The Trailhead

We got up early at our AirBnB in Victor, Idaho, loaded our packed gear, and headed to Jackson, WY about 30 miles away. Our goal was to grab the first tram up Rendezvous mountain (9AM) at Teton Village ski area. Once at Teton Village, we located the Ranch parking lot, which is for overnight parking, grabbed our packs, and headed to the parking lot gate to await the next shuttle. The Ranch parking lot isn’t too far from the tram station, but the shuttle makes a great start to what would turn out to be a long day.

We had purchased tram tickets online as they are less expensive than if you purchase at Teton Village. We missed the first tram, but were in place for the second trip to the summit. After a picturesque 12 minute ride to the top, we were ready to start our adventure. We had explored the area at the summit the previous day as I had read that the side trail intersecting with the TCT could be hard to find. Not to worry, it was not hard to find. From the exit of the tram, facing up the mountain, we walked left past Corbet’s Cabin, where you can get some of their famous waffles to start off your trip. We did not take advantage and began a descent via the Rock Springs Loop trail for a few hundred yards. At that point there is a small trail sign to Marion Lake on the right.

Entering this trail, we walked mostly downhill all morning off the back side of Rendezvous mountain. Soon we were entering the southern area of our first group camping zone. I really wanted to go as far as we could this day and camp near the northwestern terminus of the zone. We found a beautiful mountain meadow with camping spots dispersed throughout and found our spot for the night. Near one of the groups sites, we found a locked bear box, so decided to store our food there even though we had a bear proof food can. We had never camped overnight in areas where grizzlies are known to roam, so it was a rather light night of sleep, but come morning the area around us was beautiful.

We made a quick breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, packed our gear, and headed out for day two.