Grand Teton/Death Canyon - July 9, 2010

With a name like Death Canyon, doesn't it make you want to hike it?  Since we had such a great hike yesterday, Babe did some research for another hike in Grand Teton, and came up with Death Canyon.  The trailhead was along the same Moose-Wilson Road, so it was perfect.  To reach the actual Death Canyon trailhead, there was a bumpy road with a sign that said "4x4 recommended".  At first we were daunted by it, so we parked and walked in, but seeing the road wasn't terrible, we went back to the car and drove all the way in.  The road wasn't a problem at all for our rental car, but if it had been raining for a while, I would have reconsidered.

Today's weather wasn't as nice as yesterday's though.  Clouds were looming in the horizon.  Since the weather was gloomy, we decided to just head down to Phelps Lake.  It started raining when we reached the lake, so we huddled for half an hour under a canopy of trees while the storm passed, sharing a poncho.  If any of you have ever watched the TV show "The 4400" on USA channel, the lake totally reminds me of where the 4400 were dropped off.

Many different kinds of wildflowers grew alongside the trail.  I normally don't spend a lot of time photographing flowers, but I couldn't help taking a bunch because of the variety and the fact that it just rained added a refreshing touch.  Here are some of them:

It was getting chilly, so we abandon hiking further and returned to the condo to enjoy the rest of the day and to pack.  7 nights had already passed so quickly.  Tomorrow, we drive back to Salt Lake City.