Paintbrush Gear Checklist
The Paintbrush-Cascade Loop leaves the String Lake trailhead, climbs Paintbrush Canyon past Holly Lake to a 10,700 foot divide, then descends into the north branch of Cascade Canyon and returns along Jenny Lake. The park names this loop as one that needs an ice axe, crampons and self-arrest skills while snow lingers, and the hikers who wrote about it split by date: some needed spikes or an axe in June and early July, others crossed in mid-July with nothing. Everyone also carries a canister that the ranger station hands out with the permit.
What shapes your gear on Paintbrush-Cascade Loop
- Who issues the permit
- Grand Teton National Park issues one backcountry permit per trip, with a $20 permit fee and a $7 per person nightly fee. A permit covers up to 10 consecutive nights and the dates and campsites on it. You can collect it at Jenny Lake or at the Moose visitor center, and the rangers there answer questions about snow on the divide.
From Recreation.gov (NPS permit page) and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
- How reservations work
- One third of the backcountry campsites can be reserved online starting January 10, up to 2 days before the trip. The remaining sites are handed out in person at the park's permit offices, on a first come basis, and not earlier than the day before the trip. One 2017 group used the advance route and got Holly Lake and the North Fork Cascade zone.
From Recreation.gov (NPS permit page) and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
- Distance, gain and the divide
- Route listings give 18.1 and 18.77 miles for the loop and 4,088 feet of gain from String Lake, with the divide at 10,720 feet. A longer 21.9 mile version that includes Inspiration Point and Hidden Falls climbs 4,230 feet. Guides and a forum poster recommend counterclockwise, which puts the steep, snowy east slope of the divide on the way up rather than the way down.
From Backpacker, The Outbound, Two Outliers and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
- Snow on the divide
- The park lists Paintbrush Divide as snowy and hazardous well into summer and says the Paintbrush and Cascade loop demands an ice axe, crampons and the ability to self-arrest. In late June 2017 one hiker said the divide held deep snow and ice, while another had climbed Paintbrush Canyon a week earlier with microspikes. A mid-July 2015 hiker found only a small snowfield on the back side and no need for an axe, and a late-July hiker handled a snow patch near the top without trouble.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner), Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip, Backcountry Post forum: Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015 and Hiking Shenandoah
- A fall on the divide
- In July 2014 a hiker on the last day of a Teton Crest Trail trip slid down a steep snow slope on the descent from the divide into Paintbrush Canyon. He was holding an ice axe but could not self-arrest, and fell another 150 feet through loose rock.
- Water and weather
- The park says streams flow through every canyon. A 2017 poster said the only place not to count on water is the divide itself. Storms build most afternoons in the Tetons, and one 2015 camper in the North Fork zone took hail and heavy rain overnight, then crossed the divide the next morning in strong wind.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner), Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip and Backcountry Post forum: Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015
What the agency requires on Paintbrush-Cascade Loop
A backcountry camping permit
Anyone who sleeps in the backcountry, or carries gear made for overnight use, must hold a permit and keep it on them. It covers only the party size, dates and places written on it, and every night on it has to be used.
An approved bear-resistant food container
Backpackers must carry a container approved by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee unless a food storage box is installed at the campsite. A permit holder may check one out for free. All food, trash and toiletries go in the container when not in use, day and night, and it sits at least 100 yards downwind of your tent. Hanging food inside the park is prohibited.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) and Recreation.gov (NPS permit page)
Skills and tools for snow on the passes
The park says Paintbrush Divide stays snowy and hazardous well into summer and that you must have an ice axe, crampons and the skill to arrest a slide. The permit page adds that an axe is needed as late as August in some years, and says to choose another route before late July if you lack those skills.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) and Recreation.gov (NPS permit page)
A plan to stay in your permitted zone
The permit lists the zone or site for each night. A large party may not break into smaller parties to camp together in one zone.
What hikers carry on Paintbrush-Cascade Loop
An ice axe and crampons, or microspikes, depending on the date
A June 2017 poster warned of plenty of snow and ice and told a group that axes and crampons can be rented in Moose or Jackson. Another climbed to Holly Lake with microspikes alone. A 2021 couple crossed in early July with spikes and poles, a day after rangers dropped their axe advice. The park page is blunter, so check with the rangers for your dates.
A hiker who slid on the divide in 2014 was carrying an axe and still could not stop. The skill matters as much as the tool.
From Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip, Two Outliers, Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) and Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Rangers Respond to a Climbing Fatality on the Grand Teton and Injured Hiker in Upper Paintbrush Canyon
A loaned bear canister and a way to cut the smell
The ranger station lends the large and the small canister for free. One poster sprinkled about 3 ounces of baking soda around the trash to cut smell, took out the first day's food so it did not have to go in the can, and said six men would want three cans for two nights. Holly Lake and most North Fork sites also have food boxes.
From Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip, Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) and Two Outliers
Bear spray you can reach
A hiker on the Teton Crest Trail heard a growl in a boulder field between the Cascade forks and took off the safety clip of the spray while moving out of the way. Another guide says each person should carry a can within arm's reach and not packed away.
