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Grand Teton National Park

Hazy hardscapes, snowy snapshots

By Scott Richardson

November 28^th, 2020

Tranquility rises out of chaos. The covid-19 pandemic threatened to cancel our travel plans, but trusting it was the safer plan, we masked up, loaded up my sedan, and drove 31 hours west to get to the quiet shores of Colter Bay.

10 million years ago, tranquility was interrupted as massive earthquakes thrust mountains 10,000 feet into the air, while dropping the surrounding valley downward. Glaciers came and went, leaving behind the iconic shapes of the Teton Range, and beautiful lakes at their feet.

Grand Teton National Park was the first destination on our September road trip. You can explore the other parts of our trip here: Westbound/eastbound travel | Yellowstone | Wind Cave | Badlands

After 3.5 days of driving straight west through the plains, we were happy to see the scenery turn mountainous as we wound through the Wind River range on the final push towards the Tetons.

Wind River Lake, Bridger Teton National Forest.

We arrived in Colter Bay just before sunset and checked into our cabin. We were tired and hungry from the long drive, and though we had a few supplies to make dinner, we opted to get a pizza instead. As the sunset behind the mountains, I watched the sky light up and ran down to the lake to watch the clouds turn purple.

As the sky turned to dusk, we hung around the shore waiting for the Milky Way to fade into view. The mix of condensation in the cold and the haze in the sky made it tough to determine if there were any stars in the sky on my camera’s LCD.

Our first sunset in the Grand Tetons. Vivid colors over Colter Bay.

The next morning I woke up early, half from excitement and a half because my body hadn’t made the adjustment to mountain time. I took the car and found a spot to watch the darkness turn into the pastel colors of sunrise. But, it became immediately clear that nothing was going to be clear. Haze from western wildfires made the nearby mountains almost indistinguishable.

We drove south towards Jackson Hole and explored the park along the way, all the while hoping that the sun would burn off the haze, but it refused to lift. We decided that we could detour into town for a long lunch and grocery resupply, hoping the view would improve by the time we got back.

We made our way east and dipped our legs into Lower Slide Lake for an early-afternoon, cold water wake-up. Then we headed towards Mormon Row to see the famous barns set against the mountainous backdrop, but the mountains were still barely distinguishable from the haze.

Wildfire smoke from California and Oregon obscure the view of the Tetons.

Wildfire haze hiding the Tetons in the distance.

Looking opposite of the mountains from Signal Mountain.

On our way north towards on our cabin, the drive was interrupted by a bison jam. A herd casually made its way back and forth across the road, and grazed as young bison rolled around in the dirt.

A bison sticks out it’s tongue in the Grand Teton,

Our third morning in the park started the same as the one before: hazy. We woke up early and marveled at the tiny bits of color that popped out at sunrise.

We got an early start on the heavily trafficked Jenny Lake trail, trying to avoid the crowds out of convenience and covid concerns. We circled the lake, taking in mountain views and listening to the water lap up along the pebbled lined shores.

While we were photographing Oxbow Bend that morning, we talked with someone who recommended an off-the-beaten-path drive along a dirt road to a quiet spot along the river. It sounded like a great place to relax and cook dinner, so following our hike we made our way there. Unfortunately, the car didn’t have enough clearance to prevent scraping or getting stuck as the road worsened a few miles in. We backed out of the narrow road and headed back to the cabin.

Low clearance prevented us from gaining access to the riverfront.

On our last night in Colter Bay, the temperatures dipped and we saw a few snow flurries before we went to bed. The power went out early that night, taking down the electric heater that warmed us up, not coming back on for 5 hours.

A light layer of snow after a surprise winter storm.

We woke up to a dusting of snow, but the wind had taken down power all the way from Jackson Hole to the border with Yellowstone. Downed trees closed roads throughout the park, but we got lucky and managed to avoid any delays as we enjoyed the view that the cold had brought us: a completely transformed, snowy, and clear Tetons.

We spent our final day in Grand Teton retracing our steps, and marveling at how much the snow changed the landscape we’d lived in for a few days.

Snow on the Tetons as seen from Colter Bay.

Mormon Row and a clear view of the Tetons made for a very different scene than we had seen a few days earlier

A mirrored view of snowy trees reflected in the Snake River.

A wide view of the Tetons from Colter Bay.

While the grand scenic landscapes with mountains towering over the horizon had faded into a hazy oblivion for most of our stay, the snow cleared the skies and gave us a completely different park to explore. We were thrilled to experience the park in such a variety of conditions.