“You could leave life right now. Let that determine what you do and say and think.”
Marcus Aurelius
I have been looking forward to and preparing for this hike all summer, and it did not disappoint. I knew that it was a huge day for me in the mountains, and I hoped that I would be up to the challenge. The goal was to go from Death Canyon Trailhead up Death Canyon, across the Death Canyon Shelf, down into Alaska Basin, over Static Peak Divide, and return to Death Canyon Trailhead. It’s a significant amount of elevation gain and loss and I figured it would be about 25 miles.
I only half-heartedly tried to find a hiking partner to join me, and I think at least subconsciously, I wanted to accomplish it on my own. I left the house about 6:30 and headed toward Teton Village and up the Moose-Wilson Road to the Death Canyon Trailhead. I set out around 7:15 on a crisp and slightly cloudy waning-summer morning. There were a few others in the parking lot doing the same, but before long, I was on my own and looking over Phelps Lake in the early dawn light.
I continued up about 3 more miles, and reached the Death Canyon Patrol Cabin which is used by the Park Service for maintenance and such. I passed it and continued up the trail into parts of the canyon I had never been. It was overgrown as usual, and I made some noise because this area is very popular with black bears, but since I knew there were others around and it’s a pretty heavily used trail, I wasn’t too worried. The canyon opened up and was beautiful. I could see the pass to where I would climb and the Death Canyon Shelf across which I would hike.
I was making good time, and continued until I made it to Fox Creek Pass. It’s a pretty gentle climb to this point, and I was feeling good. I stopped for a quick bite to eat and admired the majesty of Death Canyon. I began to hike across the shelf, and it was amazing. I had incredible views of the main Tetons in the distance, Buck Mountain, and all of Death Canyon. This part of the Teton Crest Trail is absolutely spectacular. The weather was perfect, it was very isolated, and the scenery is straight fire (as the kids say). I really felt like I could walk this shelf forever.
Eventually, I came to the end of the Death Canyon Shelf and had incredible views down into Alaska Basin with Buck Mountain to the east. I had been here in 2000 with my brother in law, Doug, but did not remember how beautiful it was. Alaska Basin is a huge shallow bowl surrounded by Tetons on all sides. There are creeks and ponds throughout and the fall colors of red and yellow were beginning to show. I stopped for a lunch of prosciutto sandwich and trail mix before making my way down into the basin and passing a couple from my home town (crazy).
As I made my way through Alaska Basin I came across several people. It is at the confluence of several popular hiking and running trails, but is still pretty remote, so I was surprised at the number of people in there. I hiked toward Buck Mountain pass as the clouds began to build, and it this point, I began to question if I should have hiked then route in the reverse direction. I still had about an hour before I would go over Static Peak divide, and that’s not a place I wanted to be during a thunderstorm. I hiked on anyway and I figured that most likely, I would be past that point before any serious storms rolled in.
I made it out of Alaska Basin over Buck Mountain Pass and then over Static Peak Divide which was just incredible. Luckily, the storms did hold off, and although the weather was a little moody, it was overall okay. From there it was virtually all downhill. I had taken some Advil at lunch which was an absolute game changer. Usually, by this point my right knee is pretty sore limiting my ability to hike quickly downhill, but not today! I felt great and I was on fire. I nearly ran down the trail back to the Death Canyon Trail. From there it was a quick walk back to the trailhead and back to the car. The only challenge was mounting fatigue and the elevation gain getting back up to the Phelps Lake Overlook.
During the hike, I was so overwhelmed at the beauty of the landscape and what a spectacular day I was having that I didn’t really focus too much on any singular Stoic concept along the way. I just kept thinking about how lucky I was to be alive and enjoying a near-perfect day out in the Tetons. It’s such a miracle that any of us are even here on this planet, and in fact, the odds of being born are about 1 in 400 trillion. By definition, we have all already won the longest-shot lottery possible, and for that we should be completely grateful. And, it could (and will) all end at any moment. Memento mori. Remember death. That allows us to focus on who we are, who we want to be, and how we want to live our lives. What will we do today? How will we live? What are we putting off that may never happen? So, today was a celebration of that – getting out there and doing it while I can before it’s too late.
Mileage – 27.1 miles
Time –9 hours, 30 minutes
Animals – one moose
People – some
Great thoughts—beautiful pictures—Mom
Ahhh, I remember it well. What a grand trip it was and I’m glad you were able to relive it, twenty-tree years later, WTF is that right, that doesn’t even seem real! Seemed like a full-on perfect day of solitude in the back country and your photography game has really stepped up, you have some really nice shots. Get after it, Summer is already gone and Fall is like 3 days out there, you’re doing great tearing up some trail miles, most impressive, keep it up!