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There are some places that once you visit them, never leave your heart.  The Enclosure in the Tetons is one of them.

The Enclosure is named after an ancient paleolithic circle of rocks at its summit, which some say dates to over 11,000 years ago.  Sitting inside the Enclosure, you can definitely feel the history and power of that ancient place and wonder about who made it and why.

Enclosure peak is the second highest peak in the Teton Range topping out at 13,248 ft.  The climb itself gains 6,500 ft in elevation from the valley floor.  AV7 Artist Kelly Halpin and I started hiking from the parking lot about 5:20am, and managed to make it to the summit at 11:45am.

Weather this time of year in the Tetons is always variable, and for most of the hike we had sunny skies.   There was one sketchy moment just below the summit where an isolated storm rolled in and dumped grapple and rain on us, followed by a crack of thunder so loud it shook me to my soul.  5 minutes later it was sunny again. I think the Great Spirit was just saying hello and welcome to the big mountains!

We made it to the summit and discovered the fabled stone circle “enclosure”- quite the powerful moment.  After a few moments to meditate and truly be present in that amazing place, Kelly and I turned around and headed quickly down to avoid any more weather so high up and in such a dangerous place.  We made it back to the car about 7pm, tired and happy to finally have experienced such an amazing and uplifting place high in our favorite mountains.    -KINGER