Moose Basin, Ortenburger Lake, Glacier Lakes Northern Grand Teton NP 6 Day Trip

Joey

walking somewhere
Joined
Apr 1, 2014
Messages
878
This trip took place in mid July, 2014, in the northern section of Grand Teton National Park. We started along the Grassy Lake Road, hiked in to Moose Basin, and then traveled off trail thru the Glacier Lakes area, into Snowshoe Canyon, over to Ortenburger Lake and Moran Canyon, and then over to Leigh Canyon. We bush whacked down Leigh Canyon, and connected with the Paintbrush trail to finish the trip. We did the trip in 6 days, 5 nights, spending the majority of time off trail, and didn't see any people except for the trailed sections of our first and last days of hiking. Hiking with me were Chuck Wolfe and Matt Wagner, both from Michigan. Chuck has been backpacking in the Tetons several times annually for the last 15 years, but this was his first trip into this section of the park. Same for Matt.

Day 1, Thursday, July 17th
We started our trip around noon at the Glades Creek Trailhead along Grassy Lake Road, a few miles in from Flagg Ranch. The trail starts off in the forest, before breaking out into meadows around the Snake River. Soon we reached a junction with the Berry Creek Trail, and began heading west thru beautiful meadows. After cresting a ridge, we dropped down to Berry Creek, which we had to ford. There was another trail junction here, and we headed south, climbing up over another small ridge, before dropping down to Owl Creek. We ran into a solo female hiker who was lost. She knew her way back, but didn't know where she was on the map. Turns out she canoed across the lake, and took the wrong trail. Also of note she was loosely clothed. This is the last person we would see until the late afternoon of our last day. We headed west up Owl Creek, slowly beginning to see the snow covered mountains along the Crest. We settle on a campsite with a decent view of Forellen Ridge, and get camp set up before thunderstorms moved in. We spent an hour staring at a dark tree alone in the meadows, hoping it would turn into a bear. No such luck. I think our total mileage for the day was around 14 miles, all on trail. Moral was high.

10632885_10152680596184766_4565385360973448290_n.jpg

A few miles into our trip, in the meadows around the Snake River


10590593_10152680596139766_6824280310279071671_n.jpg

Matt crossing Berry Creek


10635923_10152680596159766_3012689655810125439_n.jpg

Camp our first night, along Owl Creek Trail


Day 2, Friday, July 18th
I slept great the first night, and woke up to Chuck dropping my bear canister outside my tent. Either Chuck or Matt would do this every morning, bring my canister over for me. Pretty awesome guys, and great hiking partners. We hit the trail soon, excited to get out of the woods and into the high alpine country. But the trail here is not often maintained, and we ran into lots of down trees at first. We also had over 2000 feet of elevation to climb, so our pace slowed down quite a bit from the first day. Eventually the trees gave way to open meadows, and views of Red Mountain. It was mid afternoon by the time we reached Moose Basin Divide. Most of the trail was still covered in snow up high, but the divide was beautiful. We took lots of pictures, checked out our future route, and the other 2 called their wives to check in.
10342804_10152680596949766_2936713415866728042_n.jpg

At Moose Basin Divide

10574462_10152680595939766_4567798852056711960_n.jpg

Looking south along the higher sections of Moose Basin. To the far right, you see a green ridge, followed by a snow bank ridge, then Glacier Peak. That is the direction we are heading

10487412_10152680596654766_6744862309244195584_n.jpg

Another view, now the lower section of Moose Basin.

A 360 degree view from Moose Basin Divide

From Moose Basin Divide, the trail drops down a few hundred feet, before turning sharply toward the east, and heading down towards Moose Creek and Webb Canyon. This is the spot we left the trail at. I had climbed down these cliffs the year before, but just wasn't sure how easy the others would find it. It turned out to be no problem. The Basin looked like a golf course, beautiful green slopes, with white patches of snow similar to sand traps, and small islands of tree strands. Wildflowers were blooming, and I slowed down to take quite a few video clips. Chuck had picked out a strand of trees farthest out in the basin, and that was our goal for camp. Those guys were ready to eat, and booked it. Turned out to be a great spot up on a small knob, with spectacular views in all directions. We got camp set up, and again wasted 30 minutes staring at another lonely tree in the distance, hoping it would move into a bear. Never happened. After dinner the wind picked up and whipped our tents pretty good, but I managed to fall asleep quickly.

