Black bear cubs, a missed turnoff and a boulder scramble up to a turquoise glacier lake in Grand Teton National Park.
You can see the happiness on my face (despite how exhausted I was) as I sat by the gorgeous lake and mountains!
A few summers ago, when Covid was still spreading like wildfire around the globe, my family thought it may be a nice idea to explore unique and vast parts of the USA.
There was nothing huge in our way that was preventing us from going. I was on summer vacation and my parents decided to take a few days off from work. It was like everything had worked perfectly in our favor because this trip was meant to be.
Our travels led us to Wyoming. There was one hike in general that was on all of our minds — though it may have been a little tedious.
There are two hikes in this area. The first is the Lupine Meadow trail, which is a pretty strenuous hike. However, the Lupine Meadow trail also branches off into several other hikes of its own. The one my family and I attempted was the Delta Lake Trail — via the Lupine Meadow Trail. It is a 7.4 mile out and back trail, with around 2,300 feet elevation gain over the course of the hike.
The Delta Lake is a secluded lake, positioned at the bottom of the Teton. Delta Lake is a stunning glacier lake, a deep and clear turquoise. To this day, it is one of Grand Teton National Park’s hidden gems — despite the fact that it is located in one of America’s most busy national parks. I still don’t know why this lake is still such a secret, but my best guess is that it’s somewhat difficult to access and eventually, climb.
The beginning of this trail is an unmaintained, steady incline. Throughout this part of the hike, there are scattered views of the Teton mountains, watching from above. On either side of me, beautiful violet lupine’s were blooming around me.
This terrain soon gets replaced by more steep slopes and a series of steady switchbacks through open meadows. Here, we saw views of the small town of Jackson Hole and another lake — Bradley Lake, below. Through this part of the trail, we were surprised to find two baby black bears playing in the meadows below. Grand Teton is bear country, however it was quite a surprise to see two bears so close by. Although they were very cute, we didn’t linger for long!
The unmaintained entrance that branches off the Lupine Meadow trail from the Delta Lake trailhead is extremely easy to miss. This is located after approximately 6 switchbacks and 3 miles worth of climbing. We in fact, missed this, and ended up continuing for around an extra mile till we realized something had gone wrong along the way. Thankfully, before we could get farther away from our destination, an experienced hiker who had done this trail several times was able to point us in the right direction, and we found the makeshift steps built into the dirt — which was easily identifiable as the Delta Lake trailhead.
It is easy to understand why this trail is often called “unmaintained.” This portion of the trail was extremely tricky to navigate and it was an easy way to roll my ankle if I wasn’t careful. Furthermore, roots planted in the ground and fallen trees created obstacles in this flat slope. It was quite impossible to look away from my footing, even for a second.
For me, the worst part about this section of the hike was not that it was hard to navigate — but that it was very easy to lose sight of the faint trail.
After this section of the hike was completed, we reached my by-far favorite section: the boulder fields. On this trail, there are two. The first is slightly shorter, less steep and not as difficult. However, we had to scramble over many of these rocks. To me, this was a nice break from the constant steep dirt trails.
This is a picture of me close to finishing the smaller, easier boulder field. In the background, you can see several huge rocks.
On the other hand, the last half mile of the trail was no joke. The ascent up is quite steep — and felt like a perfectly vertical patch of trail. It was also significantly steeper than many things I have done before. The fact that it was across loose soil and gravel made it no easier. I found myself digging my hands in the dirt and actually crawling rather than climbing. Because of her bad knee, my Mom had dibs on the trekking poles, so I was almost completely helpless.
After many breaks and lots and lots of water, we successfully made it to the top! Standing right in front of us, was Delta Lake, a magical and pristine lake in which the reflection of the mountains could clearly be seen.
We spent the next hour in awe of the lake in front of us while munching on our trail mix and sandwiches. A small group of the small population trekking this mountain even dipped themselves in the lake. I found the water to be refreshing but far too cold to even dip my feet in.
The way down was tiring with my legs already so sore. However, the thought of Delta Lake was still fresh in my mind. I knew that the hike was a huge success.
The views from the end of the trail were stunning, and although the hike was challenging, it was well worth the effort it took. Furthermore, the scenery along the way was beautiful. Although the trail required tactical scrambling and lots of determination, the sense of accomplishment I felt at the end was unbeatable.
So pack your bags, lace up your hiking boots, and hit the Delta Lake trail!
