Taggart lake

This week in Jackson it snowed, and a good bit of it lasted. So as promised last week we went for our first snow hike. The GTNP road closed at Taggart Lake when you enter from the south, so we figured this was a good destination to start off the winter hiking season. We didn't want to shoot for too long of a hike for the first snowy day so we decided not to leave until after lunch hoping that the afternoon weather would be a bit more comfortable for the kids. As it turned out we need not have worried the kids loved the snow and the weather was great for hiking.

We arrived at Taggart lake at one o'clock and since it wasn't too cold we decided to leave off the snow pants and mittens and take them with us in case we needed them. Its a nice path that starts out wide open and flat. After a short bit the trail forks, we took the Taggart Lake trail to the right, about another ten minutes and the trail forks again, and again we took the trail to the right. Once you take the second right in the background you can hear a loud river, it comes up on you quite suddenly and there is a nice wide bridge (no railing) that crosses the boulder and rock strewn river. After the bridge the trail narrows out a little bit and loops around to a barn. I assume they have horses kept at the barn in the summer for trail rides but it was empty as we walked passed. Once the trail loops back around it follows the creek upstream for a while.

                   

As you follow the stream the trail starts a little climb and continues on for a little ways, the trail is littered with rocks and boulders which made the path a little more adventurous with the added texture. The kids loved jumping on, up, and over all the rocks. Eventually the path becomes snow covered and tapers out into a small pine forest. The trees and the snow create an atmosphere of reverence and silence. Unlike last weeks hike this hike was truly quite, not even the faintest echo of a whisper stirred the air. Even the snow beneath our feet was silent.

After about 45-50 minutes we arrived at the lake. It was stunning to arrive as it seems to appear out of nowhere. Suddenly you are just there. Its a quite serene lake that sits stoically behind a shield of pines. We took the trail to the lake edge and rested a moment and enjoyed the beauty of the crystal clear glacial lake. We then took our first detour into the trees. As there was no path and the snow was hiding many obstacles the bushwhacking took a bit longer than it typically would have. The kids made it through with a few helping hands and a slip and and fall once or twice but no complaints. (probably because we spent the hole hike telling them to stay out of the snow and now were we fully immersing them in the fluffy white powder) We found a few boulders at the edge of the lake and decided to take a break and have a small fire. It wasn't necessary as we were bundled up and dry but its a good moral booster so we went ahead and splurged.  We hung out for a bout a half hour and enjoyed some apple sauce for a snack before we headed back.

           




Always Making their own trail.

  We considered taking the second half of the loop trail back. But  it was another 2.4 miles to finish the loop making it a 4 mile hike, and just 1.6 to go back the way we came. We decided we best just take the same trail back, all in all it was a 3.2 mile hike and the kids did excellent. Kevin started a snowball fight and that kept the kids all motivated to outrun his throwing distance, Jack needed a short ride to regain his willpower and then finished the hike without any further support. The whole trip took us a little under three hours and the kids didn't even take a nap (Kevin and I however were in need of one)! Next time we will push for the 4 mile hike. Next week a Dillon Family favorite The Snake River Bottoms.