Free Roaming Photography by Mike Cavaroc

Hiking the Gros Ventre Wilderness

Jackson Peak looms in the background of a field of indian paintbrush wildflowers in the Gros Ventre Wilderness of Wyoming.

This past weekend, I backpacked into the Gros Ventre Wilderness for the first time (pronounced ‘grow vont’). I had hiked in a bit previously, but never backpacked in, nor gone to such a remote spot.

The Gros Ventre Wilderness is Grand Teton National Park’s immediate southeastern neighbor. As a result, much of it borders the southeastern boundaries of Jackson Hole. The wilderness is comprised of a section of the Gros Ventre Mountains that, for the most part, go completely ignored by most visitors since they’re in the opposite direction of the Tetons that capture so many peoples’ attention. Two prominent peaks are visible from the valley and demand at least some recognition, but can’t even hint at the natural beauty that lies behind them. Both Sheep Mountain (aka The Sleeping Indian) and Jackson Peak are easily visible from anywhere in Jackson Hole, but hiking back to either, or even anywhere else in the wilderness for that matter, will open up a remote and isolated portion of the Gros Ventre Mountains that sees very little traffic and is ripe with gorgeous views, tall peaks and sweeping valleys. For the avid hiker and backpacker, it’s an amazing playground and because of its underestimated value, provides you with the kind of solitude you only wish you could get in the Tetons, but with plenty of similar scenery.

The most popular hike, and where you’ll find the most people, is the trail to Goodwin Lake, and with an extra couple of miles, the summit of Jackson Peak. The ease of the hike itself and the eventual reward is what draws a lot of people in, but hike just beyond the fork to Jackson Peak, and you’ll be the only one on the trail where the scenery also begins to get really good. Hiking deeper into the Gros Ventres is where the real draw is though. Having so much spectacular natural beauty to yourself is what makes the Gros Ventre Wilderness so special. In the right time of year, tall mountain peaks tower over lush green valleys ripe with wildflowers along each and every trail.

While it’s popular among locals, the Gros Ventre Wilderness still never sees too many hikers in the same place, with the exception of Goodwin Lake and Jackson Peak. Therefore, if you’re visiting the area and looking for a place where you can truly be alone in breathtaking mountain scenery, you may want to look into the Gros Ventre Wilderness.

Posted: August 16, 2011

Posted in Article, Landscape | Tagged Gros Ventre Wilderness, Mountains, Wildflowers, Wyoming
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A Simple Manifesto

I never want to perfect my craft because then it would be boring and uninteresting. Likewise, I never want to be the best so that I’ll always enjoy looking at other people’s work and finding new inspiration.

Clouds pass over Turquoise Lake in the Gros Ventre Wilderness of Wyoming.

Posted: August 15, 2011

Posted in Landscape, Panorama | Tagged Glacial Lake, Gros Ventre Wilderness, Mountains, Panorama, Snow, Water, Wyoming
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Tired Marmot

A marmot rests on a boulder in Paintbrush Canyon of Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

While hiking Paintbrush Canyon in Grand Teton National Park last weekend, I came across my first two marmots of the season. One in particular didn’t really seem to care that I was there. It was pretty tired and just wanted to lie on his boulder.

Posted: August 12, 2011

Posted in Wildlife | Tagged Grand Teton National Park, Marmot, Wildlife, Wyoming
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Northern Lights Over Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Shadow Mountain in Bridger-Teton National Forest is silhouetted in front of northern lights above Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

For those that weren’t aware, the night of Friday, August 5th showed off a spectacular display of northern lights, visible even as far south as Utah and Colorado. Having only seen them here in Jackson Hole, Wyoming (thus far), this was by far the best I have ever seen! My camera was picking them up before twilight had even faded and once complete darkness had taken over, the show really got good as they began to flare up.

I was already determined to camp for the night so knowing I probably wasn’t going to get a good spot in Grand Teton National Park, I looked on the outskirts in Bridger-Teton National Forest for a good spot. I eventually settled upon Shadow Mountain where myself and another friend had an incredible view both to the north for the aurora borealis, as well as to the west of the Tetons.

This photo was taken from the top of Shadow Mountain with Mount Moran being the tallest peak in the bottom-left. The Milky Way Galaxy is visible extending up to the top of the photo on the right, and just to the right of that, in the top-right of the photo is the Adromeda Galaxy. This was the first time I used my (fairly) new Sigma 20mm f/1.8 lens on my 7D and I absolutely loved the results I got! As always, clicking on the photo will take you to a larger version.

I’ve also made this photo the print of the week for this week, which means it’s currently at 30% off!

Posted: August 8, 2011

Posted in Landscape, Panorama | Tagged Bridger-Teton National Forest, Grand Teton National Park, Milky Way Galaxy, Mountains, Night, Northern Lights, Panorama, Wyoming
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The Reward for Following Motivation

The Gros Ventre River reflects sunset colors from storm clouds above the National Elk Refuge near Jackson, Wyoming.

Motivation. It’s a term that’s become more and more foreign to me since living within Jackson, Wyoming, rather than on the northern fringes of it. I’ve noticed myself heading out to catch fewer sunsets because there’s a little bit of extra distance. Rather than the location pictured being just a few minutes away at most, it’s now about 10-15 minutes away, as well as Grand Teton National Park itself. It seems like with every mile I’ve added to the distance between the park and myself, my motivation to make a quick trip out for a sunset diminishes that much more.

Last night I saw dramatic storm clouds above town and a clear opening where the sun was going to set. Excitement built for a split second before excuses began pouring in:

I’m in for the night.
I want to watch a movie and just relax.
What time is it? It’s about IceCream:30.

Sometimes though, it takes something dramatic to snap you out of such a dismal state. I looked up again at the sky and imagined the potential sunset, realizing that most of the action would be in the south, thus deterring me yet again, realizing that I would have to drive all the way up into Grand Teton National Park, a whopping 15 minutes north!

Finally the absurdity of my excuses became clear to me. I’m in Jackson, Wyoming. Grand Teton National Park, in the grand scheme of things is approximately right there! I grabbed my cameras, jumped into my car and headed north. The best spot I could think of for a good destination looking south was along the Gros Ventre River, bordering the northern end of the National Elk Refuge with the southern end of Grand Teton National Park. I pulled up and headed down the bank to the river where the clouds had just begun lighting up. From the first moment of the undersides of the clouds beginning to light up, I knew this was going to be well worth the "trouble" of driving 15 minutes away from home.

The next time you feel excuses piling up to not follow your passion, try to put them into perspective and see if there’s a bit of ludicrousness to them. It’s easy to get bogged down in daily habits, but when you feel the motivation to get up and go break the cycle, no matter how slight, odds are it will pay off in the end.

Posted: August 4, 2011