DeMartini's "Jackson Hole Adventure": A Fall Hike at Jenny Lake with Adele, Cathy, Dianne and Lorraine

At the start of the hike at Jenny Lake

Sunday was a beautiful fall day as we headed out to hike Jenny Lake. Jenny Lake is located on the southern side of the Grand Teton National Park. As we set out, we were not sure how much of the hike we would make, but we set our goal on the entire 7 mile trail around the lake as well as the half mile climb up to Inspiration Point. The "season" here in Jackson Hole has ended and many of the park facilities (visitor centers, gift stores, concessions, and bathrooms) are closed. Bad news about the bathrooms, but great news resulting in less people on the trails. We headed out early at 8:30am. With the early start, we encountered brisk temperatures for the first few hours. The colors along the trail were amazing. The reds, oranges and yellows seemed to be on fire.

Enjoying the colors on the trail

More fun on the trail

Should have kept my sunglasses on!

Fall beauty along the trail

Along the trail and on the way to Inspiration Point, we took a break at Hidden Falls.

Hidden Falls at Jenny Lake

Inspiration Point is at an elevation of 7200 ft. Looking in one direction, you have a beautiful view of Jenny Lake. Looking in the other direction, you have a beautiful view of the Tetons. The hike to Inspiration point is about 4 miles with the last half mile being straight up. Once at the top, it is a great place to sit and take in the view while eating a nice snack.

View of Jenny Lake from Inspiration Point

Adele and Cathy at Inspiration Point with a great view of the Tetons behind them.

After taking a break at Inspiration Point, we hiked back down for a half mile and then finished the remaining 4 miles of the Jenny Lake Loop. A few brief rain showers hit us on the remaining miles, but they did not last long and Adele was prepared! Who knew I would be hiking with a friend who carried a rainbow umbrella!

Adele - always prepared!

It was a great day of hiking with good friends. When we finished the Jenny Lake Loop and made it back to the closed visitor center, the only other hiker we could find to snap our picture was a shy female visiting from Japan. She spoke no English but had no problem working the camera.

Enjoying a sit down after finishing the hike

On our drive home from Jenny Lake, we headed to Moose Junction just in time to catch a female moose enjoying the Snake River.

Ms. Moose at Moose Junction

Departing Moose Junction, we dared to take a few "private" roads to check out the houses. We saw beautiful homes and quite a few for sale. If you have a few extra millions, many of them can be yours. While meandering down the "private" roads we ran stumbled across a beautiful elk crossing on the side of the road.