![]() ![]() We continued hiking down Paintbrush Canyon, passing the beautiful Holly Lake. We still don’t know the source of the shaking. Scenarios flipped instantly through our minds, one after the other: Earthquake? Avalanche? Rock slide? Adrenaline rushing, we scanned the area for the cause, in case we needed to move ourselves out of harm’s way. Out of nowhere, there was a massive thud and a tremor jarred the earth beneath us. We stopped to eat a quick lunch in a sheltered area. Fierce wind gusts ripped through the canyon. ![]() Soon after reaching treeline, it started to drizzle, and we pulled out our rain jackets. Thunder rumbled in the distance, so we parted ways. We wanted to get to lower elevation before the storm and its lightning got any closer. ![]() He’d thru hiked the PCT a year after us, in 2013, going southbound from Canada to Mexico. We chatted for a bit, and were excited to learn that he was a fellow Pacific Crest Trail thru hiker, trail name Puppeteer. Soon after, a strong hiker with a small pack approached uphill towards us. A rock slide had wiped out a short piece of trail, so we had to carefully maneuver down that section using both hands and feet. Once over the pass, the trail switchbacked steeply down through talus. We took some pictures but couldn’t stay long. The clouds were gathering and looking more ominous. From there we looked down into pools of snowmelt and Paintbrush Canyon. Our climbing eventually brought us to Paintbrush Divide. We watched our footsteps closely as the gusts were fierce enough to knock us off balance. The higher we got, the stronger the winds blew. Hiking towards Paintbrush Divide, Grand Teton National Park The trail work, complete with with rock steps and walls, was impressive. Our higher vantage point revealed spectacular views of the Tetons and the valley from which we’d climbed. It’s amazing that so much sound can come from such a small creature. It hunched its body back, then lunged forward, belting out an “Eeeep”. Hiking away from Lake Solitude, Grand Teton National Park Leaving Lake Solitude behind, we started our biggest climb of the trip, 1600 feet up to Paintbrush Divide. The water was clear enough to watch fish moving in its depths. Lake Solitude, though early in our day’s walk, was so nice that we opted to stop and and enjoy the view for a while. Marmots basked in the sunlight as we set off. He was thankful to be back to normal.Ī storm loomed in the forecast, so we packed up a little earlier than usual. We wanted to make sure to cross Paintbrush Divide, our high point for the day, before the storm broke loose. Campsite in North Fork Cascade CanyonĬhris’s altitude headaches and fatigue from previous days were completely gone. We packed the remaining food into our now almost empty bear can, just enough for our final day in this awesome backcountry. We scrambled up onto a large boulder overlooking our campsite and ate breakfast. North Fork Cascade Canyon to String Lake Trailhead (11 miles) ![]()
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