Here’s why Teton Canyon is a great place to hike

On a Saturday earlier this month, I was invited to join my wife and her friend for an easy hike up Teton Canyon east of Driggs. They would hike while I would saunter along with my camera and we would meet at the junction where the trail to Devil’s Staircase meets the trail to Alaska Basin.

It did not take them long to be out of sight as I discovered a western tanager in the huge fir trees, picking insects off a bush. As I was watching the beautiful bird, I heard a voice: “On your left.” As the runner sprinted past me, I recognized him because he was seriously stretching out as we had begun our hike.

I continued my trip through the shaded trail in huge fir trees along Teton Creek when I located some Columbia monkshood and some Lewis monkeyflowers growing in the damp soil along the creek. I stepped off the trail as two young women jogged past me with two dogs following them.

About a mile and a half into my slow-paced sauntering, I saw a lot of trees that had been uprooted by an avalanche this past winter. As I looked around, I noticed just below some cliffs halfway up the mountain there were about a dozen large trees that had been broken off about 20 feet above the ground. The tops of those trees had been carried by the avalanche past Teton Creek and partially up the other side.

While counting the rings of one of the large trees that some workers had cleared off the trail last spring, two more young ladies jogged past me into the chest-high flowers blooming on an open hillside. The large fir trees had given way to hillsides covered with white, yellow, blue, pink and even some purple flowers. White-crowned sparrows, dark-eyed juncos, yellow-rumped warblers and the loud lazuli buntings were busy singing at the top of their lungs as I strolled through the flowers.

An older couple met me in the flowers on their way down from their early morning hike. They were from California but owned a summer home near Driggs and usually hiked the Teton Creek Trail about once a week, but usually on a weekday.

“Each year we hike on one Saturday just to see how busy it can get,” said the gentleman to me. “With all the foot traffic on the trail, we rarely see bear or any other large animals, but once in a while, we will see moose.”

We discussed the avalanche, and the woman said that the snow was so deep and late-leaving that many of spring flowers are just blooming now.

“I am excided for the next two weeks to pass because these tall stalks that are not blooming yet will be blue and lavender colors instead of white and yellow ones,” she said.

I had noticed that only a few of the fireweeds, larkspur and columbine had started blooming, but with all the other blossoms it was a busy place for hummingbirds. Butterflies, dragonflies and other large insects were also enjoying the flowers.

It was finally time for a rest and a snack, so when I came to a couple of large spruce trees for shade, I moved off the trail about 10 yards and settled down. During my 30-minute rest I had 21 people come by without seeing me. First there was a group of seven teenagers running down the trail as they were training for a cross country team. Next came a couple with six children with two in carriers. Two of their boys were busy trying to catch butterflies. My wife later informed me that she visited with the family, and the youngest child was just 7 weeks old, and the kids loved to hike the Devil’s Staircase.

Next came what looked like a father and a son with camping gear, two women with four dogs, a couple with one dog and finally what appeared two serious runners. Prior to resting, I had only seen a few people on the way up, but it was about 11:30, and I was to meet my wife and her friend at the “junction.”

I had just started walking again when the two of them came walking around a bend in the trail and I was ready to head back down as it was getting a little warm. About an hour later I was back at the car, tuckered out and ready for a cold drink.

The hike down was much different than the hike up. We passed over 50 hikers going up and the rocks in the trail had doubled in height and appeared to be grabbing the bottom of my shoes. It was a lovely hike with all the beauty that was needed. Both parking lots were full with some cars parked a quarter of a mile away from the trailhead.

We think that we will follow the lady’s suggestion and head back up the trail in a few weeks – hoping for a fireweed and columbine explosion on some of the hillsides.