Hours of work, and craftsmanship, rebuilt stone stairs in trails above Jenny Lake at Grand Teton National Park this year/Grand Teton National Park Foundation

Heavy lifting and craftsmanship from a previous era combined to generate significant headway in the restoration of weary trails above Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park this year, work that should make the trails more resilient to hundreds of thousands of feet and weather vagaries of the Rockies.

The ongoing project, funded in large part through the Grand Teton National Park Foundation's $17 million Inspiring Journeys campaign, had crews built roughly 1,500 square feet of stony masonry dry-stacked walls, an age-old technique that is as sturdy as it is impressive when you consider the time that goes into picking the right rocks for the right spots. The focal point of this year's work was the Inspiration Point Trail, originally hewn out of the landscape by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s. The restored sections of trail not only reflect the rustic nature of the original CCC trails, but are designed to cope with the Tetons' weather: smooth, well-engineered channels of rock that serve as water bars are integrated into the stone staircases.

"Granite stones for walls and steps, crushed granite drain rock for structural fill, and fine-grained fill and topping material were hauled via helicopter to as near the point of use as possible. In all, over 500 tons—a million pounds—of imported rock was incorporated into the Inspiration Point trail in 2015," Foundation officials said. "Locating granite material that blends with the Jenny Lake area is a project requirement. The material used for the Inspiration Point trail was sourced from the Teton Village area (just south of the national park) and multiple sources in Idaho. Imported material is carefully washed so as not to inadvertently import exotic plant seeds."

The Inspiring Journeys project involves rebuilding trails the CCC laid down without the trailbed needed to endure millions of feet and decades of Rocky Mountain winters, realigning paths away from sensitive areas, reclaiming overrun and worn-out areas, adding accessible areas, and providing interpretive information and improved front-country services intended to educate and orient visitors to the landscape before them. An additional, not-to-be-overstated benefit, to Grand Teton National Park is an area expected to require less maintenance.

This year's work essentially completed the rebuild of the Inspiration Point Trail. Just 5 percent of the trail remains to be addressed, and officials say the entire trail will be open to visitors next summer. Part of this year's work resulted in "32 stone drains, 254 steps, 628 lineal feet of single tier wall, and 1,200 cubic feet of stone causeway during the complete reconstruct of nearly one-half mile of trail leading to Inspiration Point."

"Park crews were augmented by Dry Stone Conservancy in 2015, the same group from Kentucky that provided training on dry-laid masonry techniques in 2014. In addition to training, the group built two signature walls along the Inspiration Point trail—one was a complete reconstruct of a large, historic wall built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s," the Foundation said.

The original 1930s wall (left) was showing signs of failure. The trail above the wall was in terrible shape and required reconstruction. The entire wall was removed and rebuilt to a higher standard while still using the traditional dry-laid stone masonry techniques originally employed by the CCC craftsman. The new wall (middle) is a classic dry-laid stone masonry construction with an inner wall buried back in the slope and used to anchor the outer wall (with visible face); the inner and outer walls are “tied” together with rocks reaching into the slope and connecting the walls. No mortar, only friction and gravity hold this 12-foot high wall in place./GTNPF

When CCC crews built the trails in Grand Teton, they likely didn't envision the increased visitation the park would receive decades into the future. 

"We imagine the CCC crews that originally built this trail were also proud, but we know they were inspired: in order to complete the route out of the canyon bottom to the overlook, a final dugway was blasted from a granite cliff," the Foundation notes. "This particular section, just below the Inspiration Point overlook, has always had an element of exposure, but the degraded trail conditions turned this area into a real crux for many hikers. Next spring, trail crews will put the finishing touches on the upper Inspiration Point trail and plan to have the entire section open for early season hikers in mid-June, 2016."

Along with building trail, staff also are busy working on revegetating the mountainside in places.

"Vegetation staff continued native seed collection efforts for this project. Seed collected has been and continues to be used to start seed propagation fields that are designed to increase the quantity of seed needed to encourage the re-establishment of native plant communities upon project completion," the Foundation said. "Several tree, shrub, forb and grass species were collected and then sent to an off-site facility to be cleaned. Over 300 labor hours were spent collecting native seed and approximately 250 labor hours were spent on seed cleaning."

While winter's snows are settling on the Tetons, plans for next year's restoration work are already defined.

"Backcountry construction efforts in 2016 will focus the completion of the last 5 percent of the Inspiration Point trail, on the Hidden Falls/Cascade Creek trail (south side), the 100-foot section of trail immediately west of the west boat dock, the Hidden Falls viewing area, and improvements to the west boat dock (during shoulder seasons only). All of this work, but especially the work at the Hidden Falls viewing area, will impact the public in 2016," the Foundation said. "The park’s current plan is to build the improvements outside of the peak summer season to minimize impact on visitors. At a minimum, the Hidden Falls viewing area will be closed early and late in the season. For numerous safety and resource protection reasons, an alternative temporary falls viewing area has not been envisioned. Closures of Hidden Falls and Inspiration Point will be coordinated so that at least one of these popular destinations will be open to visitors during the peak summer season. Though Hidden Falls viewing will be compromised summer, 2016, the Inspiration Point trail will be open and transformed."