On 06/16/2025, I hiked the MOST INTENSE hike. My friend and I started at 10 AM and didn't finish…read moreuntil 9 PM. We hiked from Taggart trailhead to Taggart Lake, then off to Bradley Lake. After those two hikes onto Delta Lake. We hiked a total of 15 miles at 9,000 ft of elevation. I frequently hike, but in no way have I ever trained to hike at any kind of elevation. I knew my limits, but boy were they pressed on this hike. On the trail going up, I saw elk and marmots around. Its better to hike with a group of two or more and someone you trust, don't be like me and hike with someone who can care less than you and constantly left me to solo hike on unfamiliar territory. The trail after Bradley Lake is a continuous incline, so take plenty of water and rest breaks. I had to take plenty of breaks and am a slow hiker. Whether you read it on Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, or All Trails, the last 3 miles up is torturously difficult. It is constant rocky with huge boulders that you have to cross by crawling. Here at this point, your trekking poles are useless. In June, some of the trail was still covered with snow. Quite challenging for someone who isn't used to walking in snow; the snow was semi-hard, but soft in parts so I fell a couple of times. To get to the top after the boulders, there's a deep ascend upwards that crawling is the only option and you gotta be careful not to fall backwards. At this moment, I was 3 minutes in and wanted to give up! My friend had already left me behind, I was pissed off at her, and mad at myself for putting myself through this hike. Until, a family coming down gave me some serious encouragement to continue on. Shout out to that beautiful family! Y'all, a real one!! Whew!! I was exhausted once I crossed my final hill to see Delta Lake. It was indeed beautiful and is worth it! The water was crystal turquoise blue (naturally), it was hypothermia cold, but the snow capped mountain tops were a stunner to view. It was so picturesque and all I wanted was to rest. However, I didn't get to because two people were in my ear about, "can you take my picture?" at every single moment and angle. It was so annoying. My friend and I stayed about 15 minutes at the lake before we started our trek back. Now, that was problematic because we were racing to get back before nightfall and since we weren't smart enough to start at Delta Lake trailhead, the hike took longer, we wasted time a lot of time hiking, so by the time we were heading back it was 6pm in the evening. Luckily, it gets completely dark after 9pm. On the way back, it was a descend hike down the mountain, so our pace was slightly increased, but we had to be very careful because on the trail, we spotted a moose. He wouldn't move and was minding his own business. His partner was on the side, then ran when it saw our presence. Eventually, the moose scurried away in the forest. We continued to hike and was faced with a grizzly bear off the path, but was in close proximity. I was horrified and quickly grabbed my bear spray ready to shoot. My friend told me to just run across. I thought that was stupid of her to tell me to risk my life of being eaten so she can live free. Mercifully, the bear continued to eat grass and walked further into the forest. At that point, I was terrified of being with this so-called friend, out in bear country, and by 7:00 PM, we were STILL hiking. I started to panic and begged this chick (that I was with) to call park rangers. Her iPhone had died, so no access to maps, but thankfully my Android still had sufficient battery lasting through the end. She continued to say we didn't need to, but at last she did (after I begged her to) call 911 for rescue. We hiked an additional 4 miles. I was EXTREMELY tired!!! My legs were jello and I was out of breath, but couldn't stop. By that time, my mum called me since I never told her I was safe back at the hostel. A mother's instinct, she knew something was wrong. So she called the park rangers too and then they came, met up with us, and walked us then drove us to the Taggart Lake trailhead where we had parked. The following day, I was too tired to move or walk. I must add, this isn't a small kid friendly hike. I saw noone hiking with tiny kids. My advice to anyone looking to dare hike this trail: *Hike from the Delta Lake trailhead *Bring a trusted friend who actually cares about your wellness and well-being to wait on you and not mock you for hiking pace. *Start early *Train to hike at an elevation and don't cold turkey wing it especially if you're a Southeast Texan *Trekking poles are needed *Know your limits (coincides with the friend note) *Wear comfortable hiking shoes with supportive grip. *Have fun in a safe way

This hike was pretty strenuous for a couple of Oklahomans, despite all of us being in decent…read morephysical shape. I would advise anyone over the age of 50/anyone not in excellent physical health to beware of this hike. More trail info can be found on the app All Trails (which is also good for mapping purposes!) There is an extremely steep Boulder scramble towards the end. Make sure you bring 2-3 liters of water for each hiker, and definitely plenty of food to keep you energized. We each had a peanut butter jelly sandwich, apples, granola bars, and beef jerky. The views from the top were incredible. The blue water of the lake, the proximity to the Grand Teton, the waterfall, it was all so impressive. Absolutely worth the 2 hours and 45 minutes of uphill battle :) took just under 2 hours to get down. We did come across a small bear towards the beginning of the trail, so make sure to keep bear spray handy and make lots of noise!