Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Farthersouth,aturnoutlooksacrossceruleanJennyLake—itsshoresclothedwithstout
spruce—into Cascade Canyon. Down the road near the ranger station, you can take a sum-
mer shuttle boat across the lake to the Cascade Canyon Trail. Its lower section wanders
through a wonderland of evergreens and wildflowers to such inviting locations as Hidden
Falls and Inspiration Point, overlooking Jackson Hole.
16.
Teton Glacier Turnout
At the south end of Jenny Lake the drive rejoins Teton Park Road southbound. To the west
lies Timbered Island—not a spot of land in a lake, but an oasis of evergreens amid a sea of
sagebrush, growing on a patch of moist soil. Early on a summer morning or evening, you
may see elk feeding amid the trees. From the turnout up ahead, you can view Teton glaci-
er, one of 10 named rivers of slowly flowing ice in the range—a reminder that the natural
forces that formed these mountains continue, uninterupted, by our brief passage.
17.
Taggart Lake Trailhead
Another of those natural forces is fire, and to the west at Taggart Lake Trailhead, you can
see the scar of a 1985 blaze that burned out of control with such intensity that sap-soaked
lodgepole pines literally exploded with the fury of fireworks, and boulders cracked from
the heat. Despite their seeming destructiveness, however, forest fires ignited by lightning
cleansed and regenerated forests for eons before Smokey the Bear decided they were evil,
and ecologists now question whether such blazes should automatically be quenched. An
incidental legacy of the fire near Taggart Lake, at least for hikers, is unblocked mountain
views and, in the summers that followed, a riot of wildflowers.
18.
Menor's Ferry Historic Site
Exhibits at this site include an old homestead dating from 1894, a smokehouse, a well,
Teton memorabilia, and a replica of the old cable ferry that operated here until 1927. Most
important, at this site in 1923 a meeting was held among farsighted conservationists that
led eventually to the creation of Grand Teton National Park.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search