Table Mountain - Caribou-Targhee National Forest, Wyoming

The sudden jaw-dropping, in-your-face view of the Grand Teton Mountain Range as you crest Table Mountain is worth the  4,000-foot gain - it's a view you will never forget.

View of the Grand Teton, Middle Teton, and South Teton from summit of Table Mountain, 11,106 feet

Trip Stats for North Teton (Huckleberry)/Face loop:

• Distance:  ascend North Teton Trail (Huckleberry Trail) #024 (6.5 miles), descend North Teton Trail and Face Trail  #029 (4 miles) = 10.5 miles round-trip.   Face Trail is 2.6 miles long.  Loop can be done in reverse.
• Elevation:  4,100 feet:  Teton Canyon Trailhead is at 7,000 feet; Table Mountain summit = 11, 106 feet.
• Difficulty:  Moderate - Strenuous Class 1, with brief easy scramble over summit rocks.
• Location:  most of this hike is in the Jedediah  Smith Wilderness.  Table Mountain is located on the border between this wilderness and Grand Teton National Park.  Table Mountain:  43°44'48" N  110°51'07" W
• Maps:  Trails Illustrated Topographic Map #202 - Grand Teton National Park, Topozone topographic map of Jedediah Smith Wilderness.
• Driving Directions:  From Main Street in Driggs, Idaho, drive east 6.3 miles on East Little Avenue/Ski Hill Road.  You will pass through Alta, Wyoming.  Turn right onto Teton Canyon Road and travel this gravel road for 4 miles to Teton Canyon trailhead, crossing 2 bridges just before trailhead.  A large sign labeled North Teton Trail #024 located at edge of parking lot.
• Hike Directions:   We ascended the more gradual  North Teton Trail #024 (Huckleberry Trail) that treks along the North Fork of Teton Creek to intersection with the Face Trail #029 at 5.0 miles.  At intersection, bear left (east) toward the summit.  Hike 1.5 miles to summit, emerging out of tree line onto ridge.  We descended Huckleberry Trail #024 to intersection and continued straight (west) on The Face Trail #029 for 2.6 miles to the Teton Canyon trailheads.  The Face Trail terminates near the South Teton trailhead, south of the North Teton trailhead.
• CAUTION:  Frequent afternoon thunderstorms - approach ridge is exposed for the last 1.5 miles to summit.  Consider starting hike early to be able to get off exposed portion by early afternoon.
• Geology:   The Great Unconformity between the 2.7 billion year old Archean gneiss (cliffs) and overlying Cambrian Flathead Sandstone, made up of beach sands deposited 540 million years ago, is seen as two distinct layers on the bench of Table Mountain.  The Buck Mountain Fault and Teton Fault, parallel to each other, created the uplifted wedge that contains the tallest peaks of the Teton Mountain Range including the Grand Teton and Mount Owen.  The Buck Mountain Fault runs between Table Mountain and the Teton Mountain Range.

                         "There are only three sports:  bullfighting, motor racing, and mountaineering; all the rest are merely games."
                                    -  Ernest Hemingway

North Teton Trail (Huckleberry Trail) from North Teton Trailhead to Table Mountain summit
click on map for full Topozone map

Jedediah Smith Wilderness boundary about 1 mile into hike on North Teton Trail #024

Fred and I hiked the amazing North Teton trail to its spectacular summit this past August, at the suggestion of a friend who found out we were going to the "Idaho side of the Tetons".   We didn't want to see the  crowds of people in Grand Teton National Park, so we hiked out of Driggs, Idaho.  

At the end of Teton Canyon Road, 10.5 miles from downtown Driggs, Idaho there are two trailheads.  The trail from the North Teton trailhead (North Teton trail, AKA Huckleberry trail) goes to Table Mountain, and the trail from the South Teton trailhead goes to Alaska Basin (another stunning hike where we saw a moose).  The Face trail is accessed between these two trailheads.  Some hikers ascend via the Face Trail; it is a more direct but steeper, unmaintained route to Table Mountain.  We descended via Face Trail but I would not do that again because it is very steep with loose rocks and shallow switchbacks, and my toes got really sore pushing against the front of my boots!

If you want to avoid Face Trail, you can do an out-and-back hike on North Teton Trail for a total of 13 miles.

