Smokies, Sugarlands Stone House, 11-23-08

The Sugarlands Stone House is one of those mysteries that occasionally arises in the Smokies backcountry to captivate off trail explorers. I first heard of it from Clyde who had found it while bushwhacking through the Sugarlands to access the mouth of Ramp Creek on 12-11-05. His goal for the day was to climb Ramp Creek to the Bullhead Trail, then complete a loop by hiking the trail back to the cars at Cherokee Orchard. With a tough off trail ahead, his group just took a few photos of the building and moved on.

Ironically, I had tried to join that hike, but arrived at Cherokee Orchard just moments after the group had left to complete their car shuttle. Nan, who was my passenger, and I, were left to hike to Rainbow Falls, and missed the discovery of the Stone House and the climb up Ramp Creek.

Clyde's picture from his Ramp Creek Trip.

Not too long after Clyde’s discovery, others found the Stone House, and all of sudden after 70 years of neglect it became the place to go for easy off trail hiking. The story behind the house went through several revisions as more research was done. The cottage was built to house teachers at the nearby Pi Beta Phi School, and then became the park naturalist’s office according to photographic records that Ed had located.

One of the images that Ed had found 2020.

As expected, Ed was one of the early visitors to the house and was happy to go again with Jean and I on the 7.5 mile hike. Most of the hike is fairly easy. The route starts with a walk south on the Old Sugarlands Trail to the point where it turns east. A good road continues ahead to a side trail leading east and uphill to a maintained cemetery. The trail to the house deteriorated after that, but eventually leads to the bank of Big Branch. The crossing can be tricky, but the reward is that the house is hidden in the rhodo just above the opposite bank.

With Ed inside the house.

On our first visit part of the near side wall of the house had collapsed, but otherwise the house was in remarkable condition. Some of the rock work looks remarkably delicate to have survived for so long. The rest of the walls of what appeared to be a two story structure were intact. There is a large front porch, and a kitchen in the back.

Ed and the windows.

We ate our lunch at the house and also spent some time at the Pi Phi School. We also explored a bit to the south of the house, looking unsuccessfully for more artifacts. We then made a wide loop back on the east side of the Sugarlands, also just to be exploring. We saw a bear and two cubs cross the trail ahead of us. I got a GPS track of the route and Jean took pictures. Total distance was about 7.5 miles.

Hiram at the house.

We would repeat this hike two more times. On 1-25-20 we hiked in with Ed, Clyde, and Mike H to explore a number of old homesites, including some along the Old Sugarlands Trail and further towards the east side of the Sugarlands. We didn’t visit the house itself as Big Branch looked too full to cross. We learned from other hikers that there was some damage from a fallen tree, that the NPS rangers were now helping hikers with directions to the house, and that there was a well beaten path to the edge of Big Branch. Ed had pictures of the house, but also said that new research showed that it was a private summer residence.

Double chimney at the old CCC camp 2020.

On 2-21-21 we made the standard trip into the house with the David Smith group. This time we made it all the way to the house, courtesy of log we could use to scoot across Big Branch. A bright sunny day led to shadowy pictures, but we could tell there had been some wall damage since our earlier visit.

Remains of the kitchen area 2021.

View into the interior of the house.

2008, 10-26, Smokies, Starkey and Sugartree, Off-trail

Jean and I had great success exploring the Smokies off trail in 2008. We had been off trailing a lot over the past few years, and built up a base of experience that allowed us to complete a variety of manways and bushwhacks to some of the iconic spots in the park. Barely into our 50s, we had the strength, endurance, and most importantly the drive to make these trips possible.

But having success in any difficult endeavor means several things need to go right to make it happen. In our case, the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club was sponsoring lots of off trail trips that fed right into our agenda. We joined the Club trips we were interested in, led other trips of our own choosing, and joined our friends from the club in hiking others as our own small groups. We were lucky to have a solid core of like-minded friends, Claudia, Ed, and Mark and often including others such as Clyde, Nan, Mike, Chris, and Jenny.

