Death Canyon

The name is not my own invention. Death Canyon is the actual name given to this particular canyon which we couldn't pass up. Twenty-six miles over two days, with elevation changes to make your legs turn to clay. in retrospect it was a bit long, but a very enjoyable hike. It did however begin on the wrong foot. The alarm rang saturday morning and we decided to sleep in instead of getting an early start. we eventually left the apartment and discoved vacum sealed tuna at alberstons. by 10 we were nearly at the trailhead but the road became too rough for the elantra to navigate so we saddled up and began our hike. There were a lot more people on the trail than we are used to seeing and the interaction was interesting. are there any true written rules for passing on the trail? we crossed paths with an older gentlemen who recently had two knee replacements and was persistently continuing up the trail without any water. it was at least 90 degrees. i lent him a nalgene and wished him luck. Later we came upon a man from cincinnati on his way to the summit of static peak. as we filled our nalegenes in the stream he stopped to talk with us. It turns out he was looking for adventure and headed towards the Grand the next day on a guided climb. the ranger he had met the day before told him the water wasn't safe to drink but after seeing us fill up he decided to dip in as well. Its my feeling that if you are careful theres a much better chance of dying from heat stroke without water than dying or even getting sick just from drinking from the stream. At static peak divide we met a couple from atlanta in jackson for the week on vacation. Its interesting to see the diversity and the numbers attracted to the tetons. seasoned hikers and clowns alike enjoy the mountains and will travel from across the country or even across the world. something to think about. At the boundry of the jedediah smith wilderness area we spotted across the basin an opportunity we couldn't pass up. doing so would leave us with a lifetime burden of regret. a small lake sat beautiful across the basin just below a hill of snow. the pictures explain more. The sport doesn't have a name as of yet, but one of the first rules will be no more and no less than underwear and hiking boots can be worn.
we eventually made our camp, by throwing down our bags, near mount meek pass. tuna wrapped in pitas filled us. waking up in the middle of the night i've never seen so many stars filling the sky.
the next day was slightly less exciting but it was a nice hike. we followed the trail to fox creek pass and then down death canyon shelf where we passed quite a few hikers who seem to be from all walks of life. a slurpee from loaf-n-jug was a perfect ending to the weekend.
oh beautiful glacial valley.