Trip Report

September 16, 2006

Kevin Sawchuck and I finished up our hike around Yellowstone yesterday afternoon.

A quick recap of our route: from Mammoth Hot Springs we followed Lava Creek towards the Yellowstone River, which we followed from above the Black Canyon before ascending up Specimen Ridge. The next morning we ascended to Amethyst Mountain, then started cross-country across the Mirror Plateau. We dropped down to Pelican Creek, following it almost to Yellowstone Lake. We took the Thoroughfare Trail south along the lake, eventually fording the Upper Yellowstone River and hooking up with the Continental Divide Trail. We swooped through Heart Lake and Shoshone Lake before reaching the Middle Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful and many other lesser-known-but-perhaps-more-impressive geysers. We made it to Madison Junction before hitching back to Mammoth. All told, the route was probably about 180 miles in length; we were doing high-20's or low-30's everyday.

When Kevin and I were planning this trip we stated early that our goal was simply to experience Yellowstone. We were not interested in setting records or hiking 18 hours a day, which both of us are entirely capable of doing (and which we have both done). Instead, we wanted it to be more of a "vacation" -- we wanted to have the time and flexibility to enjoy the hot springs, admire the wildlife, talk with other hikers, travel inefficiently during cross-country segments, take long lunches, bathe in the lakes, and talk for hours at night after dinner while staring up at the infinite number of stars overhead. I think we achieved the best of both worlds: we traveled "fast and light," but we were able to "smell the roses" as well -- actually, a lot of roses, much thanks to our ability to move efficiently and easily through the park.

Yellowstone is definitely one of the more unique areas I have ever been. It does not have the screaming beauty of the High Sierra or the Olympics -- if you want that scenery you should consider going to the Beartooths, Wind Rivers, or Tetons, which are all nearby and part of Greater Yellowstone. Instead, the features of Yellowstone that struck me most included the thermal features (boiling mud pots, hot vents, geysers, hot springs, etc.), the large wildlife (elk, bison, antelope, coyote, and grizzly and wolf), and vast expanses that made me wonder what Montana and Wyoming were like before they were homesteaded.

It would seem to me that the best experiences in Yellowstone are had while wearing a backpack -- there is something intangibly phenomenal about watching Lone Star Geyser erupt with no one else in the vicinity, walking along trails that feature tracks of every imaginable mammal except humans, and traveling by map and compass across a broad grassy plateau far from any manmade trail. If the Mammoth Hotel is more your thing, that's fine -- even in the company of hundreds of other tourists, Old Faithful is still pretty darn amazing; and if you're driving around the park you're bound to get caught in an "animal jam," which allows you to take pictures of elk and bison from the comforts (and protection) of your car.

Mom and Dad -- Put Yellowstone on your list of places you need to visit when you retire in the not-to-distant future.