Phelps Lake Backpacking Trip – June 14-15, 2009
We were recently in Grand Teton National Park. Since the high mountain passes were still snow covered in June, Jana and I decided to do an overnight backpacking trip near Phelps Lake. We prefer doing some sort of loop or shuttle hike to an in and out hike, so we arranged to be dropped off a the Laurance S. Rockefeller Preserve near the south end of Grand Teton National Park. Overnight parking is not allowed at the LSR Preserve, so we opted to leave a car at the Death Canyon trail head, and get a shuttle from someone we were travelling with to the LSR Nature Preserve. As with all backcountry campsites in GTNP, permits are required for overnight backpacking trips.
From the nature center building, which is a wonderful new facility in Grand Teton National Park, we hiked the Lake Creek trail to Phelps Lake. This trail follows Lake Creek north to Phelps lake and is very nice hike with good views of the creek and some open meadows. Once at the south end of Phelps Lake, we hiked the Phelps Lake trail around the east side of the lake to backcountry campsite #1. The backpacking campsites at Phelps Lake have recently been relocated to up the hill from the lake, further off of the trail than the old campsites. Campsite #1 has a nice view of the lake below, and is beside an open meadow as well. Both trails were in very good shape and had good signage. The hike to Phelps Lake was 1.5 miles, and the hike around the lake to our campsite was around 2 miles.
We set up our Tarptent, and left some gear (no food) in the tent to explore the area. We went back down to the edge of Phelps Lake to enjoy the view and boil water for dinner. This also kept food and cooking odors away from camp. We added our boiled water to a package of Mountain House Hawaiian Chicken, and then stowed it in a backpack to finish cooking. We carried it with us and hiked up the trail above the lake to near the Phelps Lake overlook. This area has a very nice view of Phelps Lake and the valley and mountains beyond. We ate our dinner and enjoyed the beautiful view.
On the way back to camp, we saw several marmots among the rocks. We also saw a large aspen grove, and very large fir tree – at least 4 feet in diameter! Back at camp, we unpacked a few things and then noticed a mule deer in the meadow nearby. The deer grazed for a while, then laid down. Shortly, it got back up and grazed calmly as it moved off into the woods. The deer saw that we were there, but was certainly not concerned. It was getting dark, so we got ready for bed, stowed our food and smellable items in the bear box, and turned in. With the exploring, we had hiked around 6 miles that afternoon and evening.
Like our other trip in GTNP, some of our main equipment included the Tarptent Rainshadow 2, Therm-a-Rest Neo Air pads, a Jacks R Better Mt Rogers down quilt, and our new Montbell Extremely Light Down Jackets. Everything worked very well for this trip and we slept pretty well that night. It did rain during the night, but we stayed warm and dry. The low was around 40 F.
We woke up soon after daylight and packed up our gear. We went down to the lake to collect water and eat breakfast. From on up the shore we heard some splashing in the water. After watching up that direction, we saw that it was a moose walking in the water along the north shore of Phelps Lake. I guess he was having breakfast near the lake also, since he ate from the willows near the shore. No one else was around, and we watched the moose in silence for at least 20 minutes. We finished breakfast, loaded our backpacks, and headed down the trail.
We hiked north from the lake and arrived at the Death Canyon Trail junction. We wanted to hike up into the canyon as far as time allowed, and then we would hike back out and continue on to the Death Canyon trail head. We knew from the topographical map that there was a fork in the trail about 2 miles up the canyon. Death Canyon is a narrow, glacier-carved canyon in mountains, with steep granite rock walls on both sides. The trail was empty and we enjoyed good views of the canyon walls, the stream below, and areas of unmelted snow. After backpacking about 1.9 miles up into the canyon, we came to a large snow field covering the trail. It appeared to be 75 feet or more across, and we could not see where the snow ended. The sides of the canyon were steep, so the snow sloped quite steeply above and below the trail. It was obvious that without crampons it would not be safe to cross, so we were satisfied with our progress and turned around.