From Backcountry Post forum: Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015 and Two Outliers
A warm layer you can put on at the top
The route notes say to add a layer just before the final climb because there is no shelter on the ridge. In 2021 one hiker could not even take off the pack to pull on a shirt at the top because the wind was too cold.
From Backpacker, Latter-day Soprano and The Outbound
Hiking poles
A 2021 couple found poles helpful for the climb to the divide and for staying steady on the steep sections. They crossed the last snowfield with spikes and poles together.
From Two Outliers
A small tarp or liner for the tent
A Teton Crest Trail hiker lined the inside of the tent with a lightweight tarp and kept his gear dry through an overnight hail and rain storm in the North Fork zone. That same trip had waterproof gloves on the wish list after a cold, rainy morning.
From Backcountry Post forum: Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015
A water filter
With streams in every canyon, a 2021 couple carried a light filter instead of heavy water. The only spot a 2017 poster would not trust for water was the divide.
From Two Outliers, Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip and Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner)
A headlamp
A September 2021 couple misjudged how long the last day would be and walked the final half mile around Jenny Lake in the dark.
From Latter-day Soprano
12 people can go on one permit. Split this list between them so nobody carries two stoves.
Plan a trip hereWhat hikers regret or leave behind on Paintbrush-Cascade Loop
Backpacking the divide too early in the season
The park says to pick another route before late July without axe skills. A 2021 couple called early July a gamble and got through only because the rangers had relaxed their advice a day earlier. Hikers who came in June 2017 reported deep snow and ice.
From Recreation.gov (NPS permit page), Two Outliers and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
Holly Lake campsite 3
A local poster said the three Holly Lake sites are like group sites. Sites 1 and 2 are fine and number 3 is small and sloped.
From Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
An underestimated last day
A September 2021 couple miscalculated how far it was to loop back to the car and ended the trip in the dark, after a very long day that also included a tense crossing of the divide.
From Latter-day Soprano
Worry about cheese and sausage
A veteran poster said any food is fine in the canister and that marmots, chipmunks and deer cause more trouble than bears on this heavily used loop. Wash hands, store properly, and carry on.
From Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
Hanging food
The park prohibits it, so a rope and stuff sack are dead weight here.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner)
Gear questions for Paintbrush-Cascade Loop
Do you need an ice axe for the Paintbrush-Cascade Loop?
It depends on the date. The park says an ice axe, crampons and self-arrest skills are musts while Paintbrush Divide holds snow, which can last into August. Hikers in late June and early July reported snow and ice, while a mid-July hiker needed none. Ask the rangers for current conditions.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner), Recreation.gov (NPS permit page), Backcountry Post forum: Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015 and Two Outliers
Do you need a bear canister for the Paintbrush-Cascade Loop?
Yes. The park requires an Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee approved container unless the site has a food storage box, and it lends one free with the permit. Holly Lake and most North Fork Cascade sites have boxes. Hanging food is not allowed.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner), Recreation.gov (NPS permit page) and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
Which direction should you hike the Paintbrush-Cascade Loop?
Counterclockwise. A guide and a forum poster say it is easier to climb the steep eastern slope of Paintbrush Divide than to descend it, especially when snow lingers, and a route listing also runs the loop that way.
From Two Outliers, Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip and Backpacker
Where do you camp on the Paintbrush-Cascade Loop?
Options are Holly Lake, with three sites, the open Upper Paintbrush zone, or the North Fork Cascade zone, with 13 or 14 sites. One guide's one-night plan uses the North Fork zone, which gives about 12 to 13 miles the first day and 8 to 9 the second.
From Two Outliers, Backpacker and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
Is there water on the Paintbrush-Cascade Loop?
Yes. The park says streams flow through every canyon. A forum poster said the divide itself is the one place not to rely on.
From Grand Teton National Park (NPS): Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) and Backcountry Post forum: Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip
Sources
- Know Before You Go (backcountry trip planner) · Grand Teton National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Grand Teton National Park Backcountry Permits · Recreation.gov (NPS permit page) · Agency
- Rangers Respond to a Climbing Fatality on the Grand Teton and Injured Hiker in Upper Paintbrush Canyon · Grand Teton National Park (NPS) · Agency
- Paintbrush/Cascade 3 day/2 night trip · Backcountry Post forum · Forum thread
- Teton Crest Trail July 13th-17th 2015 · Backcountry Post forum, pstm13 · Trip report
- Hiking Shenandoah: Paintbrush Divide-Cascade Canyon Loop · Hiking Shenandoah · Blog
- Paintbrush Canyon Cascade Canyon Loop: Complete Backpacking Guide · Two Outliers, Sarah Vaughan · Blog
- Grand Teton Adventure Part 4: Paintbrush · Latter-day Soprano · Trip report
- Grand Teton National Park: Paintbrush Canyon to Cascade Canyon Loop · Backpacker, Kari Bodnarchuk · Blog
- Paintbrush and Cascade Canyons Loop · The Outbound, Rob Witt · Blog