There are a number of places that I intended to visit after getting married four years ago - but time, weather, and fatigue got the better of us at the end of that honeymoon trip, and we only ever had two days to spend in the vicinity of the Tetons, anyways. Two Ocean Lake is such a place. Nestled in a high valley to the east of the main range, the lake is just far enough from the park to feel like a world unto itself, host to a beautiful blend of riparian, deciduous, and alpine ecosystems. In an entire morning of hiking, we see only four other people - and one very lazy bull moose. We wake shortly after sunrise to see the previous night’s thunderstorm clearing against the Tetons’ main peaks - the soaring pinnacles known as the Cathedral Group, including Teewinot, Mt. Owen, and the Grand itself. In the car, we make the brief drive into the park and turn down Pacific Creek. We find lovely photographic conditions all along the drive up to Two Ocean Lake: mist hanging over the creek against a backdrop of freshly fallen snow, and glorious aspens set alight by the rising sun.
At the lakeside trailhead, we gear up for an eight-mile lariat hike (longer than, but reminiscent of, our lariat at the Bubbles on Mount Desert Island): a six-mile loop around Two Ocean Lake itself, and a mile up and down to Grand View Point, atop the ridgeline that separates the lake from the main valley. After a year without serious hiking at altitude (thanks, Massachusetts), we make surprisingly good time around the lake - or, we would, if I weren’t constantly stopping for photographs, in utter awe at the beauty of the scenery. We nearly stumble upon a bull moose resting no more than forty or fifty yards off the trail; we carefully tiptoe a wide semicircle around it, but the moose seems far too comfortable and complacent this morning to give us any trouble. At the northwestern end of the lake, we push up into the forest and make a steep, switchbacking climb to the top of the ridge, where we’re treated with sweeping views of snow-dusted pine trees, rolling clouds to the horizon, the Tetons rising beyond Jackson Lake to the west, and Two Ocean Lake below us to the east, shining like a mirror. We stop here for a snack break (bread rolls, dried fruit, and trail mix), a timelapse, and some selfies along the ridgeline. Descending the hill, we make good time back to the car, power-walking the southern half of lakeside loop, which is mostly forested and has much less going for it in terms of scenery and open views - 3 miles in an hour. Overall, we cover 8 miles in roughly 4 hours. Back at the ranch, we stop in the diner for a well-earned lunch (a burger for me, a club sandwich for Jane, and huckleberry milkshake between us). We take the rest of the afternoon off, shooting a lovely sunset timelapse at the ranch - just steps away from our cabin, and far-removed from the sightseering crowds of the national park.
