Yonder is Jackson Hole!

Looking for a place to vist this summer or in the future? Then look no further than Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Here are some amazing pictures of it, if I don't just say so myself!

This is it, This is the town of Jackson as seen from the top of Snowking Mountain. Go to http://www.jacksonholenet.com/webcams/town_of_jackson_hole.php

for a webcam shot taken where I took my shot. Those are the Tetons on the left to center horizon. A branch of the Rocky Mountains. Formed over millions of year as the Pacific plate has slid up and onto the Atlantic plate. The large green area above town to the right is the National Elk Refuge where every winter 1000s of elk come down to to stay while the high country is deep in snow.

As you can tell Jackson is a small town. Its about one mile from the bottom of the ski slope below to the north end of town where the road turns to the right. And its about two miles from east to west. The 2000 population was about 8,647. Be interesting this year to see how much its grown.

This is the north end of town just past the Chamber of Commerce. The mountain on the right horizon is called Sheep Mountain by the old timers, or The Sleeping Indian to modern ones. The water seen here is Flat Creek and always has many kinds of water fowl on it, White Swans, Canadian Geese,Herons, Ducks, Redwing Blackbirds, and many others.

Here is a closer view of the Sleeping Indian. See his face and headdress on the right, his neck and then his belly still covered in this picture with snow? His belly tops out at over 10,000 feet high. There is a lake behind his neck to the northeast. And Big Horn sheep are often seen grazing on him all around.

Speaking of sheep, here is a young Ram watching for danger while grazing the high cliffs for food. These cliffs are along the upper belly ofthe Sleeping Indian.

Below the Indian to the west is the valley called Jackson Hole, its actually called Jackson's Hole, after famous Mountainman Henry Jackson, a furtrapper, Indian-friend and Frenchmen. The valley was named for him as a "Hole" was a term given to a large valley surrounded by high mountains. Jackson Hole, is surrounded by the Teton Range to the west, the Gros Ventre and Wind River Ranges to the east, the Yellowstone and Absaroka's to the north and the Wyoming Range to the south.

This shot was taken from the middle upper edge of the Gros Ventre Range (Grow Vont). The road I am on leads high into the range along a side canyon called Curtis Canyon.

This is higher up to the miidle end of the Elk Refuge. The silvery scrub in the foreground is Blue Sagebrush. Shot in early Fall the grasses have all turned brown, but the Cottonwoods along Flat Creek are still green.

This shot is from near the edge of tree-line (9000') in the Tetons. Looking down you see Bradley and Taggart Lakes, Glacier dug and morrained. The mountains on the horizon are the Gros Ventre, the small forested hill in the middle of Jackson Hole is Blacktail Butte. The Sanke River stretches from left to right in the center just this side of the butte and Granite Creek flows thru the tree lined curve into the Snake.

In late Spring Buffalo, Wyoming's wild symbol graze on the upper reaches of the Elk Refuge with the still quite snowy Teton mountains behind and the south end of Blacktail Butte with the last chuttes of snow winding down it.

Summer and Winter are both popular up this side canyon called Cache Creek. The south Teton range is seen on the horizon as well as Snowking on the left, in these two shots taken one in January and one in June from the same exact spot looking back to Jackson which is below the white or brown colored West Gros Ventre Butte in the upper middle.

I Spring high country meadows like this one are abound with flowers, Queen Anne's Lace,Lupine,Indian Paintbrush,Balsom Flowers. This is about 8000 feet up South Granite Canyon.

Jackson Hole is filled with old homesteads like this one on the southern edge fo the Elk Refuge called Miller Ranch. This was shot before sunrise with just the clouds being in the new days sunlight.

Tomorrow I will put up some more images and stories about Jackson Hole.

Nice shots Gary.

That is a beautiful area, lots of different colors.

Two questions, although I could Google it, I couldn't get the commentary you can offer.

