• Happy Weed Appreciation Day! 🌱🌿🌻

Grand Tetons, String and Leigh Lakes

Joined
Sep 1, 2012
Messages
241
Reaction score
40
Location
Northwest Wyoming
I don't post here very often, but you are the folks most likely to understand how wonderful it was for me to finally get to paddle on String and Leigh Lakes in the Tetons. Years ago, I had hiked on the Teton Crest Trail, coming out of the backcountry by crossing the bridge near the portage between the two lakes. I have always remembered how beautiful it looked, and how much I wanted to paddle there, but I never managed to get there. It didn't help that I used to live in Michigan, and the two lakes were 1000 miles away. Well, now I live near Yellowstone, and I still hadn't made it enough of a priority to get down to the Tetons to do more than look for moose. I decided this weekend was it, and got up before sunrise (not that much of a hardship at this time of year) and headed to the Tetons. It's a four to five hour drive, and after getting a campsite and a boat permit, I drove to the put in. There were all kinds of orange cones, with signs saying that the parking lot was full. Grrrr. I went in anyway, and found a spot on the periphery (legal) and parked. It didn't take too long and I was at the put in. There were a couple of canoes, a number of recreational kayaks, a couple of nice looking sea kayaks and a floatilla of stand up paddleboards. (Confession here, I was using an inflatable kayak.) I plopped into my boat and pushed off into String Lake. It's a sort of long (mile and a half maybe) lake, that's not too wide. It has a few squirms in it, so it's sort of a very lazy s shape. I started out to the left, and puttered along the shore, working my way to the (not very) far shore. It was beautiful. There's a wall of mountain rising up from the water. That's what's so wonderful about the Tetons--they just are. They aren't preceded by hills and then bigger hills and then even bigger hills, they zip right from valley floor to 10,000 feet, more or less. The water was crystal, with a nice sandy/gritty bottom, sprinkled with some dead trees here and there. On the far side of the lake was a trail. I could see it. It looked like a little fisherman's trail, fairly near the water, until I saw some people. They were teeny. That was a wall of mountain, with a trail a goodly ways from the water, and the people looked quite small on it. There weren't many trees right across from the put in, and the vegetation was the mauve of fall blueberry plants and the yellow of, well, I don't know what. It looked beautiful.

I paddled around the lake, and it started to sprinkle. Then rain. I paddled back to the shore and got out and waited for it to stop. It did. I got back in, and ten minutes later, it was raining again. Oh well.

I paddled up the lake. It got wider and then narrower. There were areas with what I think is wild rice, which flows in the current. There were downed trees and living trees and it reminded me so much of where I lived in Michigan and could count on seeinng greenery around the lakes and rivers. I paddled between a couple off rocks, and promptly found myself on a rock. A little wiggling, and I was free. Inspecting that rock as I went by, it had some red on it. Canoe red, I believe.

I paddled and explored the shores and paddled and smiled. It felt good to be bobbing on the water. It was nice to be able to see the bottom of the lake, and to see trees and underbrush. And, whenever I looked up, there were towering mountains. They provided a billion calories of eye candy, AND protection from the wind. It's amazing how much wind a 10,000 foot mountain can block. Once I got around the second corner, there weren't many people. I spoke to those that were nearby, but there were only a few. I continued to paddle gently, and quietly. I had brought a wooden paddle, and I was enjoying the warmth and flex. It's nice to have good tools.

I got to the end of the lake and was looking for the portage to Leigh Lake. I could see the bridge that crossed between the two lakes, but no portage. Finally, just at the edge of the end of the "rapids," there was a portage sign. I got out, and lifted my boat to my shoulder and started up the trail. It wasn't much of an incline, but after a bit, it was enough to make me huff and puff a bit. I got to the other end--150 yards?-- and put down my boat at the top of a flight of stairs. OK, I'm not proud. I grabbed the handle and pulled the boat down the stairs. If I wear it out, I get to buy a new one, right?

