u/LepetitMoj

8/14-8/16, 30 miles, 3 day 2 night

Just finished the TCT last week in 4 days, 3 nights.

Day 1: Aerial Tram in Teton Village to Marion Lake (6.4 miles, +1200ft/-2400ft)
Pic 1: Near top of tram on rendezvous trail
Pic 2: Meadow near TCT and Granite Canyon Trail junction

Flew into Jackson Airport around noon. Rented bear spray from the airport kiosk. Booked a taxi to take us to Moose to pick up permits and grab fuel + day 1 lunch from Dornans, then headed to the village to catch the tram. We arrived a little after 2pm but couldn’t get up the mountain until almost 5pm because of scattered storms. Finally got to camp a little before 8pm to pouring rain and no tent sites left - there were WAY more groups than permitted there and we had to find makeshift camp in a small clearing near the south edge of the lake. Huddled under a tree to eat dinner sopping wet before turning in for a damp chilly night.

Note for sea level dwellers like us, the altitude sickness is no joke. It would have been much more pleasant to spend a day and night in the area before starting but we didn’t want to spend the $$ on accommodations.

Day 2: Marion Lake to Sunset Lake in Alaska Basin Zone (7.6 miles, +1200ft/-900ft)
Pic 3: Morning at Marion Lake
Pic 4: Marion from the north rim
Pic 5: First view of Tetons from Jedediah Smith Wilderness
Pic 6: Bighorn sheep spotting on Death Canyon Shelf
Pic 7: Last descent out of the Shelf
Pic 8: Death Canyon
Pic 9: “The Wall” at Sunset Lake

Spent the morning swimming and drying out gear from the night before. Marion was perfect temperature and crystal clear! Packed up around 11am and made our way up and over the north rim to behold the first sight of the Tetons. The photos do not do the wildflowers justice, they were incredibly vibrant and varied! Lots of marmots, pikas, and sheep along the shelf. The Tetons came steadily into view this day until we started descending into Alaska Basin. There were great dispersed campsites near the Basin Lakes (not pictured) but we decided to push a little further and climb up to Sunset Lake. Found a spot south of the lake near the creek. The dip in Sunset was FRIGID but felt great on sore muscles. A quick but fierce storm rolled in around 7pm and scattered our finally dry wardrobe from our clothesline. Boo!

Day 3: Sunset Lake in Alaska Basin to Upper Paintbrush (14.1 miles, +4100ft/-3700ft)
Pic 10: Wildflowers at the entrance to Hurricane Pass
Pic 11: Top of Pass
Pic 12: Overlook of the Tetons and Schoolroom Glacier melt
Pic 13: Lake Solitude
Pic 14: View from Paintbrush Divide (the money shot)
Pic 15: Storm watch from top of Divide
Pic 16: Snowpack crossing in Paintbrush Canyon
Pic 17: Cutie campsite in Upper Paintbrush
Pic 18: Paintbrush Range dressed in blush
Pic 19: The Divide in starlight (Ty iPhone Pro)

This was one of the most challenging and epic days I’ve had in the backcountry. Views on views on views!! The decent from Hurricane Pass to Cascade Canyon was a bit of a slog. Day hiking crowds pick up drastically at Cascade Canyon Junction and up to Lake Solitude (many people take the boat across Jenny Lake to shorten this trip). The views Lake Solitude are probably the best in the whole park and the swim was frigid but so refreshing (real ones will take the island!!). We started up Paintbrush Divide around 3:30pm and raced against a storm in the next canyon over. The route down paintbrush was sketchier than I anticipated with all the loose shale. There was one stretch of snow pack left and though I wouldn’t have wanted micro spikes, it was incredibly nervewrecking. We were spent from a long day of climbing and picked one of the first spots to camp in Upper Paintbrush zone. The moon was nearly full than night, no headlamp needed, and we spent the first night without rain.

Day 4: Upper Paintbrush to Jenny Lake Lodge (7 miles, -3000ft)
Pic 20: View of Jenny and String Lakes from Paintbrush Canyon Trail

Full speed ahead to get back to the trailhead. Did a jaunt over to Holly Lake which seemed equidistant as taking the canyon trail all the way down. Great view of String and Jenny Lakes on the way down. Our group didn’t see any bears but other day hikers mentioned spottings near the group camp, this trail had the most berries and suitable habitat than the rest of the TCT.

Taxi pickup arranged from Jenny Lake Lodge back to the airport for 4 very sore but happy campers!

Happy to answer any questions :)