Hiking the Canyons

      Garnet Canyon, Paintbrush Canyon, and Hanging Canyon have all been beautiful in the past few weeks.  The trail up Hanging Canyon is a steep informal trail not listed on the maps at all. It must be a climbers access trail because I found it accidentally while chasing a woodpecker earlier in the season.
     Wild flowers have been spectacular.  Paintbrush in many colors, Bluebells, Sunflowers, Columbine, Penstemon, Monkeyflowers, Buckwheat is still blooming, Asters, Spirea, Red Heather, Monkshood, and more.
      This photo is Middle Teton from Surprise Lake.

Surprise Lake is one of those beautiful alpine lakes at the top of Garnet Canyon.

The trail is pretty also.

Snow melt cascades down each mountainside.

Teewinot and snow fields feeding the waterfalls and cascades.

Paddling around

     Dolphin and I have been out on 5 lakes so far.  Earlier in the season I was seeing female ducks leading broods of ducklings, spooking Great Blue Herons, and watching tiny fish swimming in the clear water. 
    This photo was taken during a short portage between bays.  I paddled south from Colter Bay boat ramp across 3 small bays  and around 2 little islands.  Water levels are dropping in Jackson Lake, as the Idaho potato farmers take their 38 feet of the lake.

String Lake is a narrow lake that empties into Jenny Lake.  I paddled north along its length to the take-out site and dragged Dolphin up the muddy bank.  The trail to Leigh Lake is short and ends at this  "staircase."  I watched a man position his plastic kayak, sit inside it, and slide bump, bump, bump down the ramp to splash into the water.  I did not do that !!

Leigh Lake is larger and has a few boat-in campsites on the shore.  I came around a corner and the wind was suddenly very strong.  I took a quick photo and turned around to return the portage.  String Lake is much more sheltered from the wind.

Oxbow Lake is a wonderful marsh to paddle around in.  Female ducks hide their ducklings in the willows.  I came around a corner and found a much larger youngster,  a baby Moose.  I was quiet and did not disturb mama Moose resting in the willows nearby.  The baby Moose looked at me and sat down in the grass.  It probably thought I was a big blue whale.

Fledglings abound

     Every morning now I take my binoculars with me for the walk to breakfast.  Fledgling birds are hopping about everywhere.  The wooden fence that separates the employee area from the campground is a favorite perching location.  I have a list of 15 species of juveniles seen here in the past 10 days.  Western Tanagers have been successful,  Robins have their spotted breasts, White crowned Sparrow babies flit in the Fir branches, Juncos, Kinglets, a Red-naped Sapsucker young one in an Aspen tree, and a Brewer's Blackbird little one in the parking lot looking lost. It could fly but did not know where to find breakfast.
      The grey and yellow fluffy Tanager juvenile likes the trees near the parking lot.  Twice I have seen mama Tanager feed it Honeysuckle berries.  Dad Tanager, once a brilliant yellow, is molting into a dull yellow with a less bright red head.  They have been singing/ calling all summer.
     Despite the efforts of the Maintenance team, both Barn and Tree Swallows have been successful in raising young.  The swallows had to select odd locations behind the buildings out of sight of park visitors for nesting.  I opened the back door of the store last night and was met with a flurry of chittering and swooping from the Barn Swallow family.
     The Hairy Woodpecker fledgling knew to hit the tree trunk with its bill, but was still following the adult around making little almost-woodpecker sounds.
     I was surprised the Pine Siskins already had their yellow wing edges and tail edges.

     Photos of Common Merganser family I found on String Lake while paddling my kayak.





The same family sitting on a large rock.

I have seen an American Wigeon female with ducklings, Coots with little ones, and the Barrow's Goldeneye photos were included in a previous posting.

Flat Creek runs through the Elk Refuge north of Jackson.  I have stopped at the viewpoint many times to see ducks and other birds.  A week ago the Trumpeter Swans had their family out for all the visitors to see.