Over the Tetons

In the fall 2020, I found myself in Grand Teton looking for an adventure. The weather was quite pleasant and snow-free for October, perfect for exploring a new part of the park with some off-trail scrambling. So, I cooked up a simple enough idea, I should try to hike OVER the Tetons.

The route was pretty straightforward, start by making my way to the summit of Table Mountain on the Idaho side, scramble down into Cascade Canyon, and hike out near String Lake.

I got an early-morning ride from Jackson Hole, over the pass, and to the Teton Canyon trailhead where I began the 4k foot stairmaster to the summit of Table Mountain. I'd never been to the top of Table Mountain and it did not disappoint.

Table Mountain is separated from The Grand by just 2.5 miles and the cavernous South Fork of the Cascade Canyon creating exceptional views.

The scrambling began as I left the Table Mountain summit. I'd spent quite a bit of time scouting the route ahead of time with satellite and aerial images and knew I'd need a hefty amount of route-finding as I made my way into the first canyon north of Table Mountain. Since I was solo on this hike, I was full prepared to turn-around if I couldn't find a sufficiently safe route off of Table Mountain.

I was quite intimidated by the start of the descent but moved slowly. Reaching what seemed like a cliff (see photo above) I was pleased to find a fairly navigable ridgeline that I could follow towards easier terrain. From there it was just a gradual descent to the unnamed lake.

Having reached the unnamed lake, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself. My knees were a bit worked from the 4k foot climb to Table Mountain and the scrambling descent, but I figured the crux of the route was behind me...

Turns out that this unnamed canyon was a bit of a bear to navigate.

With no trail to follow, I slowly made my way through thick brush and over meandering tributaries, backtracking often to find unblocked and safer routes. I checked my GPS often and was shocked each time with how little progress I'd made.

The going only got slower as I got closer to Cascade Canyon. The forest thickened and route finding became more challenging. Eventually I made my way to a scree field above the South Fork of Cascade Creek and was able to scramble down the last couple hundred vertical feet to the trail.

Pleased to be on predictable, flat ground, I made my way down Cascade Canyon towards Jenny Lake.

This was an awesome adventure that I'd absolutely do again. There is plenty more to explore on the ridgeline north of Table Mountain. I'd really love to get The Wigwams but that would take a bit more fitness.