I first got up around 6AM to see the sunrise against Mount Moran from where I slept on the beach at South Landing. Since I knew I would be able to hike 6 miles in a 3-4 hours, I didn’t feel rushed to get up and pack up right away. I continue to observe the morning sunrise, the sounds of the birds in the area, the occasional small wave coming to the cove shore.
Morning view from my sleeping bag
I finally got out of my sleeping bag around 7:30 AM and began packing up. There wasn’t too much to do since I hadn’t unpacked much. Just stuff the sleeping bag into the stuff sack, deflate the ground pad, and fold up the bivvy bag and ground cover. Easy morning Since I would be carrying the same loadout the whole day, I repacked the pack to reflect that, making the trash and leftover food easy to access and swap out at the truck for the next segment.
Around 8:10 AM, I departed camp after policing up the area to make sure I didn’t leave any gear or trash behind. A short morning stroll to the truck with still no bear encounters. Time for a little coffee and my oatmeal breakfast.
Breakfast and refitting at the truck
While the water was boiling, I got my gear in order for the day ahead. Food, check. Water full, check. I did swap out a tarp I was carrying for my space blanket tarp since it was much lighter. Weather was looking good and the forecast hadn’t mentioned any rain. Even if I did get a little mountain weather rain, I would be good in my gortex bivvy bag. All the gear and my pack were in some sort of waterproofing bag. My clothes were all quick dry.
Have gear that serves multiple purposes is very helpful when trying to reduce weight. When hiking and camping for multiple days, you begin to understand whats needed and what is a luxury item. Optimization is key. The less you carry, the more you can do and the less exhausted you will be along the way. Good life lessons.
Boiling water for coffee Coffee and oatmeal
After finishing breakfast, my gear was squared away and ready to go on the next segment. On to Lupine Meadows Trailhead!
Getting to Lupine Meadows Trailhead
From the South Landing Parking area, you simply get on the main road (take a right onto Teton Park Rd) and drive south for about 9.3 miles. There are plenty of signs directing you to Lupine Meadows Trailhead. Heading south, the turn will be on your right, vice versa going north. Follow the signs. This appeared to be a popular hiking area because parking was pretty far away from the trailhead sign.
I arrived around 9:54AM. After grabbing my pack and securing the truck, I headed toward the actual trailhead around 10:17. The parking area was a clear indicator for how busy this trail was going to be. It was a Saturday and great weather.
Let Park Rangers know Trail sign with various locations and distances. Trailhead board
Hike to Amphitheater Lake
Starting out on the trail felt good. Although there were plenty of people out, there was quite of bit of quietness between groups. The initial part was through some forested area, but once you started gaining some elevation, the views really began opening up to the valley and lakes below.
Trail sign with various mileage posted
Sometime during the first portion of the trail, I met a couple who I kept leap frogging with on the trail. I talked to them for a bit along the trail and learned about a trail to Delta Lake, where they were heading. I began to toy with the idea of making the side-trip since the current day’s hike was relatively short so I could spare the time and distance.
When we got to the unmarked fork at one of the switchbacks, I decided to head up with them. I had plenty of time to cover the remaining 1.6ish miles to Amphitheater Lake, even with the 2mile round trip detour to Delta Lake.
Delta Lake Detour
The detour was certainly unexpected and wasn’t even on either of my maps. After some navigating through some boulder fields and gaining more elevation, I arrived at Delta Lake. From my initial view, I could tell that this was a worthwhile venture. The lake was a beautiful turquoise and very cold. It was definitely popular since there was also a lot of people all around it. Once I dropped my pack, I switched out of my boots and into my sandals so both could air out some. I figured I would spend some time here eating some lunch and taking photos.
While relaxing at the lake, I chatted with one of the groups there. They were a large family from Idaho visiting for the day. What a great family outing and the sights were spectacular. Very nice and social people. A couple of them were crazy enough to jump into the very cold lake too.
Hiking to Surprise Lake Campsite
Once I got back to where I began the detour to Delta Lake, I continued on hiking up the mountain. One switchback after another. 11 switchback! I didn’t count on the way up, but I took pictures of each switchback on my way up. This made easy counting and recollection during my writing of this post.
Bright reds from the huckleberry shrubs lined the trail Bradley and Taggart Lakes from higher vantage point The Grand Teton as you enter the area after the last switchback Surprise Lake
Setting up Camp
Around 3:50PM, I arrived at the Surprise Lake Campsite. Here, I dropped my pack and began setting up my sleeping system and stowed my smellable items in the site’s bear box. I had noticed signs of bear on the way up and not too far away from the camping area.
In the pictures, you can see that my footprint is quite small. Same sleeping setup as the night before. Since the wind was blowing on and off with some good gusts, I placed a couple of rocks on top of the ground cover. This would ensure that I came back to something while I went to Amphitheater Lake.