Leigh Lake was much larger, and brighter (the trees weren't blocking the light). I got in and paddled around a small island, following the shore. It reminded me so much of Lake Superior Provinicial Park, except the trees were wrong. You might think that the Tetons looming in the background would be different, too, but from the angle I was at, I didn't really see them. In the distance, far to the north, I think there were some Absarokas, but between the smoke and the distance, they weren't all that visible. I paddled and paddled and started to look for my first campsite. There, was a small beach, with what looked to be a prettty robust (4season) tent. The color was ugly as sin, but that thing looked like it could weather a typhoon. I paddled up to it, and then noticed that the kitchen area was a little beyond, and was occupied. I waved, and we talked for a minute or two and I continued on. The next campsite wasn't occupied, but it looked stunning. The landing beach was not the high point, but the area looked magnificent. I paddled by slowly, and then came to the end of that peninsula, and rounded a corner to be at the base of Mount Moran. At least I think it was the base of Mount Moran. And there was a huge fissure in the mountain, which I believe was Paintbrush Canyon. It was right across the bay. It was beautiful. It was dressed in its fall finery. I sat and bobbed in my little boat with my jaw dropped. I was very happy.

Eventually I turned and headed back. A canoe had arrived at the first campsite, which hadn't been there before. It was an aluminum canoe. I started canoeing when I was a kid, in a used aluminum canoe my dad bought from a canoe livery. It was probably a hundred years old then. I can still feel the gritty, icky feel of the aluminum, and hear and feel the "thunk" as I hit the canoe paddle (a horrible K-mart Feather paddle) on the side. But that's where today's trip came from... paddling that with my dad.

I decided to cross the lake, and see if I could see any other sites. It turned out that they were behind me. I explored the shore, though. Three SUPers entered the lake from the portage. One was rather loud, explaining to at least on of the others about the merits of this kind of an architecthture degree vs. that type of an architecture degree. I didn't really care. I was greatly entertained when I looked over and saw one fall into the lake. (It wasn't the talker, the talking never ceased.) In a split second, I saw the splash, then a "Ehhhhh!" By the time the "Ehhhhh!" had finished, the paddler had scrambled back onto the board. He paddled from his knees from then on. Architecture 101 continued without pause.

I came back to the portage, got out, and dragged my kayak back up the steps. A man offered to help, which was very kind, but it was my adventure, and I didn't need to burden someone else. I stopped at the top to breathe, then picked up the boat and hauled it back to String Lake. I much preferred String Lake. It was small and more intimate. I got back in my boat, and launched and immediately went back to exploring the edges of the shore and the bottom. I talked to more boaters. I watched a local couple go through a shallow section, thinking they would know the best, most water-filled route. Just as I was about to commit to their route, they got out of their boats and started pulling them to deeper water. I was lucky. I didn't have to get out going either direction. It was shallow, but not so shallow that I ground to a halt.

I was careful going by the rock where I had hung up the first time. I went to the right, and noticed a raft with three people aiming straight for shore. They were looking at something--a cow elk. Then I noticed another one in the woods. It's rut for elk, and I hoped to hear some bugling, and eventually I did. I didn't see a bull elk around the lake, but I did hear one bugle 4-5 times.

I'd been out for 4 hours. My shoulders were aware that I had hardly paddled all year, and that I'd carried my boat from the car to the put in, and twice on the portage. I didn't want to go yet, though. I lingered around the back side of the lake, and then where it hooks around, and finally turned back--slowly-- toward the put in. I landed. It had been a 4.5 hour paddle, for which I'd driven 5 hours. I'll replay it in my head until I can repeat it.
 
Yeah, the Tetons are special--lived and paddled there for 12 years. And Leigh Lake is a gem. Years ago I put in at Jenny Lake, portaged to String Lake, portaged to Leigh Lake, portaged to Trapper and Bearpaw lakes, portaged to Jackson Lake, portaged around Jackson Lake Dam, then 25 miles down the Snake River back to Moose. Then I hopped on my bike and finished my shuttle back to Jenny Lake. It is a trip well worth doing, and that few do. I just got back last night from a 3 day backpacking trip down there.
 
That sounds like quite a trip. I've been backpacking up in Yellowstone this year, and took a weekend off from that to get my boat on the two little lakes in the Tetons.
 
Jenny, String & Leigh are three superb little lakes for paddlin'. Its not uncommon to see rather large numbers of elk crossing the shallows of String Lake in the evening.

