What happened on Day 5 is hard to put into words. The original plan was to go from Phelps Lake to Bradley Lake and camp there for the night. Then, on Day 6, we were going to hike up to Amphitheater Lake and hike back down and out to Jenny Lake to complete the loop. However, the trek from Phelps Lake to Bradley Lake was only 8-9 miles, which at this point was a cakewalk, so when we got to Bradley Lake we decided we’d drop our gear and hike up to Amphitheater Lake. This way, on Day 6 we could wake up and head straight for Jenny Lake (and the car) first thing in the morning and start driving home.

At a high level, this plan was great! By Day 5 most of us were tired and ready to be back in civilization. Also, by doing it this way, it meant we could climb to Amphitheater Lake with much lighter packs. It didn’t take much talking through for the group to decide this is what we wanted to do. Before we started though, we had to get to Bradley Lake. It was a pretty easy hike.

Below are pictures of Bradley Lake:

To try and give some context, below is a picture of the map with our path from Phelps Lake to Bradley Lake and then to Amphitheater Lake. If you look at the climb to Amphitheater Lake you’ll notice some switchbacks. That is deceiving. There must have been at least 20 switchbacks as it essentially became a straight climb up to the top. Once again I became pretty dehydrated (it was so tough most of the group broke apart because we all needed to go at our own paces). Thankfully, I kept pushing on and made my way to Surprise Lake where I was able to get more water and eventually caught-up with the rest of the group relaxing at Amphitheater Lake. I don’t know the exact elevation change but I think it was somewhere along 2,000ft in a very short area with no water. Needless to say, I was very happy when we got to the top.

Below are the pictures from our climb:

After taking a long break at Amphitheater Lake the group headed back down (a few miles, for the record) to get back to Bradley Lake. We were exhausted by the time we were back but it was a great way to end the trip. We went to sleep, woke up the next morning, packed up and headed back and out to Jenny Lake. The loop was complete! Once again it was an amazing trip but this time not only because of breathtaking views but also because I felt I had redeemed myself. My backpack had been properly fastened this trip and I was able to keep up with everyone else and have a great time. Not to mention we saw a few black bears and a couple moose!