Grand Tetons trip pages index

Grand Tetons is the main page about the De Anza Outdoor Club trips to Grand Teton National Park.

Below is a list of, and links to the other trip webpages.

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photos below by Quang-Tuan Luong/terragalleria.com
, all rights reserved.

bull moose QTL: terragalleria teton range above jackson lake: terragalleria tetons and fence: Teton range and Jackson Lake seen from Signal Mountain by Quang-Tuan Luong:

terragalleria three bighorn sheep: terragalleria used with permission fall colors and peaks: terragalleria Mount Moran reflected in Leigh Lake:

terragalleria cascade creek and tetons: Moon and Grand Teton by Quang-Tuan Luong: Grizzly bear and thermal steam by Quang-Tuan Luong:

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Where people stay is up to each person. It can be difficult to coordinate timing of activities if we don’t all stay in the same area, so we’ve all stayed at Colter Bay most of the of the time on previous trips.

If you will be staying in a Colter Bay cabin, Colter Bay cabins, Grand Teton National Park has details about the cabins and the logistics of sharing one.

Colter Bay tent cabins

If you want to get a better room, or even a suite with fabulous view, fireplace, fridge, etc, read more at: Grand Tetons hotels, cabins, lodging (but note that people on our trips rarely share the more expensive accommodations).

Campers can take a look at a map of Colter Bay campground Grand Teton National park

 

Grand Tetons trip cost has examples of

The cheap trip,

The not-so cheap trip,

The slightly more costly trip, but less driving time,

also known as the I-can’t-get-much-time-off-work trip,

and The expensive trip.

and is where you will find the section about saving money when you get a pass to enter the park(s).

 

Restaurants in Grand Teton National Park are non-smoking, many others in Wyoming and Montana allow smoking. There are dozens of restaurants in the town of Jackson. They vary from burgers, Chinese, Mexican, sushi, pasta, Italian, steakhouse to four-stars with “an award-winning wine list”. Most lean towards family or casual atmosphere. Grand Teton National park restaurants has menus of in-the-park-dining as well as and links to some in town.

 

Grand Teton National Park
al fresco dining:

 

Must reads include:

If you want to go kayaking or canoeing with us on this trip you MUST read Grand Tetons kayaking.

The trip agreement is also a must read.

https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/bear_encounters.htm has info you must read.

HOW TO SIGN UP for the trip includes when/where and things you must bring to an in-person, on campus signup meeting.

 

nps photo bear on horizon: NPS 75 pixels 2 newborn bison: grassy plain with adult and two baby bisonNPS photo bull elk grazing:

 

Grand Tetons sightseeing has Grand Teton National Park touring resources, links to audio descriptions of historic waysides/buildings, a historic properties driving tour,
maps and descriptions of the stops you can make on the

two main roads in the park between Moose Junction and Jackson Lake Junction
and the
Moose-Wilson road that comes in to Moose from the Granite entrance station to the Moose entrance station

Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park has a  (long or short, your choice) hike most people take.

Signal Mountain, is not actually in the Teton range, but is a worthy drive for great views of the range.

Jackson Hole, Wyoming has a map and description of the main streets and how to find the largest groceries, Ace Hardware, REI, Target, UPS, Radio Shack, city parks with a skate park or sand volleyball court, electric vehicle charging stations and more.

St John’s Health (hospital), (former name: St John’s Medical Center) https://www.stjohns.health/ (with a 24 hour emergency room) is in Jackson.

 

sign moose emblem:

Grand Tetons trip transportation has flight info, driving distances and guesses at gas cost, previous trip examples, AND trip notes with where to find some mega-cheaper gas stations and ways to keep from driving the slow route through towns we need to go through by not taking the obvious freeway exit.

During our trip, if your driver has plans for the day that you don’t want to participate in, or if you arrive by plane before the main group, or if your driver stayed up late and slept in all morning, there is plenty to do at or from Colter Bay without access to your own vehicle. See at NO CAR ON OUR TRIP?
at Grand Tetons trip transportation

Road trip advice and etiquette has decisions to make before the trip, packing advice and more from previous road trip members that could make the long drive much more tolerable.

 

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For a laugh (and so you are not a person who makes a big mistake on the trip)
Camping Blunders includes these things people have done on Outdoor Club trips:

Didn’t make arrangements for a ride, just showed up when carpools met to leave
and figured there would be room
(oh, and he had a bike he wanted to bring and a bunch of food that needed refrigeration, and he figured someone would have room for it in their ice chest).
– – – You might guess he did not get a ride to go on the trip.

Said he’d drive, and had convinced his parents to loan the big vehicle. Changed his mind about going on the trip, but didn’t tell people he was supposedly giving rides to until they called him the day before.

