Over the pass and through the woods....

I finally got around to driving over the Teton Pass to Idaho! It's about 6 miles up (a steep 10% grade) and 6 miles down the other side to the Idaho state line, with beautiful vistas along the way. The pass was used by Indians 9,000 years ago, by trappers and explorers around 1800,  and in the 1860s by engineers to try to find a railroad route. Teton Pass was ruled out. Homesteaders came over the pass from Idaho in 1880, and in 1886, the first horse-drawn wagon came across, taking a few weeks to make the trip. Mail service to the Jackson area began around this time, and in 1913, the Forest Service finally built a paved road.

Above, the view of the valley from the top of the pass... along the way, there are runaway truck lanes and signs near sheer rock cliffs designating avalanche areas. Accidents involving 18 wheelers are common and just last week, one overturned, spilling potatoes all over the highway. The local paper offered free potatoes to anyone willing to pick them up. ha-ha.

First time in Idaho! On the way back over the pass to WY, I pulled over and parked at the Phillips Canyon lot and trail head and started hiking to Ski Lake, about 5-6 miles round trip and a moderate 1,000 foot ascent. Looking back down at the pass and parking lot as I climbed:

There were wildflowers everywhere, and the path up was spectacular with views of the Gros Ventres range in the distance and Jackson below...

About half way up, I took the Ski Lake fork as the Phillips Trail is a long advanced hike. No thanks. I had the trail mostly to myself and only passed 2-3 groups of hikers during the 2 hours. I crossed two short man-made bridges and a meadow...

 

Ski Lake is an alpine lake, fed only by melting snow coming from the mountains above. The water is crystal clear and turquoise. I arrived after about an hour and was a little winded from the climb.  It was worth the effort!

I didn't want to miss lunch back at the ranch, so I headed back down and got to my car in half the time compared to climbing up ;) Again, flowers and views were to die for. There were also shady pine forests along the way... Sound of Music anyone?