2003-07-19 Cascade Canyon 2003-07-20 Jackson 2003-07-21 South Yellowstone 2003-07-22 Bridger Teton NF 2003-07-23 North Yellowstone 2003-07-24 Rendezvous Mountain 2003-07-25 Jackson Lake 2003-07-26 AM Amphitheatre Lake 2003-07-26 PM Alpine Slide

Day 8 (Saturday, 7/26/2003)

Day 8, the last day of our journey. I wasn't going to be happy going back to Texas unless I had hiked up to Amphitheatre Lake. Brian wasn't feeling much like adventure that day, so I had him deposit me at the trailhead with instructions to meet me 5 hours later. Meanwhile, he toured some museums and did some shopping in town.

The Amphitheatre Lake Trail connects to the Bradley/Taggart Lake trails to make a round trip of 12.6 miles with close to 3000 feet of vertical climb. Most of the climb is incurred in the last 3 miles of the trail, which switches back over a dozen times as it ascends halfway up the front face of the Grand Teton and Disappointment Peak. Amphitheatre Lake sits immediately below the latter and has terrific views of the former. The trail can also be accessed via. the Lupine Meadows Trail, which makes for a round trip of only 9.2 miles from Jenny Lake.

Due to some bear activity around Bradley Lake near the start of the hike, I had to backtrack around to Taggart Lake, which added about 1.5 additional miles to the hike. I was officially tired at the end of the day, but it was well worth it! After rejoining Brian and resting a bit, we headed into town for dinner at the Cadillac Grille and another turn on the Alpine Slide.