A couple of girls held up the start of a major all day hike because they needed to do their makeup.
The same girls wore watermelon scented lotion in a mosquito area.

Didn’t arrange to borrow or rent a tent,

didn’t arrange to share space in a tent,

just showed up and expected there would be space.

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Grand Tetons biking is not an official part of the trip. This page has rules, advice and suggested favorite routes, links to maps, in and out of the park for mountain and road bikes.

Grand Tetons whitewater rafting is not an official part of the trip.

Grand Tetons backpacking is not an official part of the trip, but often trip members do their own backpack adventure.
backpacking advice has these sections: Must bring for each large group (or perhaps for each couple or person), Must bring backpacking for each person, Some (crazy?) people think these are optional for backpacking, Backpacking luxuries(?), Do not bring these backpacking, To keep down on weight backpacking, Don’t rush out and buy, BACKBACKING FOOD, Low-cook backpacking foods, Yosemite National Park WILDERNESS PERMITS.

Leave no trace camping has these basic principles:
Plan Ahead and Prepare
Travel and Camp on Durable Surfaces
Dispose of Waste Properly
Minimize Campfire Impacts
Respect Wildlife
Be Considerate of Other Visitors

examples and details of how easy this can be are at: Leave no trace

Yellowstone National Park has details, maps and recommend places to see, best hike

 

How to use a dry bag when out kayaking

 

Packing for the trip:

Grand Tetons trip equipment has advice from previous trip members

The club advisor brings a few pairs of waterproof binoculars, but not enough for a large group, so everyone must share uness you can bring your own. With binoculars you can see the river otters up closer when we are out paddling:

otters at Oxbow Bend and Mount Moran:

 

There are crucial things wrong with each of these tents.

Don’t buy a cheap tent has reasons why and more examples of tents to NOT bring.

 

Improve your inexpensive rain gear

Snow or rain camp must-haves

GORP and hiking snacks

photo below by E J Peiker http://www.ejphoto.com/grand_teton_page.htm

photot by e j peiker Teton Sunset Jackson lake.:

 

Nature resources

A list of books you can download for free and read in advance of a Yellowstone or Grand Teton visit are at Recommended Reading

tetons names of peaks 140 pixels NPS photo:
A larger version of this drawing of the Teton range, with the names of each peak,
as printed in the park newspaper, is at: Teton range peak names
nps drawing bears: drawing of a black bear and a grizzly for comparisonWas that a black bear or a grizzly, a coyote or a wolf or a fox we just saw?

NPS photo Yellowstone wildlife montage Robert Hynes 560 pxls: Rocky Mountain mammal size comparisons has photos and comparisons of beavers, squirrels, pika, marmot, elk, moose, bison, fox, coyote, wolf, golden-mantled ground squirrel, chipmunk, Red Squirrel (also known as) Chickaree, Unita Ground squirrels, bobcat, lynx, mountain lion (cougar), pine marten, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, grizzly and black bears, tundra swan, trumpeter swan, adult and juvenile Bald Eagles.

 

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Grand Teton National Park birds has photos and details about the most common ones we can hope to see
including Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbird, Canada Geese, Clark’s Nutcracker, Golden Eagle, Great Blue Heron. Great Gray Owl, Harlequin duck, Loon, Magpie, Merganser, Northern Flicker (woodpecker), Osprey, Ouzel, Pelican, Peregrine Falcon, Ptarmigan, Raven, Sandhill Cranes, Steller’s Jays, Trumpeter Swan , Western Meadowlark, and Western Tanager, with links to calls / songs from most of them to listen to.

and you can Download photos of over a hundred birds of Grand Teton National Park
https://www.audubon.org/climate/national-parks/grand-teton-national-park

hawk flying

Safety issues are discussed through all the pages, but some pages are especially about your health and safety:

Grand Tetons kayaking

Please, no trail running Grand Teton National park: “Trail running is strongly discouraged; you may startle a bear.” Glacier National Park: “Trail running is discouraged as there have been an increasing number of injuries and fatalities due to runners surprising bears at close range.”

Don’t bike or jog/run by yourself, it is safer to bike in groups since there are very large, potentially dangerous and unpredictable animals potentially everywhere.
Data suggest that rates of sudden encounters with bears are much higher among cyclists than hikers.
Grand Tetons biking includes statistics about cyclist encounters with grizzly bears.

your safety in grizzly bear territory tells you what to do if
you see a bear in the distance or a bear charges you and has info about Bear Pepper Sprays and what might happen before a bison charges.

