Marion Lake

Yeterday we hiked from the top of the tram

at Teton Village to Marion Lake and back.

This should have been about thirteen miles

but we took a short-cut and added a couple

of extra miles.  It was a beautiful day and the

wildflowers are finally starting to really come on.

 Looking southwest across Marion Lake

 Looking northwest across Marion Lake

 Still quite a bit of snow up this high.

 Anyone know what flower this is?

The creeks are all over the place with lots

of water still running for this time of year.

Score

Miles hiked: 15

Lessons learned: 1. Don't plan a hike with five

miles of uphill at the end. We were down and up

all day with a 2400 foot vertical back to the top

of the tram at the end of the hike.

2.  They are serious when they say the last tram

down is at 6:30 pm.  We were really watching

the clock the last three hours. The last half mile

was the steepest and we were pooped. We gave

it everything we had and made it to the top

at 6:22. When I stepped up on to the ramp

to board the tram I got a charlie-horse in my leg

and just about had to crawl on. They loaded

the employees from the top and a garbage bag

and we headed down. If we would have missed

the tram, the road down the front of Rendezvous

is seven miles with a 4100 foot drop. I did have

a flashlight and there was a full moon - would
have been kind of romantic, I suppose.