10603661_10152680597044766_105979089188281176_n.jpg

Heading for the farthest strand of trees to camp for the night


996147_10152680597864766_5925808672129001507_n.jpg

Looking back towards Moose Basin Divide from our 2nd camp


10429375_10152680597564766_4612148124934778881_n.jpg

Me cooking dinner at camp


Day 3, Saturday, July 19th
I was up early, and smoke off in the distance to the east created a cool looking sunrise. We started off heading south, crossing a few open drainages, making our way towards Glacier Peak. We scrambled up to a ridge, and reached the park boundary, and also the state line between Idaho and Wyoming. Camp Lake was below us. Our pace was slow, as we constantly had to route find. I had done this route previously, and we were almost spot on the same path. We soon found ourselves on snow, and would be for the rest of the day. We continued south below a snow covered flat ridge, before reaching what I call Glacier Lakes Pass, right below Glacier Peak. Its an easy climb up to Glacier Peak from here, but that wasn't part of our plan this trip. We took a break overlooking upper Glacier Lake, and the huge cirque wall attached to Glacier Peak. Then we headed down, giving us a wonderful view of the lower Glacier Lake, and its turquoise colored water. There is a great camp site here on a ledge that overlooks both lakes. Next, we got to put our crampons on, and cross our first snow slope of the trip. Nothing to it as we headed over to the upper lake, which was still partly frozen over. We spent some time here, as its a beautiful place, and one of the prettiest spots in the park. Not many people, if any, come here during the year. One of the backcountry patrol rangers saw a lynx here a few years back. There is more great camping sites next to the lake on a small hill.

1928392_10152680597869766_523564969373271831_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt filtering water along the Idaho/Wyoming border


10568787_10152680597799766_8468269847730456852_n.jpg

Chuck route finding


10552408_10152680597959766_5882762965076959068_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt heading towards what I have named Glacier Lakes Pass. Glacier Peak is in front of them.


10492613_10152680598614766_499846839276121294_n.jpg

Me with the Glacier Lakes area behind me. A sliver of the upper lake is visible above my shoulder

10435069_10152680598659766_5737326227592541445_n.jpg

Lower Glacier Lake. My camera is fogged up here.

10600448_10152680598559766_1653933905474660876_n.jpg

Upper Glacier Lake

10600543_10152680598679766_8845868677887453198_n.jpg

Matt, Me, and Chuck at the lake

Click the HD button when watching the video (sorry, not an expert on video stuff)


After taking in the scene, we start working our way up towards Rolling Thunder Mountain. We climbed up several cliff bands, and it gets very steep here, with lots of snow. When we finally reach the ridge and round the corner, we see the saddle we have to cross over to get to Snowshoe Canyon. It was very intimidating, and moral took a huge hit. The cirque is completely snow covered, with steep slopes leading directly into a tarn that is starting to crack open. Last year I had looked at this as I headed towards the Talus Lake drainage, and thought this was an easy way into Snowshoe. This time I wasn't so sure. The other guys aren't sure about it either. We work our way across the small drainage to the other side of the cirque, and soon realize its not nearly as steep as it looked. We easily work our way up to the saddle, and are rewarded with an amazing view of the south fork of Snowshoe Canyon, surrounded by rugged snowy mountains. Moral is back to an extreme high. We work our way down easy snowfields at first, and halfway down reach great campsites overlooking the canyon. Our plan is to hike down, and then back up into Moran Canyon to find our next camp. But soon I overhear talk of possibly staying down in this canyon for the night.

10559858_10152680599184766_8268076748515169701_n.jpg

Looking at the saddle between Rolling Thunder Mountain and Glacier Peak. We crossed over here to get into the upper reaches of Snowshoe Canyon (south fork)

10565042_10152680598804766_7908817123309678923_n.jpg

Matt (left) and Chuck (right) looking south into Snowshoe Canyon from the saddle. The following morning, we will climb the ridge (above Matt's head), then follow it a ways (to just past Chuck's head), before dropping down a ways into another cirque and climbing back up the farther, higher ridge. We have all agreed that if we did it again, we would just go straight up the long ski slope on the right side.

Click the HD button when watching. Approaching the saddle between Moose Basin and Snowshoe Canyon

We reach some small but steeply pitched snow slopes. Chuck had just made the comment about how the only thing so far he hadn't needed was his ice axe. Well, what typically happens after someone says that? You guessed it. Chuck decided to slide down the slope, with his crampons on (and his ice axe still in his backpack), then do a complete summer sault front flip before landing on the dirt. He briefly paused, looking at Matt and I, actually giving us a smile, before tumbling down the slope more, until he was able to latch onto a tree shortly before a cliff. Thankfully, he turned out ok, with only a few scratches. We carefully worked our way down into Snowshoe canyon, and decided to call it a day. We found a small boulder to camp near, and had another beautiful, calm night.


10433949_10152680599229766_5176851411384369847_n.jpg

Camp our third night


148719_10152680599169766_4723188750153810514_n.jpg

Another view of camp, looking down into Snowshoe Canyon


Day 4, Sunday, July 20th
This was another beautiful, sunny day, but there was no easing our way into the hike. We started off immediately having to ford the creek, and then climbed straight up the snow covered ridge several hundred feet. At the top of the ridge, we slowly worked our way along boulders and rocky cliffs west, between Snowshoe canyon and another cirque. Soon we reached a spot where some of us were no longer comfortable. After scouting things out, we decided to drop down a steep talus field to the south. After spending several hours on the ridge, it was a big letdown to drop back down the elevation. We took a long break on some large boulders, and it was the first time there was talk of bailing on our route. Mentally we were all beat. We decide to make one more try at it. We climbed up a large snowfield, and then about 200 yards nearly straight up vertically on a scree field. It worked.
936667_10152680599334766_8605314536549600373_n.jpg

This little stream was deep enough to have to take off boots. Near our camp.

10635793_10152680599854766_4247774732046989984_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt climbing up to the first ridge

10559893_10152680600194766_7648280136323614942_n.jpg

Matt scrambling on boulders along the first ridge. The saddle we came over the day before is visible in the background, along with Rolling Thunder Mountain.

10629570_10152680600234766_3960354523944154850_n.jpg

Chuck climbing up towards the second ridge

10561755_10152680600279766_6563307416934162532_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt almost to the top

Click the HD button when watching.



Reaching the saddle between Snowshoe and Moran Canyon, overlooking Ortenburger Lake


At the top, we had the grandest view of our trip. Below us was Ortenburger Lake, and to the south was rugged mountains everywhere. There was no doubt about it, we were going to camp at the lake that night. It was too beautiful of a place to pass up. At the saddle, it was extremely windy, blowing my hat off and down. We carefully worked our way down loose rock and talus, before reaching a safe snowfield to walk down. The view was just breathtaking. We found a flat area to set up camp overlooking the lake. A small creek ran next to us, and worked its way thru colorful wildflowers before dropping over a cliff, becoming a beautiful waterfall above the lake. The backdrop was numerous mountains and peaks, with the Grand hovering in the distant background, almost centered directly over the lake. I would say this is the one of the most spectacular campsites I've ever had. We stared at the lake until it was too dark to see, and then retired to our tents.


10580242_10152680600229766_5417536827426846788_n.jpg

Me at the saddle, with Ortenburger Lake below me
10606385_10152680600424766_7071636863338473069_n.jpg

A view of Cirque Lake, across Moran Canyon. I haven't made it to this lake yet. I tried to get there a few days ago on a different trip form the back right hand side, but didn't make it.

10613109_10152680600829766_7932761302170959052_n.jpg

Dropping down to Ortenburger Lake

10613045_10152680600879766_8586843208048902178_n.jpg

Still working our way down to the lake.

10501773_10152619174294766_8184944103281749371_n.jpg

Camp at Ortenburger Lake


10574269_10152680600964766_7973545226052613046_n.jpg

Me, Matt, and Chuck later in the evening

10626521_10152680601099766_7122239499543934278_n.jpg

Camp the following morning

Click the HD button when watching. A behind the scenes look at Ortenburger Lake. Chuck is on the rock.


Day 5, Monday, July 21st
After 4 days of great weather, rain came during the night. It was so windy I had to get out of my tent and re stake my guy lines. It stopped at dawn, thankfully, but dark clouds continued to fly by above us. We hiked around the lake, and headed west towards the end of Moran Canyon. We worked our way along the side of a steeply sloped ridge, with loose rocks and dirt, making it a tedious hike. It took us several hours to reach the western end of the canyon, and the park boundary. At this point we decided to drop down to the Idaho side (near dry ridge mountain), and use the trail to head south several miles. We were now short on time, and had only one more day to get out of the mountains. At first, we were a little bit hesitant to climb down into Idaho, due to it being a full on scramble. But eventually we did it, and it proved much easier than it looked. We found the trail, and booked it south, as a massive thunderstorm hit the range. Thankfully most of it was east of us, and we didn't get rained on that much. We hiked past Green Lakes, Green Mountain, and up the trail toward Granite Basin, before ditching the trail and heading straight up towards the crest, above Leigh Canyon. This area of the Idaho side is very scenic and colorful. Lots of lakes. We crossed over the crest and carefully dropped into Leigh Canyon, setting up camp almost in the dark. Lots of fresh grizzly scat, but we had no choice but to camp there.

10380889_10152680601749766_6145939923092497548_n.jpg

Looking back at Ortenburger Lake

10629577_10152680601464766_3503732372060127970_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt working there way west above Moran Canyon. Cleaver Peak is the spikey peak to the right

10599200_10152680601974766_3490509504446988243_n.jpg

Matt along the hillside. the low saddle right of the high peak in the middle is our destination

10626513_10152680601744766_291786316929275945_n.jpg

Looking east down Moran Canyon, with Mount Moran to the left

10629672_10152680602029766_765479224085369779_n.jpg

Chuck and Matt coming down into Idaho, on the north side of what I think is called Dry Ridge Mountain

10609729_10152680602154766_6910686473086265459_n.jpg

Hiking south along the trail in Idaho, with storms looming


Click the HD button. Coming down into Idaho from Moran Canyon

A short clip from above Leigh Canyon


Day 6, Tuesday, July 22nd
Our last day, we were excited to get out of the woods. Talk of burgers and onion rings and nachos and ice cream was non stop. Little did we know it would take us all day to get down the trail less canyon. At first it wasn't too bad, as we passed Mink Lake. But soon we reached avalanche paths filled with down trees and debris. Our pace was slow. The lower we got in the canyon, the thicker the trees and vegetation. The creek soon became a river, and we had to cross it a few times. There is an old trail running thru here, possibly an old human trail, but its hard to find until the lower reaches of the canyon. We finally got a view of Leigh Lake, and dropped down a boulder field (almost identical to the boulder field going up to death canyon) to reach Leigh Lake. The next stretch was probably the most difficult of the entire trip. We had to bush whack thru dense vegetation straight uphill to the paintbrush trail. Something like 600 feet straight up. After what seemed like forever, we reached the trail around 7ish, and saw our first people since day 1. Chuck was so excited he threw up right there on the trail. Actually, it probably had to do with all the coffee and Skoal dehydrating him at high elevation over the last 6 days. We rambled down a few miles to the trailhead, and after a few small hiccups in locating our ride, we made it to the Hatchet for dinner and a shower.

10610478_10152680602934766_2633900698372286188_n.jpg

Camp on our final morning

10414513_10152680603094766_1399990193844404022_n.jpg

We finally see a bear, although just a black one. Just below the large boulder

10441054_10152680603084766_1854644562782269266_n.jpg

An unnamed lake near the mouth of Leigh Canyon

10559902_10152680603089766_1757667275841766230_n.jpg

Looking back up Leigh Canyon

10485436_10152680595844766_2012963773285107368_n.jpg

Another black bear at the String Lake Trail Head


Overall this was an awesome trip. The northern section of Grand Teton NP is spectacular, rugged, and seldom seen. There are some amazing lakes and canyons. There are also several peaks you can scramble up that rarely get climbed, and offer wonderful vistas. No registers to be found.
Special thanks to both Chuck and Matt, who are just awesome people, and their personalities made this trip so much more exciting. The End!
 
Last edited:
Nice....... We looked at part of your route when we went but decided on doing mostly the Old Highline trail from Grassy to Teton Pass. Looked pretty rough on Google Earth from about Moose Basin to Ortenburger Lk area. Nice to see actual pics. Looks like I may need to create another route for a trip ....
 
Last edited:
Well done, Utah. Perhaps I could add a few video's/pics to this thread in the next few days.

The only thing I would do different on this trip (had the in coming storm not been present day 5) would have been to stay up high rather than to drop down into Leigh Canyon. Then hike out via the cirque behind Lake Solitude and down the North Fork. About 10 or so years earlier I had hiked in and out of Leigh Canyon and don't remember it being as tough as it turned out being.

For the record, I enjoy puking.
 
Last edited:
Nice....... We looked at part of your route when we went but decided on doing mostly the Old Highline trail from Grassy to Teton Pass. Looked pretty rough on Google Earth from about Moose Basin to Ortenburger Lk area. Nice to see actual pics. Looks like I may need to create another route for a trip ....
This place is definitely worth visiting. It is rough country, but nothing technical. I'll have a video trip report of this in a few months, and it will have a lot more footage.

Also, when you did your trip, didn't you come straight down from Lake of the Woods to Jackass pass? How was it off trailing thru there? Is it similar to Yellowstone, or is there a lot of underbrush vegetation? I'm always looking for new ways to get into Moose Basin. Its a long haul thru the woods from Glades Creek.
 
Piece of cake hike, not much thick underbrush. Kinda why we didn't get into Moose Basin, Glade TH woulda added to much time to our total hike.
 