Grand Tetons Weather includes this:
Afternoon thundershowers are common in the summer and into fall. During a thunderstorm, don’t take a shower or use a sink, including washing dishes. Don’t swim. Don’t talk on a land line phone. Don’t use your I pod. Don’t get zapped! People have died inside buildings during thunderstorms. Please read Thunderstorm and lightning safety

The use of cell phones for photography (with or without a selfie stick) has made preventable injury or even death by selfie common. They were only taking a selfie.

 

sign wildlife crossing: sign means go slow: sign that bill moose: sign is some cows beau: sign slow down: 55 pxl moose silhouette facing left: moose silhouette facing left

canoe over canoe rescue

 

How to not collide with a deer

 

Hiking Advice has hot weather hiking advice, hiking logistics and the answer to the question: When is the best time of day to cross a mountain stream?

loading a kayak on a car

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We advise people to check everything that powers, stops, cools, heats, ventilates and lights their vehicle before they leave on an adventure. Road trip vehicle prep and recommended service has checklists (including many things people can do without a mechanic).

If the owner of the Buick below had cleaned the battery terminals before the trip, the half hour spent trying to get his car to start the last morning of the 2016 winter Yosemite trip could have been spent on something more fun. See: Road trip vehicle prep and recommended service

KODAK Digital Still Camera

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Find a compass, altitude, latitude and longitude on your cell phone

At altitude has info about sunburn (sunburns develop more quickly at high altitudes), hiking, diet at higher altitudes for De Anza Outdoor Club trips. It includes why your tent mate might seem to stop breathing.

Any hike to the top of peaks and domes must start early so we can get to the top and back down before expected afternoon lightning storms start. If at any point thunder is heard or lightning seen, you should turn back from the top of any peak, even if you haven’t gotten as far as you wanted.

 

NPS photo short haul rescue: National Park Service photo of a short haul rescue showing helicopter, litter and rescuer from below You can’t always expect a helicopter rescue

GPS is not infallible

Can a person who is prescribed an epi-pen risk going into the wilderness? and some sting prevention notes are at: Anaphylaxis quick facts

water in cold, high mountain streams may contain giardia, bacteria or other viruses that can cause severe intestinal problems water in creeks, lakes, etc. is only safe to drink if you brought a water purifier.

Read about safety at wildlife jams

Safe Distances from Wildlife includes reasons to stay away from even friendly seeming animals in parks, and charts and photos to better be able to determine and visualize how far away from wildlife you need to stay to be safe (and obey laws that do have penalties).

Camping solutions for women has tips for and answers typical questions from first-time women campers,
including the question: Can menstruating women camp or backpack around bears?

Bears has links to general info about bears, then practicalities of camping and backpacking around bears, (food storage, what to do if you see a bear).

 

NPS drawing that says your cell phone is not a light source, NOT a map, not a survival kit, NOT always going to have reception Cell phones in the wilderness has advice on how/when to use a cell phone to contact 911 in the wilderness and a warning about interference between cell phones, iPods and avalanche beacons.

GPS is not infallible

You can’t always expect a helicopter rescue

photo below copyright Daniel J. Cox/Natural Exposures.com http://www.naturalexposures.com

lone bull elk copyright Daniel J. Cox Natural Exposures.com: lone bull elk near a stream on a misty morning, copyright Daniel J. Cox, Natural Exposures.com

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Black and white or color aerial photo/maps are at:

 

NASA aerial photo of Teton Range

Grand Tetons and Jackson Lake aerial photo

Colter Bay, Grand Teton National Park

Jackson Lake Lodge vicinity

Moose, Wyoming

Signal Mountain, Wyoming

astronaut’s view of Grand Teton National Park

map of Colter Bay campground Grand Teton National park

map of Jenny Lake campground, Grand Teton National park

Signal Mountain campground map

NPS photo swan family:

 

Pages of mostly photos:

 

Grand Teton trip 2018

Grand Teton National Park between-summer-and-fall-quarters 2017 trip:
Total Solar Eclipse in Grand Teton National Park

Grand Teton National Park trip 2011

De Anza College Outdoor Club Grand Teton trip 2010

Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Park photos

2009 Grand Teton trip

Grand Teton National Park trip 2008

Grand Teton trip 2007 photos

Moose cow and calf, Grand Teton National Park September, 2006

Pika

De Anza College Outdoor Club Grand Teton park trip 2006

Grand Tetons Sept. 2005

Grand Tetons September 2004

cow moose and calf

Cascade Canyon, Grand Teton National Park

Grand Tetons Bald Eagles

Grand Tetons beaver lodge pictures

Cascade Canyon wildflowers

String Lake, Grand Tetons

Grand Teton trip 2014 video by Jennifer Chiou

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXiHRYdgo7Q

sunset Lunch Tree Hill 2005 560 pixels: