Wyoming & Montana, Part 3: Yellowstone National Park

After our backpacking trip, we headed to Yellowstone. We stayed at Canyon Village campground for four nights. It took us forever to drive there from Grand Teton National Park because we kept stopping to see all of the cool things along the way. We kept saying, "we really need to just focus on getting there," and then we'd come around a corner to something amazing and throw that idea out the window. That basically started at the entrance sign and continued all the way until we pulled into the campsite.

The Lewis River at the south entrance to Yellowstone National Park.

Lewis Falls.

We stopped at the West Thumb Geyser basin. This mud pot is in the parking lot. It was actively bubbling and spewing sulfurous steam.

One of the pools in West Thumb Geyser Basin. I think this area was my favorite of the developed thermal areas that we visited while we were in Yellowstone. We happened to be there when it wasn't horribly crowded and it sits right on Yellowstone Lake, which made for a pretty backdrop.

Yellowstone Lake from the West Geyser Basin boardwalk

Mimmulus guttatus (Monkey Flower). These little guys were growing right next to a thermal feature where nothing else was growing at all.

Black Pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin

Yellowstone Lake from Pumice Beach.

A bison bull in Hayden Valley.

Our second morning in Yellowstone, we took a guided wildlife tour. It was fabulous (we paid for the tour). Our guide, MacNeil, did a great job and we learned so much about the park from him. Right off the bat, we saw this bull elk near the road. 

Another view of him. The stringy thing hanging over his eye is actually some of the velvet that he's been rubbing off of his antlers.

Hayden Valley in the morning light.

A bison bull along the Yellowstone River.

Lamar Valley. We didn't wind up seeing any wolves or grizzly bears, but like I said, the wildlife tour was absolutely worth it. We did see bald eagles, sandhill cranes, a badger, a weasel and lots of bison.

After our tour, we went up to Mammoth. This is above Canary Spring. The red color is from algae growing in the heated water.

Canary Spring.

A Western Tanager near Canary Spring.

We had dinner in Gartiner, Montana. On our way back, we drove Blacktail Plateau Drive. We had asked a ranger in the Mammoth Visitor Center about the drive and he pretty much said, "eh...it is another hill." We drove it anyway and did not regret it. It is quiet and we had great views up there.

Our last stop of the day was Tower Falls. When I was there in 1998, you could hike down to the base of the falls. Not so, anymore. Apparently, mud slides in 2004 resulted in the closure of the trail. It was pretty anyway and since we were there late in the evening, there were very few other people there.

On our last full day in Yellowstone, we did two short hikes. The first was a loop that began along the south rim of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We followed the river for a couple of miles out to Artist Point. We took a side trip down Uncle Tom's Trail, which leads down a series of metal stairs to a stunning view of the lower falls. Since we were there early in the morning, we had the viewpoint to ourselves and we had great light. It was definitely worth the hike down and the climb back out.

The Lower Falls from Artist Point. This was the only crowded place on our hike. By the time we got there, the tour buses had arrived. From there, we took a right and immediately entered the Yellowstone backcountry. Within about 25 feet, we had left all of the madness behind and had the place to ourselves.

One of the features of the loop we did was a backcountry thermal basin. This one is small compared to some of the others, but it was neat to hike through one without boardwalks (stay on trail!) or crowds. I would have liked to have spent a bit more time here, but it was pretty exposed and there was a thunderstorm passing through.

The end of the hike took us up on a ridge overlooking Hayden Valley. Storms were passing through the area, making for dramatic photos. We saw a bison bull near here, but I didn't get a good photo of it. It is a completely different experience to see one when you aren't near your car (we did not get close). Not bad for a hike finished before lunch.

As an aside, since we had our own food, we had lunch in one of the picnic areas along the way to the other side of the park. The picnic areas might be the best kept secret in Yellowstone. We wound up eating in three of them. They were all pretty and away from the madness of the dining facilities in the park.

After our morning hike, we drove to the other side of the park to see some of the more famous thermal features. This is Grand Prismatic Spring. We hiked from here to Fairy Falls and back. Unfortunately, although Grand Prismatic Spring and Fairy Falls were very nice, in between was like hiking through a pine plantation. The area burned badly in 1988, so all of the trees are the same age and are pretty dense. It isn't a bad hike, but it was a lot of walking through pine trees that are twelve feet tall.

 Fairy Falls.

One of the few views along the trail to Fairy Falls.

Old Faithful. This was as crowded as one would expect, but Michael had never seen it.

After dinner, we drove Fire Hole Lake Drive. Again, going in the evening meant it was quiet. There were thunderstorms rolling through again, so we sat out and tried to photograph lightning.

I got lucky once and captured a lightning strike - the first time I've ever been able to get one.

On the way back to Canyon Campground, we were treated to an incredible sunset. What we didn't realize at the time was that the brilliant red was due to smoke from wildfires to the west that was rolling in. More on that in the next post.

On our last morning, we did laundry, dried out gear from the previous night's storm (Michael spread the gear out in the parking lot of the general store and wound up being photographed by tourists as they drove by...seriously). We drove out through the Lamar Valley towards Red Lodge, Montana, and happened to see this bison bull rolling in the dust. It was funny to see such a large animal throw himself down on the ground and roll around.

So, after spending three days in Grand Teton National Park, I want to go back and backpack for a month there. I have the same problem with Yellowstone. I need to go back and do some actual backpacking there. So many cool things to see, so little time. 

