From July 16 through July 31, 21 Scouts and adults from Troop 202 went on a high adventure trek to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone National Parks. We flew to Salt Lake City, rented cars and vans, and drove to Colter Bay campground in the Tetons. The next day we began our preparation for the seven-day backpacking trip in the Tetons. We checked out our gear, distributed food, and reconnoitered the trek starting and ending points. The next morning we each went our separate ways to begin the trek.

The North to South crew began with a boat ride across Jenny Lake and hiked up Cascade Canyon to the South Fork group camp. They spent a layover day at the camp, during which most of the scouts hiked up the cliff face to a cave. The third day they left the camp and hiked up over Hurricane Pass, descending into Alaska Basin. The next day was a layover day in Alaska Basin, where they met the other crew arriving around lunch time. We swapped stories, visited a local lake, and survived a freak hail storm around dinner time. The next day we left the Basin and hiked toward Death Canyon Shelf. One subcrew spent the night on the shelf, while the other subcrew hiked to Marion Lake. The next morning the first subcrew met the second at Marion Lake, and all hiked together to Granite Canyon group camp. The next day they hiked up to the tram above Teton Village and rode it down to civilization.

The South to North crew did the reverse route of the other crew, beginning with a tram ride up from Teton Village and hiking down into Granite Canyon. They split up the first night, one subcrew staying in Granite Canyon and the other hiking on to Marion Lake. The next day the Marion Lake subcrew hiked on to Death Canyon Shelf, while the Granite Canyon crew hiked to Marion Lake. The third day both crews met up at the Death Canyon Shelf group camp. The next day they hiked together into Alaska Basin where they met up with the north to south crew. After a layover day in Alaska Basin, the crew hiked up past Sunset Lake and Battleship Mountain, over Hurricane Pass, through the South Fork Cascade Canyon all the way to the North Fork group camp. The next day they hiked out through Cascade Canyon, finishing with a ferry ride across Jenny Lake.

That evening both crews met at Colter Bay camp spending the afternoon taking showers and washing clothes. THat evening we went to the Mangy Moose for a sit-down dinner, celebrating one scout's 17th birthday. The next day we went on a canoe ride on Jenny Lake, paddling to the far shore for lunch. After another night at Colter Bay we went into Jackson for siteseeing and then on to the Gros Ventre campground. We spent a wonderful afternoon swimming in the Gros Ventre River. The next day we packed up and headed to Yellowstone.

We spent two days in Yellowstone visiting Old Faithful and touring around the park. We then headed back through Jackson and spent the night in Alred Flat near the Idaho-Wyoming border. The last day we went to Promontory Point, the site of the meeting of the transcontinental railroads. We took a sidetrip to the Spiral Jetty before driving back to Salt Lake City and flying home.