Clouds billowing over Mt. Leidy, east of Grand Teton National Park
Sunrise on our second day in Grand Teton NP - cold, some light clouds on the Teton range, not much color. Then heading back to the lodge for breakfast, I saw this scene. The clouds dissipated as fast as they tumbled around the peak, changing by the second.
String Lake in colorized infrared
Still too cold to kayak, so we hiked around String Lake. Two years ago, I photographed a great grey owl in a snag near this trail. The next morning, from our kayaks, we saw it hunting in the adjacent meadow. String Lake is a lazy paddle, good for a rest day when I just want to be on the water. I've seen families of otters playing on String's banks, mergansers trailing long lines of chicks, big trout holding steady in the slow current. Sometimes we just sit by the edge and wait - that's how we've spotted a black bear shambling along the slope and an elk herd coaxing their babies across a shallow spot in the lake.
Just for fun, I hiked with a light set-up - D70, 2 lenses and the IR filter. After toting the 22lb camera pack around for a couple days, I felt like I could hike forever with just my binocs, daypack and tripod.
We didn't observe many birds on the hike. It seems to me that migration started early this year - in SLC we've seen flocking behavior a month earlier than usual. That afternoon, R spotted a red-tailed hawk high on the shoulders of Grand Teton, soaring southward on the thermals. The previous day's snow may have melted, the weather may warm up for a day or a week, but the animals know winter is lurking very nearby.