1. What is the elevation of Jackson hole?

2. What is the elevation of the peaks in the Tetons?

Jackson is about 6050 feet above sea level, while Grand Teton is 13,770 feet tall. You can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Teton_National_Park to see lots of info about Jackson Hole and the Tetons. My commentary is from 30 years experience living/hiking and camping there. My first summer was in 1980 after I had lived in Alaska for two years. It reminded me so of Alaska with it snowy summer ranges and it abundance of wildlife and scenery that I made it my primary summer home for 30 years. I did work away from there a few summers.

This is Jenny Lake in the heart of Grand Teton Nat'l Park (GTNP), that is Cascade Canyon with Teewinot Mtn (12,325) slanting to the right on the left, the Grand is not visable from the east side of Jenny Lake. Here the elevation is around 6700 feet. Rockchuck Peak (11,144) is behind the pine tree on the right, Mt St John ( 11,430) is the high bluiesh peak below the end of the cloud and the Rock of Ages (10,895) peak is the point just above the right of Cascade Canyon.

This from the south end of Jenny Lake near the small marina where a ferry boat takes those who can't or don't want to hike the 2.5 miles around to the west side of the lake to hike to Inspiration Point(7400) Hidden Falls and up Cascade Canyon. Mt Moran (named for Thomas Moran, a famous painter of the west, 12,605) is the greyish peak just right of center, Mt St John (11,430) is the jagged one with the snow streak above the boat. Jenny Lake like all the lakes in the east Teton side are glacier dug lakes held in with terminal Morraines. The U shaped valleys like Cascade in the first picture of Jenny Lake, were shaped 10,s of thousands of years ago by glaciers. Jackson Hole(JH) was once cover by as much as 2 miles of ice.

This Phelp's Lake south of Jenny, Taggart and Bradley Lakes. It is the southern most of the lakes. It is quite shallow from where I am standing towards the mountains about 200 feet from shore, then it abruptly drops off about 200 feet to its bottom. This was caused by the Glacier that once sat in the lakes western edge and held the bottom deep. The shallower end towards me is where the glacier calved its bergs. Prospectors Mtn (11,241) is on the left and Static Peak (11,303) is on the right side, the canyon in between is called Death Canyon.

Here is what the Teton mtn looks like from the north end of Jenny Lake. Grand Teton is the high bluish point on the right while Teewonot is the high one on the left. From this angle it does'nt look like the Grand is 1440 feet higher than Teewinot. I took this photo in early July 2008.

Home, home on the range... Grand Teton (high one) Teewinot (lower right point) with Mt Owen (12,928) in the middle. Shot from an area called Antelope Flats (don't tell the buffalo) Middle Teton Glacier can be seen below to the left of the Grand, while Teton Glacier is the wider long slope down on its right. And Teepe Glacier is the large patch halfway down from it. Buaalo can weigh as much as 2000+ lbs, run very fast and leap fences as gracefully as a deer. Tell the tourist with a camera when they get within 10 feet!

Taken at about 9000 feet up South Cascade Canyon behind/west of Grand Teton, the creek is still covered in deep snow drifts four days after the Fourth of July. Until late summer this canyon does'nt get much sunshine as the Grand shades it much of the day. Looking back northeast into lower Cascade Canyon with Rockchuck, Mt St John and the Rock of Ages mtn dark blue on the horizon. This is the edge of tree-line in the Tetons.

Mount Moran (12,605) and Mt Woodring (11,590) above still frozen Jackson Lake in mid-May 2008. At the top of Mt Moran where it looks fairly flat on its left side is a Basalt Plug of volcanic rock. It was once submerged below the lakes bottom when the Pacific and Atlantic plates were more level to each other.

Hidden Falls in lower Cascade Canyon. drops about 100 feet near the mouth of the canyon near west Jenny Lake and Inspiration Point.

String Lake Cascade separates String Lake above past the trees into the north end of Jenny Lake. Popular with fishermen as seen on the lower left of the cascade.

