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| Hiking | 19.45 Miles |
3,572 AEG |
| | Hiking | 19.45 Miles | 10 Hrs 20 Mns | | 2.21 mph |
| 3,572 ft AEG | 1 Hour 32 Mns Break | | | |
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[ show ]
| partners | | We got an early start at Jenny Lake Trailhead and set out for Lake Solitude at ~7:45AM, starting early enough that the parking lot was still mostly empty at the popular trailhead, but it was filling quickly. The vast majority of the tourists take the boat across the lake, so it was blissfully quiet as we hiked around the south/west sides of the lake, and we saw a moose in a pond down below.
Once we hit the west boat dock on the far side of the lake, the crowds really kicked in around Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point. We didn't stop by the falls and just paused briefly for some quick pictures near Inspiration Point before continuing into Cascade Canyon, anxious to get away from the swarms of tourists. The crowds thinned out considerably farther into the canyon, but I was surprised at how many people were still on the trail and wondered if Lake Solitude was a purely ironic name.
Still, the hike up Cascade Canyon was very pleasant--the creek was an almost constant presence, closer to the trail at some times than others [ youtube video ] . The canyon had a very gradual uphill grade with a nice mix of shade and open stretches with great views of the surrounding mountains, and there were a few hundred feet of falls cascading down Valhalla Canyon toward the creek.
Beyond the north/south fork intersection, the trail veered to the northwest and eventually left the forest and became much rockier, with a steeper climb over the last mile and a half or two miles toward the lake. That section had some of the best views of the day, looking back at the snowy peaks of the crest behind us, and we passed signs for multiple campsites along the trail as we hiked through the camping zone.
After crossing a final bridge spanning some small falls, we arrived at Lake Solitude, which was a lot quieter than I expected after seeing so many people hiking in through Cascade Canyon. We took a long lunch break and enjoyed the spectacular views and (relative) solitude before starting back.
[ youtube video ]
The hike out was faster since it was downhill just about all the way. About five miles from the trailhead, two hikers were stopped ahead of us and told us they'd just seen two grizzly bears ahead, and they were giving the bears a few minutes to move along before continuing...I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see the grizzlies. A fifth person showed up and waited with the group, and the five of us started slowly up the trail, making noise as we approached the spot where the couple had spotted the bears.
We soon saw the grizzlies up ahead, a mom and a cub. They'd started up a rocky slope but turned around and crossed the trail, heading for Cascade Creek, where they grazed along the banks, aware of our presence but not paying much attention. We continued to wait but were in an awkward position as the bears were slowly moving toward us along the creek--we had thick brush/forest behind us and couldn't really back up or get farther away. Eventually, the five of us made our way around the bears on the trail, ~40-50 feet away. At one point, the cub seemed curious and started approaching us before backing off, and I had the bear spray out and thought I might have to spray something other than myself for a change.
But we passed without incident, and the rest of the hike out was much less eventful, with a few deer sightings and hundreds of tourists back near the boat docks. We took a brief detour over to Hidden Falls [ youtube video ] on the way out, then hiked back around Jenny Lake to finish it off. Crowds aside, this was another fun one--great scenery and perfect weather, plus the added bonus of the grizzly encounter and some other wildlife. |
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Valhalla Canyon |
Medium flow |
Medium flow |
| |  Cascading waterfalls on the mountain | | | |
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