Similar threads
Thread starter Title Forum Replies Date
Joey Grand Teton's Moose Basin: Glacier Peak, Talus Lake, Doane Peak, Ranger Peak. Part 2 Backpacking 17
Joey Grand Teton's Moose Basin: Glacier Peak, Talus Lake, Doane Peak, Ranger Peak. Part 1 Backpacking 17
Outdoor_Fool Denali NPP Moose Rut Hiking & Camping 6
P Teton Crest Trail via Coal Creek/Moose Meadow trails Trip Planning 2
Chuck the Mauler Berg Lake to Moose Lake in Jasper NP Trip Planning 4
Rockskipper Everyone (except Perry, the Moose Whisperer) should watch this - moose will eat your lunch (and your dog) General Discussion 11
Rockskipper White moose in Sweden General Discussion 2
Brian Skibbe Lens recommendation? (moose,grizzlies,etc..) Photography 10
Tarp Boy Looking for Shuttle service for Uintas Granddaddy basin trip Trip Planning 0
S Titcomb Basin week itinerary options? Trip Planning 11
DrNed Naturalist Basin: Blue Lake to Shaler Lake? Trip Planning 12
BobFink Yellowstone South Entrance to Fox Creek via Basin Creek Cutoff - Labor Day 2022 Trip Reports 4
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking Grand Teton National Park : Fossil Pass,Fox Creek Pass,Indian Lake,Alaska Basin,Hurricane Pass,Ice Floe Lake,& Snowdrift Lake Backpacking 19
NorthwestWanderer 8 Day High Sierra trek : Humphreys Basin, Star Col, Granite Park, Lake Italy & Piute Canyon 6/25-7/2/22 Backpacking 7
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Wrangler Lake, Bog Creek, Joseph's Coat Springs, Broad Creek, Wapiti Lake, Hot Springs Basin, and Pelican Valley. The Second Half. Backpacking 15
TractorDoc Yellowstone's Wrangler Lake, Bog Creek, Joseph's Coat Springs, Broad Creek, Wapiti Lake, Hot Springs Basin, and Pelican Valley. Part One of Two. Backpacking 61
P Shoshone Geyser Basin, Yellowstonne 2022, 2nd half Backpacking 4
P Shoshone Geyser Basin, Yellowstone, 2022 Backpacking 6
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 6 - Titcomb Basin to Beaver Park Backpacking 9
M Kannah Creek Basin loop, Grand Junction CO Backpacking 6
WasatchWill WRHR: Day 5 - Camp Lake to Titcomb Basin Backpacking 15
seekinglost 1000 Mile Nevada Thru Hike on the Basin and Range Trail Trip Reports 14
TeamJenkins17 Looking for info on Clark Creek drainage/Pierpont Pass into Hidden Basin in the Washakie Wilderness Trip Planning 5
Perry Henry's Fork Basin - Camp Site Suggestions Trip Planning 3
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking Idaho's Cecil D. Andrus-White Clouds Wilderness : O'Calkens Lake & Bighorn Basin Backpacking 2
Mountain Wanderer Four Lakes Basin in the Southern Cabinet Mountains - Montana Backpacking 12
OldBill Short Bear Basin exploration, Wind Rivers Trip Planning 7
JuddOutdoors Hike To Grass Lake //Desolation Wilderness //Lake Tahoe Basin Hiking & Camping 0
travel2walk trip report: Wind River Range – Ross Lakes, Bear Basin, Grasshopper Glacier, & Dinwoody Creek loop, Aug-Sep 2020 Trip Reports 41
Jeremy C Early season run to Horseshoe Basin Hiking & Camping 7
WasatchWill Naturalist Basin to Middle Basin? Almost... Backpacking 6
Tim Valentine Shoshone Geyser Basin Paddle Trip 2010 On The Water 10
Mountain Wanderer High Uintas Wilderness - Granddaddy Basin Backpacking 4
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking the Lost River Range in Idaho : Bear Creek Lake & Upper Basin Backpacking 7
Cait Hell's Kitchen Basin - Old Pack Trail post Box Fire Trip Reports 3
WoodyBR549 Wild Basin Trip Planning 2
misSOULa Into the Winds: Titcomb Basin and Gannett Peak Attempt Backpacking 6
Mike K Kings Peak Via Garfield Basin Backpacking 18
Born to Hike Early June 3-day jaunt on the Uinta Highline Trail: Naturalist Basin, Pinto Lake, Margo Lake Backpacking 8
Jackson Naturalist Basin - September 2019 Backpacking 14
Yvonne Backpacking the Winds: From Elkhart TH to Titcomb Basin, July 2018 Backpacking 20
NorthwestWanderer Backpacking the John Muir Wilderness : Humphreys Basin Backpacking 3
chandlerwest Monument Basin - Canyonlands NP - Not enough hours in a day. Hiking & Camping 6
Stephanie B First Foray into Beef Basin Hiking & Camping 3
chandlerwest Great Basin National Park - Wheeler Peak Hiking & Camping 13
McKee80 TR: Bear Lakes Basin Pine Creek TH 09-05/11-19 Backpacking 14
balzaccom Sabrina Basin exploration Backpacking 1
bdunn02 Stough Creek Basin via Twin Lakes Backpacking 7
Parma Idaho's White Cloud Mountains - Boulder Chain Lakes - Chamberlain Basin Backpacking 8
NorthwestWanderer Dayhike to Gothic Basin & Foggy Pass Hiking & Camping 1

Similar threads

Back
Top