The white “tag” on one of the corners of my sleep system is my backcountry permit. It is supposed to be displayed in case a Ranger or another party is in the area and they know you have the site.
Campsite for the night Sleeping area with view of the sky I put rocks down to keep everything in place while I went to Amphitheater Lake. It was quite windy at the time.
Also before leaving, I switched out of my boots and opted for my Z-Trail Sandals. This would allow both my boots and my feet to dry out and relax some. The Z-trail sandals have been good so far and I have not noticed any slippage when going up and downhill either. The straps are well placed on the foot, keeping the sole in position on your feet. I am still evaluating them for comfort and practicality on my hikes (around camp and hiking), but after a few weeks of using them they seem to be great. They seem durable so far and are very light weight. Both features are important to me for hiking gear.
Hike to Amphitheater Lake
Shortly after departing camp, I arrived at Amphitheater Lake. The weather was a bit cooler and the clouds were setting in. There was another group at the lake when I arrived, but I found an area to hang out at to observe the area.
I walked around the lake some to get different view point of the surrounding area. With the overcast look, it didn’t have the look that I had while I was at Delta Lake, but that didn’t detract from observing the rock formations.
Stream flowing down to Surprise Lake
Before departing, I took the opportunity to fill up my water reservoir. I topped it up to 3L so I would have plenty of water for dinner, during the night and the hike back to the truck in the morning. I figured I would only need about 1-1.5L in the morning, so I could drink a good amount all evening to maintain a solid state of hydration. I’ll write more about hydration in another post soon because it is definitely an important topic.
Checking Out Surprise Lake
On the way down from Amphitheater Lake, I came across this little guy. The bird wasn’t too afraid and seemed curious as I walked by, which begged for me to stop to photograph the little fellow. I don’t know what type of bird it is but it was interesting to watch for a while.
After photographing the bird for a bit, I proceeded on to Surprise Lake. I don’t know if it was the bird or not, but I was starting to feel a little hungry at this point. Surprise Lake is about 0.2miles from Amphitheater Lake.
From the east side of Surprise lake you could get some decent views looking north and west (as seen below). To the north, you can see Teewinot Mountain, which tops out around 12325ft. To the west you can see Grand Teton with a towering 13770ft with Disappointment Peak just in front of it from my position.
The view of Teewinot Mountain from Surprise Lake View of Disappointment Peak and Grand Teton from Surprise Lake Another view at Surprise Lake
When you follow the flow of the water out of Surprise Lake you find a good viewing area that looks out into the Jackson Hole valley as well as some of Garnet Canyon below.
Peering into Garnet Canyon Peering into Garnet Canyon The flow out of Surprise Lake into Garnet Canyon
On the way back to the campsite, I noticed some very recent bear scat so I was definitely perked up for a possible encounter. Near the campsite, there was also some evidence of a bear digging.
Delta Lake from above
Before starting dinner, I went just beyond the camping area to look down at Delta Lake, where I had been earlier in the day. I could look out and see where I had been the day and night before from here.
Teewinot Mountain Delta Lake Delta Lake with Jackson Lake in the background Grand Teton and Mount Owen
Dinner
Around 6:15 PM, it was time to relax and get ready for some sustenance. Dinner was a Backpacker Pantry meal of Katmandu Curry (very tasty; would definitely get this again) and a peanut Nature Valley bar. Definitely not a lot of calories but it was quite filling.
After I finished my dinner, a couple from Hickory, NC were on a hiking vacation and had made their way to the camping area after a long days hike. They set up near by and we had a good time talking for most of the evening.
After seeing the various evidence of bear in the area a little bit before, it was a good feeling to have more than just myself at the campsite area for the night.
Night Time
By the time I got in my sleeping bag (around 8:30PM) , the winds had started to pick up a little. It was kind of off and on during the evening and into the night. Sometime during the night though, the wind became quite heavy and there was even a little bit of rain. Nothing to really be concerned about as I was dry and warm in my cocoon.
Earlier in the night, there were too many clouds to get a view of the night sky but sometime after all the wind blew through, I was able to watch a glimpse, but I definitely tried to sleep through the night as much as possible, unlike the night before when my view of the night sky was something to wake up and observe for.
Daily Stats
Total Miles: 6.3miles
Total Elevation Gain: 4026ft
Total Calories Burned: 5436 calories
Total Time: 7hr 58min
Still no bear encounters.
The bird reminds me of a ptarmigan which is in the grouse family—Dad hunted them in Alaska. I
Didn’t realize you got a commission out of amazon as I bought a SCOTTeVEST for a upcoming trip to Niagara Falls —will let you know what I think of it.
I think its a Blue Grouse. It did remind me of a Ptarmigan though. We have lots of Ptarmigan throughout the Cascades in WA.