I think you may have been looking at Leigh Canyon. Both Paintbrush and Leigh canyons come down into what I call the canyon bay. There's a couple of backcountry camp sites back there. Paintbrush Canyon comes of the southern exposure of Mount Woodring and Leigh Canyon comes down between Woodring and Moran. Gotta watch that bay when the wind picks up. It'll run right down those giant mountain-scapes and turn the bay into a little monster.

The trip Mason describes is a superb adventure and leaves one with a sense of accomplishment. I've not done it since I was a young fellow. Highly recommended for the ambitious paddler. I hitched back to Jenny but the bicycle would be a good way to go.

I get up to the Teton lakes and the Snake a couple times each year. Never get tired of them. Just got back from a 10 day trip into the backcountry areas of Yellowstone Lake. It was an exceptionally nice canoe trip this year as I seemed to have most of the region to myself.

Glad ya had a good time, Pringles, and hope you get to do it again sometime.
 
Two Ocean Lake is also a nice paddle if you're in the area. I've actually portaged into Emma Matilda, but it's a hike.
 
I enjoyed reading your TR, Pringles. It sounded like you were looking for a campsite but didn't stay on the second lake, Leigh, in any event. This is a TR far enough out of my adult experience, that it cries out for some photographs...! I have seen the Tetons from a speeding car but at like age 11, that doesn't count here.
And I ignored the inflatable kayak reference, others may not, lol.
 
No Title

Here's an assortment from lakes String, Leigh, Jenny and Jackson.
 

Attachments

  • photo7865.jpg
    photo7865.jpg
    891.6 KB · Views: 1
  • photo7866.jpg
    photo7866.jpg
    582.8 KB · Views: 1
  • photo7867.jpg
    photo7867.jpg
    999.3 KB · Views: 1
  • photo7868.jpg
    photo7868.jpg
    956.9 KB · Views: 1
  • photo7869.jpg
    photo7869.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 1
  • photo7870.jpg
    photo7870.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 1
  • photo7871.jpg
    photo7871.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 1
Holmes, thank you for your pics, very nice! My sharpest memory of our family trip was giggling over the name, "Grand Tetons" and what it meant in spanish, two 11 year olds barely able to contain themselves with near uncontrollable laughter and silliness. And when was the next ice cream or cold soda stop, 'are we there yet'...?! The famlly Dodge wagon had non breathable black vinyl seats and my dad was one of those diehard window rolled down, arm out the door travellers..., no AC for real campers! It was hot! The mountain's majesty was pretty much lost on us!
 
Pringles,
​Thanks for the TR. Do you still keep a website going with your trip reports? I lost track of it as it seemed you were no longer posting there. I enjoyed going thru your adventures.
regards,
​Dave
 
Thanks so much for adding the pictures, HOomes375. I was having organizational issues and had enough problems getting me, my boat, my paddle, a life jacket and a tent into the car. I've lived near Yellowstone for three years, and I'd kick myself for not having done this trip sooner, but, well, I've been having fun in Yellowstone and Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area and the Beartooths and... . The list of places is extensive, and the list of things to do in those places is extensive, too. I'll have to dig out my map and check out Two Oceans Lake. I have a couple of small watercraft... hmm, smaller watercraft (the backpackable kind) that might be able to get to places that have no roads. I'm heristent, ok, chicken, to paddle on mountain lakes. I'm not sure why, but while I have the gear, I haven't been using it. Maybe next year. My first two summers were spent exploring and seeing and figuring out where I wanted to go. Last summer was my "see wildlife" summer. It worked. I saw 130 bears during the calendar year, and 50-ish wolves, and 58 moose. This year was my "go backpacking, or at least hiking" year. I did ok. I wasn't home a whole lot, but got to backpack in Yellowstonea few times, and hiked Mt. Washburn twice and climbed to the petrified tree forest. It's hard to focus, 'cause I'm having fun. Next year, I think I'm going to try to camp on Leigh Lake--maybe one of those sites on that back bay... or the beach... or both. And I'm looking at trying to get a camping reservation and boat shuttle on Yellowstone Lake. Getting to and from Shoshone Lake looks scary. I like the idea of the shuttle taking a group through the potentially bad stuff. Setting up camp and then puttering about in the morning, or whenever it's calm, and then reading a book on shore when it's windy or otherwise not nice. I'm always amazed at how many wonderful places there are to explore. :)

