Backpack the Teton Crest Trail

We planned to start the trip by taking the Jackson Hole ski tram to the top of the mountain to get about 4,500 feet of climbing out of the way. Little did we know, the tram is $37 per person so we decided to hike up the front side of Jackson Hole and spend the $37 saved on a trip to dairy queen afterwards. Well, hiking up all that way might very well be worth the money, especially with full packs and few water sources.Once over the top of Jackson hole, we descended into the first camping zone and spent the night in a nice meadow. We did about 4.5 miles and 4,500 feet elevation that first day.The next morning we hiked up through moraine lake--beautiful and great for swimming--and over fox creek pass, cutting across high open meadow with sweeping views of the mountains southwest of the Tetons eventually reaching Death Canyon Shelf. We stopped for lunch then hiked across death canyon shelf: a gorgeous meadowy shelf above Death Canyon. We made it over the pass above death canyon shelf and set camp in the boulder-strewn meadow on the other side. That day we did about 10 miles and 2,500 vertical feet.The next day we set off down the sheep steps into Alaska Basin: a beautiful basin filled with streams and ponds. We crossed the basin in about 45 minutes and started our way up to sunrise lake where we ate lunch. We then ascended Hurricane pass where the views of the Tetons knock you off you feet (or was that the wind..). We descended the pass alongside schoolroom glacier, which fed into a brilliantly turquoise green lake. We ascended through the meadows, passing many waterfalls, and setting up camp once we got a good way into the valley. We did about 8 miles and 1,500 vertical that day.The last day we got up and hiked the rest of the way out of the valley and back to our car, taking a water taxi across the lake at the end.