Jackson Lake with Elk Island in the distance with part of Jenny Lake seen from the Amplitheater Lakes Trail at about 9000 feet. Jackson Lake was formed by Glaciers and partially by the Jackson Lake Dam, holding back a lil more of the Snake River.

Hiking up the Amplitheater Lakes Trail took myself and a friend from Africa 3 hours one way.Thats Bradley Lake on the left, Blacktail Butte is the forested hill and Jackson Peak (10,741) on the horizon with the snow streak down its middle.

Amplitheater Lake at 9698 feet with leaning Disappointment Peak (11,618) and East Prong (12,000) on right.

The Grand from Kelly Warm Springs, a pond fed by warm spring water about 10 miles across the valley from the Tetons. Most toursits drive on by as locals take their kids to play here as the water is about 3 feet deep and 70 degrees year round. There are Bullfrogs, leapard frogs and hundreds of tropical fish that were let go here over the years and thrive in its beautifully warm waters. Kayaks also come here to practice the Eskimo Roll.

A closer view of the Sleeping Indian/Sheep Mtn from middle Flat Creek Canyon. No his prominent nose is clearly seenwith a facial profile.

An old 1800s log barn in an area called Mormon Row on upper Antelope Flats. The glaciers are about the only snow fields left on the mountain in late summer.

An Opsrey dives from a tree to catch a fish in Flat Creek ponds.

Flat Creek Ponds (7400) with an unnamed ridge thats 10,000 feet at its crest.

An old 1800s log cabin stands near the Gros Ventre Road on the east side of JH. Nice view of the Tetons every day.

Winter and summer views of the Miller Ranch log cabin and Cottonwood tree's on the Nat Elk Refuge just north of Jackson.

The midday sun on the 21st of December barely crests the top of Snow King mtn from my front door. The picture of Jackson and the Tetons, I showed way above was taken from the top of this point near that radio tower in the sun light.

Snow King Mtn, the ski slopes and its ridgeline heading east above cache Creek where the cyclist and skier were shot before. Jackson sits right at the base of the ski slopes. Lower Flat Creek is reflecting the mountain ridge.

The Nat Elk Refuge in summer is home to Flat Creek meandering its way south thru Jackson Hole. Popular with fly fishermen, summer is the only season when the refuge is open to people. I like to walk along the shallow creek looking for trout and suckerfish. East Gros Ventre Butte is the bare hills to the right,with Snow King on the left above town.

View from the top of Snow King Mtn (8000) looking northwest to the Tetons and the Gros Ventre Buttes.

A Blue Grouse hen sits in the middle of the trail. I almost stepped on her as she did'nt move as I was hiking the trail in the Spring. Probably had a next nearby in the grass.

Elk on the refuge in midWinter along East Gros Ventre Butte. In summer they live in the high country leaving tourist to ask where are the Elk, come back in winter and see thousands. They shed their antlers in the spring and the Boy Scouts locally pick them up and theres a huge antler sale in MidMay just before Memorial Day weekend. $23 a pound is paid by Asian buyers hoping to make powerful sexual drugs with the ground up horn. Local buyer make chandeliers, furniture and other tourist niknacks. Collecting all deer and elk antlers in the Spring is a popular way to earn money. I sold a single 40 lb Moose antler nce for $128.

Some Elk antlers are used every spring to replace old dried out ones in the famous downtown Antler Park in Jackson. The bronco cowboy (Wyomings Symbol) sculpture is the war memorial. There about 500-1000 antles in each of four arches on the corners of the square.

Tomorrow more images of JH and some of the Geyser area of Yellowstone and its waterfalls just an hours drive away to the north of Jackson.

Most excellent, and more than I expected, but very much enjoyed Gary!

Very cool, thanks.

Nice! I lived in Jackson for 15 years, got married there, and my daughter was born there. My son lives there still. Sure do miss the place! Thanks for making me "homesick." :-)

Please sign in to reply