The hike back out of Death Canyon was as much or more beautiful, since the trip out of the canyon rewarded us with views of Phelps Lake and the mountains beyond. We saw both marmots and pikas among the rocks during our hike. The tall, sheer granite walls around us were very impressive. We had hiked in and out of the canyon before we met our first other person that morning. The trail became more crowded as we continued to toward the trail head, and we were glad that we had our time in the canyon all to ourselves. Our backpacking trip out this morning had been about 6 miles, for a total trip distance of 12 miles. Not all of this was logged on the GPS, especially the areas in the canyon where the GPS had trouble receiving consistent satellite signals.
The trip up to and around Phelps Lake had minimal elevation gain, so it would be a good backpacking or hiking option for families with younger kids. The hike up into Death Canyon is definitely more strenuous, but the views along the Death Canyon trail were wonderful. This was a great trip with views of the lake, mountains, and creeks. Wildlife was certainly visible, and the trails were not too crowded. We had a great time on this backpacking trip.
Trapper Lake Trip – June 12-13, 2009
This trip was the first backpacking trip with all three kids, and they would be carrying much of their own gear. We were in Grand Teton National Park for a total of 10 days, and we had already done several day hikes before this trip to get acclimated. This overnight trip began at the String Lake trail head. Backcountry permits are required for overnight stays in the Grand Teton National Park backcountry, and we had picked up our permit the day before for the one campsite (#18) at Trapper Lake. The hike to Trapper Lake is relatively level and 4.5 miles from the trail head to the campsite. The minimal elevation change makes this a great trip for families with kids or for those new to backpacking.
We left the trail head Friday afternoon, June 12, and the weather was cool and pleasant. Jana and I regularly use trekking poles (Backpacking Light Stix for her and Gossamer Gear Lightrek 4 for me), so as we hiked the kids decided they wanted a hiking stick too. As we continued hiking, they looked along the trail for that perfect stick – and this gave them something interesting to do as we went along. The boys both had sticks selected in just a short time. (Note: In an effort to ‘Leave No Trace’, the sticks were dead wood found along the trail on the ground, and the next day the sticks were left near the trail not far from where they were found.) Something else that kept them interested was to take turns letting one of the kids lead the group. An adult was always second in line to help watch for bears and other wildlife, but they certainly enjoyed taking their turn at the front of the line.
The hike followed the shore of String Lake, then along the shore of Leigh Lake. It went around Bearpaw Lake, and then finally ends at Trapper Lake. Being so close to several lakes allowed for great views over the water and into the woods, and the kids look for and saw several different birds and small animals. We bought each child a disposable camera for the trip so that they could take pictures of anything that they wanted without risking damage to our nice digital camera. Giving them control and letting them make choices in this way allowed them to feel more in control of their experience.
All three of our kids weigh under 100 pounds right now, so we kept their pack weights low. The lightweight backpacking philosophy works so well for Jana and I that it only makes sense to help the kids go light. They each have their own pack – the women’s size small GoLite Jam2 pack – which is a good size for their body right now, and their empty pack weigh less than a pound. I have seen so many "kids" packs that weigh three, four, or five pounds, and it just does not make any sense to me to start with an empty pack that is so heavy. We found synthetic sleeping bags for them at around 2 pounds (and under $100) for a 35 degree bag. This is a lightweight bag, but is still durable and inexpensive. As they get more experience and do more backpacking, then we can look into a lighter down bag. So, they carried their backpack and sleeping bag, along with a coat, jacket, poncho, base layer, extra clothes, LED light, and water bottle. Even with this amount of gear, their total pack weights were still under 8 pounds, or less than 10% of their body weight. Jana and I are just over 10% of our body weight with our pack (fully loaded with 3 days of food and water, so keeping them under 10% of their body weight was a good target. I have read other sources stating that kids can carry 20 to 25% of their body weight, but with a 20 or 25 pound pack, they would almost certainly be miserable. Jana and I carried their sleeping pads, both tents, cooking gear, and all of the food. These light packs let all of us travel faster and more comfortably – ultimately increasing our enjoyment of the trip. We covered the 4.5 miles to Trapper Lake in about 3 hours – not a bad pace with kids.
