I think I’ve officially decided that Grand Teton National Park is my favorite national park and the Teton Range, my favorite mountains to explore.

So when I got the invite to backpack the Teton Crest Trail last summer, I jumped at the chance, even though I had already done most of the 32-mile trek back in 2014. Back on that trip, not only had we bailed from the trail a day early, skipping what is arguably the most beautiful section, but I was also pretty bummed with my images that I produced. I just hadn’t gotten much epic light and I lazily shot from right around camp instead of hiking around to find some better compositions.

This second time around, I was determined to approach the trek more motivated and with what I thought were some relatively lofty goals. In helping plan the trip, I greedily picked campsites that I knew gave me access to some better spots.

So back in August, I set out north for some more exploration of my favorite park.

Before setting off on trail, I spent a few days hanging around Jackson and the park and started off the trip with a few shots that prove that not only weather plays a huge role in landscape photography, but a little luck goes a long way too…