When I checked the mail last night, I was excited to see an envelope from the US Department of the Interior. That could only mean one thing was inside: a backcountry permit for Grand Teton National Park.
Since we still have at least 5 months of ski season ahead of us, it feels a little premature to be planning summer backpacking trips. Its actually not that hard to just show up and get a permit to start the following day (like we did from the John Muir Trail last July). However, we had our sights on using the extended Labor Day weekend to hike the Teton Crest Trail, which can be a busy time, so we sent in a request through the lottery system. Its comforting to know we can just show up to the ranger station on Saturday morning, pick up our permit, and be on our way.
I'm already excited about the TCT. We're planning 4 days / 3 nights, with a sidetrip to climb South & Middle Teton (we don't quite have the climbing experience to go for the Grand yet), and hopefully tag a few more peaks along the way.
And we don't have to carry 11 days worth of food, each, like we did on the JMT. That alone is something to look forward to!
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