On the way to Trapper Lake, we stopped on the shore of Bearpaw Lake to boil water for dinner. Our philosophy has been to eat dinner on the trail before reaching our campsite for the night. This keeps food and cooking odors away from camp, and greatly reduces the likelihood of bears or other wildlife being attracted to our campsite. We let the kids pick out which Mountain House dinners that they wanted before we packed for the trip. This was a way to include them in the trip planning process, and it helped to avoid cooking something they did not want to eat. They also each have their own spork, in their color choice. This lets them have equipment that they feel like is their own.
As we hiked past String Lake, Leigh Lake, and Bearpaw Lake, we had great views of the Teton Range. But, we really enjoyed seeing Trapper Lake and camping there. The small lake is at the base of a mountain, and it has a stream with a couple of small waterfalls that runs into the lake. It was just a wonderful, beautiful setting. It is also very secluded, being the last campsite on the trail, so we did not see anyone else during our time at Trapper Lake. Two beavers were active and swimming all around the lake – our kids affectionately named them Roseanne and Clark. Several Canadian geese were at the lake when we arrived. The kids really enjoyed being able to explore the area around the lake and near our campsite. This gave them some freedom after being restricted to the trail for the previous several hours.
We took a card game with us, so as it got darker and the mosquitoes came out, we all went into the larger tent to play cards for an hour or so. This allowed the kids to wind down and gave all of us a chance to enjoy being together as a family. It was a relaxing end to our day of hiking. I would suggest to others that are planning a family camping or backpacking trip to take a game or cards or something for the kids to do in case you need to spend some time inside a tent due to weather or darkness.
Although there are 5 of us, we are able to fit into two tents. We have an older Kelty Teton 2 tent that weighs about 4 pounds – this was a tent we bought sometime back when we started backpacking again. At about $100, it is a good first tent that does not weigh too much. We also have a Tarptent Rainshadow 2. We purchased this tent when we transitioned to lightweight. It weighs around 2.5 pounds and is a cross between a tent and a tarp – basically a tarp with netting and a floor. It can sleep three people if they are not too large. With this setup, we can sleep our family of five. The boys used the Tarptent, and the girls were in the Kelty Teton 2. I used a Therm-a-Rest Neo Air pad with a sleeping bag, and the boys used foam pads and sleeping bags. The girls used our Jacks R Better Mt Rogers down quilt and silk sleeping bag liners – this is the lightweight setup that Jana and I use when we are by ourselves.
We woke up early Saturday morning (June 13), since it started getting light quite early. I think that waking up early and getting on the trail early are some of my favorite things about backpacking. After getting up, the kids enjoyed watching several Pikas scampering around the rocks near camp. We made breakfast (bagels and hot chocolate), broke camp, and were on the trail by 7:30 AM. We enjoyed wonderful views of the mountains across Leigh Lake and arrive back at the trail head around 10:30 that morning. The kids really enjoyed the trip and had a positive experience – so it was certainly a success in my book. I always want them to have a great time in the outdoors, so that they will want to go backpacking, hiking, or camping again.
Jana and I were testing some new equipment on this trip. The most interesting new item was the StickPic. The StickPic is an ingenious device to let you take self-portraits with your camera at the end of an extended trekking pole. After using it, I said to myself "Why didn’t I think of that!" It works great. You simply attach the StickPic to the threaded tripod mount on your camera, attach the StickPic and camera to the bottom of your trekking pole, set the camera’s timer, and hold the pole at arms length. You can get a picture of everyone in your hiking group, or you can get a picture of yourself even if you are hiking solo. The other item that Jana and I were testing was the Montbell Extremely Light Down Jacket. Knowing that it would be cold in GTNP in early June, we had been searching for a warm down jacket that was also lightweight. After some research and looking, we both purchased one. These jackets worked very well. They kept us warm, but stuffed small and weighed 4 to 6 ounces, depending on the gender and size.
I carry a GPS data logger on our trips, so here is the track displayed over a topographical map.
Overall, I thought it was a fantastic trip – both for us, and for the kids.
Happy Trails,
- Shawn
