After several years of planning, our most challenging adventure yet had arrived – climbing Grand Teton. I shared this adventure with my two daughters along with a cousin and his daughter. We were all very nervous about whether or not we were physically able to do this but also excited for a chance to climb this challenging mountain. While it may not be as tall as many in Colorado, it’s every bit as demanding. If not more so. My biggest concern was the altitude and what effects it would have on everyone including myself. The last time I climbed a mountain (Longs Peak) I found I would begin to black out if I moved too fast at the higher elevations and I knew this time I would need to keep a good pace in order to be successful. My training had been more intense for this adventure so hopefully that would make a difference in my abilities at the top of the mountain.
We began our journey to our camping location about 8am uncertain about what was ahead of us besides 7 miles of up hill climbs in order to reach our camping destination. Leaving from the Lupine Meadows trailhead, the ground was flat but soon turned up. The first mile went by quickly and seemed rather tolerable. The second mile was more of the same keeping our pace at a nice clip towards our destination. Between here and mile three there was a surprise. A black bear was gorging on berries near the trail. It really didn’t appear to have much interest in us other than wanting us to continue moving on so it could eat in peace. We cautiously continued up the hill after watching this bear for a short time without incident. Several other hikers ahead and behind us did the same. The bear became a topic of conversation for a brief moment at camp with other climbers as it seemed to stay there for some time.
Over the next couple of miles we began to hike above the tree line where the terrain became more rocky but the incline was still manageable allowing us to continue moving higher. As the halfway point came and went, altitude began to show its impact as our breathing became more labored and our legs became more fatigued. The scenery was a great distraction of these discomforts with beautiful mountain vistas surrounding us and water running downhill from the melting glaciers above filling the air with calming sounds. Middle Teton could be seen above us now but no sign of our destination near Grand Teton. After a short break we began to climb large boulders which I enjoyed more than the typical trail. These didn’t last long and soon we had reached Lupine Meadows which was incredibly beautiful Mountain scene with flowers, waterfalls, and Grand Teton in the background.
Pulling off the trail and finding a boulder to sit on, we took a break to eat and re-fill water containers from the mountain stream after filtering it first. I could have stayed here for hours just enjoying the sights and sounds but time was going by quickly and clouds were beginning to build. Storms appeared to be on there way and staying dry was preferred for the last portion of our trail. Repacking our food into our backpacks, we once again grabbed trekking poles and continued putting one foot in front of the other. Only a few miles left to go. Unknown to us at this moment but our trail was about to get quite a bit more difficult as the hills steepened. Our incline became more difficult, the altitude was having a more intense effect on our breathing, and the clouds continued to get darker motivating us to keep hiking up this hill towards camp. Our legs were really wearing out now feeling as though the could just collapse. We had to stop to catch our breath and regain some balance often going up these last few miles but tried to keep moving as much as possible. Finally another mile had passed with only one more to go. Could we make it the rest of the way up this steep hill?
I began to accept that we were going to get wet as thunder could be heard behind us. While this provided some motivation, was it enough to keep our weary bodies moving? Still climbing one step at a time, we continued on our journey wondering if this will ever come to an end. Continuing to slowly move higher, it felt like a snail would move faster up these switchbacks. Each breath became precious trying push energy into our legs which now seemed to have the consistency of Jello. I noticed a few drops starting to fall and tried to climb faster on a seemingly endless trail. When if felt as though our trail would not end it leveled out. Finally some mercy for our legs! A short hike later and we had reached our destination of Corbet High Camp. Thankfully the tents were already set up so all we had to do was race inside with our packs to stay mostly dry. The last hiker entered their tent and zipped it shut before the storms, which had chased us up the mountain, let loose.
The mountain had been kind to us allowing us to reach shelter just in time. We collapsed onto the sleeping mats allowing our aching legs to begin their recovery while bright flashes penetrated the tent walls followed by the loud, humbling cracks of thunder and intense rain smashing all around us outside. Filled with relief for getting here we began to feel the satisfaction of accomplishment for pushing so hard on this difficult trail. But what have we gotten ourselves into?