Next post: the bike trip.

Wyoming & Montana, Part Two: Backpacking in the Tetons

Warning: Long post! I visited Grand Teton National Park for the first time 18 years ago. On that trip, we probably only spent a few hours there in the morning, passing through on our way from Jackson to Yellowstone National Park. I remember being enchanted by the view from the shoreline of Jenny Lake and seeing moose for the first time. I really wanted to hike there, but we just didn't have the time for it, to say nothing of the time for a backpacking trip. When we started planning this year's trip, I was adamant that we would go backpacking in the Tetons.

We started our day at the Jenny Lake Ranger Station. The rangers were helpful and nice, but they were dealing with people who arrived that morning and had no idea where they wanted to backpack or climb, nor which permits were still available.. So instead of a quick permit pickup, we had to wait in line for an hour behind a number of groups trying to plan multi-day backpacking trips on the fly. Like I said, though, the rangers were great. Since we reserved our permit ahead of time, once we got up there, they got us squared away quickly.

We started at Lupine Meadows. It is a popular trailhead, so we wound up adding close to 3/4 of a mile to our hike from the car to the actual trailhead. The trail started off fairly for about 1/2 a mile. Then the climbing started - gradually at first. The scenery couldn't be beat. The trail alternated passing through flower-filled meadows and cool, shady pine groves. We came around one corner and found a young adult black bear eating berries near the trail. We kept a respectful distance (along with a few other hikers) and watched it for several minutes.The trail got steeper as we climbed. As we got higher, I have to be honest and say that I was struggling with the altitude a bit. Between photos and breaks, it took us a long time to hike the five miles (and 3,000 feet of elevation gain) to Surprise Lake (elev. ~9,600 feet). We made it, though and it was definitely worth the work. Surprise Lake is stunningly beautiful. We spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the area. 

The Tetons are grizzly country, so we set our cooking area up a good distance from our campsite. It was probably the camp kitchen with the best view that I've ever had (picture below).  We also carried bear spray and a bear canister. We had two cans of bear spray between the three of us, with the idea that at least two of us would always be together and there would be one canister per tent.. That turned out to work pretty well. As I mentioned in yesterday's entry, it took a little bit to get used to grabbing a canister before wandering off to use the bathroom in the woods or before getting out of the tent in the middle of the night. Fortunately, we never needed it.

The next morning, we got up and hiked the short quarter mile up to to Amphitheater Lake. Amphitheater Lake is actually, possibly more beautiful than Surprise Lake. Although this area is very popular with dayhikers, we got up there a couple of hours ahead of the crowds. We had the whole place to ourselves. There was no wind, so the surface of the lake was like perfect glass. We hiked up to a small ridge dividing Amphitheater Lake basin from the next basin north. Then we scrambled up Disappointment Peak as far as we felt comfortable without technical gear. We saw marmots, pikas, and all kinds of birds and wildflowers. At the end of our day of exploring, we soaked our feet in the cool water of the lake. It really was a perfect day.

That night, back at camp, we watched a helicopter rescue operation that turned out to be on Middle Teton (more on that here). Fortunately, we found out later that no one was seriously hurt. In the morning, we woke up to a thunderstorm down in the valley. We watched it pass through to our east just after sunrise. Fortunately, we didn't get wet. We had an easy hike down, followed by an excellent lunch in Jenny Lake Lodge.

It was just a spectacular hike. If I had the time, I could spend a month backpacking in the Tetons. The hiking was challenging, but doable and the scenery just can't be beat. I hope I get the chance to do a longer trip out there, maybe on the Idaho side of the Tetons. 

Day 1 Pictures:  

Looking up towards Mt. Owen from Lupine Meadows Trailhead.

Aconitum columbianum (Western Monkshood). This was growing in the wet areas on the lower parts of the trail.

This young adult black bear was hanging out near the trail eating berries.

Near Surprise Lake, we got a great view of Grand Teton (middle).

Mt. Owen over Surprise Lake

The camp kitchen with the world's best view. The shadow in the valley is that of Grand Teton.

Delta Lake and Mt. Owen near our camp kitchen. Again, best view from any kitchen. Ever.

Day 2: I got up around sunrise to find this view from our cooking spot.

Our campsite.

 Pedicularis racemosa (Sickletop Lousewort) near Surprise Lake

Amphitheater Lake and Disappointment Peak in the early morning light.

The trail along Amphitheater Lake

There is an American Pika in the middle of this photo (click to enlarge).

Cool moss on a dead tree.

Bootshot over Delta Lake and the valley below.

Gentiana calycosa (Mountain Bog Gentian).

Our friend and Michael above Amphitheater Lake.

Two marmots. These two pretty much ignored us as we passed on the trail. They were busy feeding on the plants in the meadow.

The view from our high point on Disappointment Peak. Amphitheater Lake is on the left. Surprise Lake is just visible to the left of the large rock outcrop. Below to the right, Bradley and Taggart Lakes are visible.

Another marmot near Amphitheater Lake. I didn't get photos of it, but a little bit later, we saw (and heard!) two marmots fighting over territory. They barked loudly at each other and had a pretty intense standoff. Eventually, some climbers walked through and interrupted it.

Soaking my feet in the lake.

Day 3 - Sunrise over the valley from our cooking spot.

A juvenile grouse on the hike down. We saw the entire grouse family.

Michael on the trail.

I think this is Clarks Nutcracker.