This hike gets more spectacular with nearly every step.  As with most summit hikes, it starts out in thick forest canopy, hiking along North Fork Teton Creek.  Multi-colored blankets of wildflowers among bright green grasses and shrubs covered the lower slopes of the U-shaped glacially-carved valley we walked through.  Peaks towered above us as tall limestone cliffs seemed to surround, dominating much of the horizon.  There had to be a break in those walls to get us on top of the ridge overlooking the valley we had ascended.

Face Trail trailhead located between North Teton and South Teton trailheads at the end of Teton Canyon Road

North Teton Trail (Huckleberry Trail) goes along North Fork Teton Creek

North Teton Trail (Huckleberry Trail) - Jedediah Smith Wilderness

North Teton Trail leaves the North Fork Teton Creek at 8,400 feet, then heads southward through the steep basin and toward a break in the cliffs. The trail then switch-backs to the ridge, climbing ~ 1,500 feet through basin and up switchbacks in about 1.5 miles.  The ridge is at 9,900 feet.  Table Mountain  looks like an altar facing the immense and looming Grand Teton.  After the steep ascent from basin to ridge, the trail takes a turn southeastward with its sights straight toward the summit, passing very close to the cliff edge for one last view of the magnificent basin just ascended.  Just 1,200 more vertical feet to climb to the summit!

One of the switchbacks that climbs out of basin in a southwestward direction to top-off at ridge (~ 9,900 feet) and nearby intersection with Face Trail

Table Mountain facing the Grand Teton as viewed from switchbacks out of basin

Along  North Teton Trail (AKA Huckleberry Trail) on ridge near intersection with Face Trail  ~ 10,000 feet

After climbing out of the basin onto the ridge, the trail heads straight toward the summit, surrounded by wildflowers the entire way until the summit block.  Table Mountain looms ahead and it seems to take forever for it to get closer.  The juxtaposition of the tips of the Grand Teton and Mt. Owen rising behind the low, broad and grounded bench of Table Mountain is a rare sight.  This is a great example of Earth's awesome forces; a relatively "young" fault (Buck Mountain Fault) raising old rocks higher than newer rocks in such a dramatic manner.  After passing through pines and purple lupines, the trail suddenly opens up to a vast and high open meadow dotted with swaying white bistorts (my favorite wildflower).   We saw people the size of small dots on the final incline to the summit.  With legs burning, we made our way up this incline to the cool, breezy summit scrambling through a cut in the sharp rocks.  A few more steps along the flat summit, and then WOW!  The earth quickly drops below you as you stand on a precipice (2,300-foot drop in this case), and the world opens up to make you feel like a speck in the middle of it.  But this is no "ordinary" summit because you come face to face with the enormity of the Tetons, making you feel even smaller.  The Grand is so close you can see its ledges and walls.  You have worked to claim your lofty space, but you gaze at a space loftier than the small patch of Earth on which you stand.

Looking down from summit at the final approach to Table Mountain with Roaring Creek and Alaska Basin Trail to the left of ridge (southwest)

Hiking through a sea of American bistort (Bistorta bistortoides) and purple aster on the final stretch to Table Mountain

Sue on summit of Table Mountain, 11,106 feet with Grand Teton and Mt. Owen in background

Summit of Table Mountain 
Peaks left to right:  Mt. Owen, Grand Teton, Middle Teton

Fellow hikers lingered at the summit.  We savored the experience, too, and then saw weather coming in from the southwest.  We decided to get off the exposed rock, and on our way down, a lightning storm raged over another ridge.  We took the Face Trail # 029 at the intersection with North Teton Trail which saved us time and mileage.  Face Trail starts out with gentle decline and ends with a quadricep workout down the very steep pitch with loose rocks.  At the end of this trail, a metal sign reads "Face Trail 029 - Very Steep - Not Recommended".   Next time, I would go up Face Trail and down North Teton Trail.  Or skip Face Trail altogether.

The next day, we hiked 5 miles up Alaska Basin Trail with millions of wildflowers.

Intersection of North Teton Trail with Face Trail ~ 1.5 miles from summit
Face Trail is ~ 2.6 miles shorter on the way down but much steeper!

References:
Miller, M.B. (2012, August 2).  Great Unconformity in the Teton Range, Wyoming. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from - https://geologictimepics.com/2012/04/

Ortenburger, L. N., and Jackson, R.G.  (1996)  A Climbers Guide to the Teton Range, 3rd Edition.   (Click on title for link).