Hi Bryan,

Glad my stories were helpful to your Tetons trip planning. You have read your permit situation correctly: Alaska Basin around to Bradley Lake is a big day and only really necessary if you want to complete a loop hike; if you shuttle vehicles between trailheads, you don’t need that camp at Bradley. The trail you’d take to Bradley Lake is certainly nice, but mostly forested and not replete with the kind of “grand” scenery of the Teton high country.

And yes, you could hike one huge day from Alaska Basin over Paintbrush Divide to finish at String Lake, if your group feels capable of it. The good news is that going from Alaska Basin you can finish down the main stem of Cascade Canyon and it’s a much more realistic day.

Plus, the park issues 75 percent of permits walk-in. You might be able to modify your permit when you pick it up.

You’ll find relevant details and tips in my story “How to Backpack the Teton Crest Trail Without a Permit.”

Good luck.

Thanks for all of these great articles on backpacking in Tetons, they have been a great resource! When the dust settled on reservation day, I landed with permits for a four day, three-night route camping at Granite South/Middle, Alaska Basin, and Bradley Lake (a huge day 3). I was disappointed to miss out on a campsite in Cascade or Paintbrush. If we descend through Cascade Canyon to Bradley Lake, are we missing the best scenery on the Teton Crest? Does looping down to Bradley Lake have any advantages to commend?

Our group does an annual backpacking trip, so we have the option of saving Tetons for next year and trying again. Or I see from your articles, we could camp just two nights, and hike all the way out via Paintbrush, rather than camp at Bradley.

Thanks,
Bryan

Thanks, Jennifer, I’m very happy my blog is helpful to you. The group campsites in Grand Teton National Park are only for groups of seven to 12 people. Groups of six or less use standard campsites. The short answer is that you’d be unlikely to have bear lockers every night in the backcountry and possibly not any night.

According to nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/bear-recreation.htm: “As of April 2011, regardless of elevation, backpackers will be required to use approved bear-resistant canisters except where food storage boxes are provided. Food storage boxes are only available at lakeshore backcountry sites. On some specific alpine routes where a climber is bivouacing on a high rocky ledge and bears cannot go, park-approved bear canisters may not be required.”

Good luck with your planning and get in touch if you’d like my help with that. The permit reservation date is coming up: Jan. 10.

By the way, you are following a similar “path” I followed when I started backpacking: My first trip (that I remember, anyway) was in Yosemite and the second was the Teton Crest Trail. Nice start!

First, thank you for all your wonderful information, we have only hiked once in the USA (Yosemite), so it’s really helpful in planning. We are planning a trip in August 2024, we want to take our two boys 12 and 15 for 4 nights, we want to try limit our weight of our backpacks. Can we book group sites and avoid taking bear canisters, are those the only sites with bear boxes?

Thinking Granite canyon, death canyon shelf, south fork cascade and Holly Lake, but if any more have bear boxes it gives us more flexibility when we try get the permits.

Thanks, Kevin. You have a great itinerary, with moderate days and a beautiful route. As you’ve figured out, your longest day will be Alaska Basin to North Fork Cascade Canyon, so give yourselves plenty of time that day; it’s also a beautiful stretch of the TCT. Have fun!

Hi Lily,

Congrats on your plans to hike the TCT. I’d say any way you hike into the Teton Range is beautiful but the landscape generally grows more dramatic as you get farther north when starting at the Phillips Pass Trailhead. The terrain is not quite as severely vertical in the southern end of the range as in its core around the main peaks, including the Grand, Middle, and South Tetons. Still, the southern end is quieter and feels a bit more remote. You certainly would not be disappointed hiking from the tram north on the TCT. Good luck with it.

I’m hoping to do this hike this fall, and am wondering about trailheads. For our logistics, taking the aerial tram probably makes the most sense; however, I’m wondering if we start there rather than at the south end at Phillips Bench TH, if we’ll miss out on a lot of can’t-miss scenery. Any thoughts? Thanks!

Hey Wesley, I’ve heard Moose Lake is a nice spot, haven’t been there myself and I doubt you’ll see many people there. That’s a great itinerary, enjoy your hike.

That is exactly what I’m doing this august. I wonder how many folks camp at moose lake? I actually chose this because I wanted to keep our daily mileage a consistent 9 miles per day. Our itinerary will be moose lake, death canyon shelf, south fork cascade and holly lake. Very much looking forward to the trek.

Yes, that’s a good plan, Ryan, thanks. I touch on that and other tips in my blog story “How to Backpack the Teton Crest Trail Without a Permit.”

Hi Karyn,

Fair question, thanks for asking. I would say that you would want to be able to walk at a moderate pace (not sprint) up five flights of stairs without getting too winded, but more importantly, be able to hike on a trail up a hill with 2,000 feet of elevation gain from bottom to top, ideally carrying a pack with at least 20 pounds inside it, without feeling extremely fatigued, as if you couldn’t hike another mile. Even better, you should wake up the next day feeling like you could do the same hike again starting that morning.

I don’t think you have to be able to run a 5k (which is just over three miles), but you should be able to hike with a pack on a training hike at least nearly as many miles as you plan to do on most days backpacking the Teton Crest Trail, and again, get up the next morning feeling like you could do that again—and enjoy it.

You should check out my story “How to Know How Hard a Hike Will Be,” and talk to the person organizing your trip about how many miles per day they’re planning.

I hope that’s helpful. Good luck.

So, “not particularly hard” is pretty subjective… not particularly hard if you can run a 5k? Go up 5 flights of stairs without getting winded? I’m pretty out of shape right now but have been invited to do a part of the trail, but not sure which as I am not the planner. I just don’t want to get out there & realize I’m in over my head…I’ve not done any hiking west of the Mississippi.

Karyn

Hi Maria, good question, and one I get often. The Teton Crest Trail often becomes safely passable by mid-July, and likely only Paintbrush Divide would potentially present a concern. I detail several possible routes and address questions of season/snow, and safety in my downloadable e-guide “The Complete Guide to Backpacking the Teton Crest Trail in Grand Teton National Park.” I think you’ll find it enormously useful in planning every aspect of your trip (and a super value for the price). Click here to get it.

Glad to hear that, Barry, and I’m not surprised. You also hiked a loop that gets less traffic than other parts of the park, which is nice. Thanks for sharing that comment.

Thanks for this great information. What is the earliest you have backpacked the TCT? My group needs to plan our trip for mid July so not sure if it will be passable….we are not keen on using ice axes.

Do you have a fav loop or point to point hike that covers about 40-50 miles over 4 days that is at lower elevation and can be trekked in mid July?

Thanks Maria from Austin TX