Finally picked the Sawtooth Loop over the Teton Crest Trail for my first solo trip and it was perfect!

I chose the 70-mile Idaho loop because the permit system seemed less stressful, and waking up at Alice Lake with no one else around for miles was totally worth the extra day of driving.

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_barnes7017d ago

The permit lottery for the Teton Crest Trail feels like trying to win concert tickets for a band that broke up in 1995. I spent a whole summer refreshing that page before I gave up and went somewhere sane. Your choice sounds like the secret cheat code, trading one long drive for actual peace and quiet instead of bureaucratic noise.

val_taylor17d ago

My cousin tried for a Teton permit for three years straight, lee_barnes70. He finally got one last August, only to share the trail with what he called a "parade of identical Patagonia puffer vests." He spent more time waiting in line for the Granite Canyon bathroom than he did actually hiking. I'll take a dusty forest road and a map nobody else has looked at any day.

sarah_johnson463d ago

But what's the point of a famous trail if you can't complain about the crowds later? Lee_barnes70, you're missing out on a classic shared misery.