Hi Daveo4. The website went away when I left the former job. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I loved being able to read old trip reports during lunch, two or three years later. So many memories would come back. Now I try to take a notebook and write a journal. It works ok, but if it's a busy day, I don't have time and then I get behind and... . Pringles
 
Thanks for those photos Holmes. Spectacular!
Your day trip really struck a chord with me Pringles, thanks for that. I had the good fortune to do a similar trip awhile back, and so as I followed along on your trip report found myself sitting on the edge of my seat reliving it. I'd only thought the Tetons were magical for hiking till now. You've fixed that for me. Thanks again.
 
No Title

Another must-do paddle in close proximity to the little Teton lakes is the Oxbow Bend on the Snake river. You don't have to run the run to access it although the Bend makes a nice part of a run from Jackson Lake dam down to Pacific Creek Landing. Its an easy and very scenic 5 mile paddle.

The Oxbow Bend is full of wildlife and color. There's a small road about 1/2 mile or so east of Jackson Lake Junction called the Cattleman's Bridge road. Its not labeled as such, just the county number which I don't recall. Its a dead end dirt road that culminates in a small parking area - very small. From here you put in and paddle immediately to the north and then to the west as the river channels make themselves apparent.

Be prepared for shallow waters (soft bottoms) in many areas of the Bend. Watch for moose, otters, deer, and the occasional grizzly. Many different kinds of waterfowl, eagles and osprey. Spring and fall are fantastic times in the Bend with the best light happening in the mornings and evenings. Great way to spend a few hours and combined with a river run to Pacific Creek or Deadman's Bar makes a superb day trip.
 

Attachments

  • photo7950.jpg
    photo7950.jpg
    851.8 KB · Views: 0
  • photo7951.jpg
    photo7951.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
  • photo7952.jpg
    photo7952.jpg
    1.7 MB · Views: 0
  • photo7953.jpg
    photo7953.jpg
    745.6 KB · Views: 0
  • photo7954.jpg
    photo7954.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
  • photo7955.jpg
    photo7955.jpg
    1.4 MB · Views: 0
  • photo7956.jpg
    photo7956.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
  • photo7958.jpg
    photo7958.jpg
    642.3 KB · Views: 0
  • photo7959.jpg
    photo7959.jpg
    1.1 MB · Views: 0
Holmes375 - Those are some great (more great pics of that area) pictures you shared... how the Grand Tetons change through the seasons, from the vibrant greens of summer, to the rich fall colors of willow, cottonwood and aspen - and those mountains...never get tired of looking at pics or from the numerous webcams that are available. Now that you are coming into berry season, be safe and better off for wildlife viewing in your canoe.
 
I'm glad you enjoyed it Odyssey.

Holmes, I think I got to that road in the spring. Can that be both the put in and take out? The river looked to flow well, but that maybe you could go downstream and explore and then paddle back up. I got to the String Lake put in on the same trip this spring and have had it in my head to paddle there ever since. There's not a lack of beautiful places to go and hike or paddle or explore around here, and I felt bad because I had pushed this trip to the end... but still, parking was a problem at String Lake.

:)

I live near a couple of reservoirs that help the local irrigation systems. You can paddle on them, but why? Unless there are some interesting birds, they're ugly. Once I load a boat to drive a couple of hours, then I can paddle in little lakes in the Beartooths and Yellowstone and for a few more hours be in the Tetons. I just have to avoide being distracted by the hiking trails. :)
 
It is indeed both ingress and egress. When you put in you'll immediately take a channel to the left, Stay river left as the channel swings around northwest into the Bend itself. You will pass a number of channels that are between the Snake and the main body of the Bend. Some will connect with the main body while others are a cul-de-sac depending upon river flow. These smaller channels are where the moose hang out. Continuing on north will take you to the outer channel where you'll turn left and paddle into the larger main body of the Bend.

Returning to the put-in isn't difficult as the only time you'll really be paddling an upriver current is the short stretch near the launch. It can be frisky during the peak of spring runoff but just stay tight to river right and endeavour to persevere ;)

The Oxbow Bend is an incredible place to watch the sun rise and observe the wildlife as the new day is birthed.
 
Back
Top