descent slippery and if this was the "switchbacks"  section then I still had a mile to go after climbing this hill according to the map. I didn't pack my crampons as the ranger incorrectly said the path was clear past the lake. So I turned around and headed back down canyon. Here's the final hill and the photo of my returning down. 



I passed two younger kids on the way down and gave them as much info on the route as I could, and they continued up to try their luck. I passed a nice couple on vacation and they turned around with me. Then I passed the bear. A full day of adventure. 

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 104 - Glacier to Vancouver

The hike up Balu Pass was supposed to be fairly easy, beautiful and dotted with waterfalls, but when I talked to the park ranger and learned that Vancouver was an eight hour drive away, I decided to skip Balu and drive west.  I left behind this pretty view.  And drove many hours through pristine mountains, fewer and fewer snow-capped ones the further west I drove. Some of the valleys were flooded to make reservoirs, leaving scenic sights.  I eventually made it to Vancouver and drove right on through to Point Roberts USA, a five mile by five mile coastal land just below the 49th parallel and thus in the USA. The park ranger had suggested this as a good place to camp but being late of the Thursday night before the Fourth of July there were no spots available. I drove around instead and stopped at a forested coastal park. After ten minutes of walking I came to my first grand Pacific view with Mount Baker 60 miles east.  The San Juan Islands and Orca Islands could also b...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 122 - Mount Saint Helens

Mount Saint Helens is sinister and wonderful. I spent the morning at Rainier watching the end of the British Open on my phone, then drove south to Saint Helens.  I arrived at the park's northeast entrance by early afternoon.  A massive bulge of rock built up on the northeast side of the mountain before the 1980 eruption and then caused a tremendous landslide when the eruption started. I drove to the Windy Ridge at the end of the road, listened to a ranger describe before and after photos of the mountain, then hiked up to a high viewpoint.  You can see the circular ridge with a notch missing where the landslide occurred, the desert-like exposed right-side where the landslide blew away life and covered 15 miles of terrain with 150 feet of dirt and rock, the greenery that was on the lucky side of the eruption, and Spirit Lake which was covered by dirt and slime and fallen trees for years. The mountain was over a thousand feet higher before it erupted.  After taking in t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Day 62 - Colorado National Monument

Established as a national monument early in 1911, Colorado NM is known for its high canyon "rim road" and sandstone spires of Monument Canyon.  The canyons of west Colorado are pretty--as they have more green trees and shrubs than the more famous Utah canyons. This gives them a more alive feeling, although the sandstone spires were formed many thousands of years ago by erosion.  Rim Rock road curves up the the top of the canyon cliff, goes through several round tunnels and is lined with scenic viewpoints. The best views were in he Monument Canyon section, and included in sequence, the Coke Ovens, The Kissing Couple (behind my head), and the most famous of all: Independence Monument, the tall spire in pic 3 and viewed from the side in pic 4.  The original promoter and caretaker of the park, John Otto, was the first person to climb Independence Monument and now it's a climbing right of passage. Every July 4 climbers ascend and mount an American flag at the summit. Fun! ...
2 comments
Read more