Jean and I were also at the balance of having enough experience to tackle tough routes, but also being relatively new enough that we hadn’t yet tried many of the Smokies’ classic routes. Besides Starkey-Sugartree, in 2008 our trips would include Snag Mtn., Rowan Creek (twice), Mt. Winnesoka, Devils Den, Rich Butt, the Dry Sluice, Kalanu Prong, Green Camp Gap, and the Stone House, along with ascents of Mt LeConte via Boulevard Prong and Trout Branch for me. With such a tight group it was easy to get trips ideas and route information for following up on those ideas.

Starkey and Sugartree are two branches of Sams Creek in the Tremont area of the Smokies. Basically, the hike is a semi-loop or “lollipop” hike. The trip starts at the Upper Tremont Trailhead and follows Sams Creek along an old railroad grade. At around 3200’ Starkey Creek splits off to lead to Starkey Gap along the Appalachian Trail. A short hike north and east on the AT then leads to Sugartree Gap, where you can drop down an unnamed branch of Sams Creek to eventually reach the main stem of Sams, then descend to the Starkey Creek junction and finally continue downstream back to the trailhead.

Clyde had led a SMHC hike here recently, but several of us had not be able to go that particular day. But we were able to get a group together that included myself, Jean, Claudia, Ed, Mark, and Nan. We got some information about the hike from Clyde, Mike, and Connie, and felt we had a good feel for the route. I’d placed a number of GPS waypoints along the route to track our progress, but the navigation mostly involved keeping track of elevation and trying to follow the old railroad grades, then follow the creeks as best we could.

On Sams Creek

The lower part of the route was well known to us. Tremont had been the site of several of our first independent off trail trips and we had previously used the lower part of Thunderhead Prong to access routes such as Green Camp Gap, Defeat Ridge, and the Cross Trail. While straightforward, lower Thunderhead Prong still involves a rock hop of Long Branch, and generally a wade of Thunderhead Prong. We were lucky to be able to make a rock hop there this time. After about a mile, the Sams Creek Manway splits from the more used Thunderhead Prong Manway. We crossed the creek twice before reaching an intersection with the Green Camp Gap Manway at ~1.8 miles. Green Camp Manway was hard to recognize at the crossing, despite our having walked it just the previous year.

However, the manway ahead remained wide open and easy to follow up to the Starkey-Sams split at about 3 miles, which we reached in about 1:45.

Old campsite at Starkey-Sams Creek Junction

The split had a number of old artifacts including old stove parts and looked to have been a campsite at some point. In “Whistle over the Mountain” Schmidt and Hooks described this as an old lumber camp based on observations made by Dwight McCarter. Schmidt and Hooks also described the old railroad grade as continuing up to the next fork (which they call Turkey Creek) on Starkey Creek.

We turned right to go up Starkey Creek. We were off the RR grade on a brief cross-country segment before returning to the final grade at about 3,600’. The grade continued to be visible to about 3,900’ at the second side branch. Beyond that point the drainage got steep and narrow. Near the crest, the valley disappeared, and we went a bit to our left to reach the AT at around 3:15. We saw no evidence of the trail to the crest shown on the 1931 map.

Lunch stop on the Appalachian Trail

The forest along the AT over to Sugartree Gap was open, giving us confidence that our descent down Sugartree would go well. After a lunch break on the trail, we found upper Sugartree to be easy going, though it steepened below 4,000’ as it approached Sams Creek. There was evidence of another old railroad grade along Sams including lots of old cables.

Grapevine along upper Sams Creek.

Ed with logging artifact at Starkey-Sams Junction.

The remainder of the hike back from the Starkey-Sugartree confluence was uneventful. The hike was approximately 9.5 miles long with about 2,900’ of climbing, and took us from 8:15 to 4PM.

Screen shot of our route map.

As good a year as 2008 was, we weren’t quite able to repeat our successes of that year in the Smokies. Jean and I typically follow a pattern of visiting an area hard for some time and then moving onto another place. In this case, by no means were we abandoning the Smokies, the park has always been central to our outdoor life. 2008 was the year that the State of Tennessee completed the Connecting the Cumberlands Project, a giant land acquisition in the Cumberland Mountains spearheaded by then Governor Bredesen. The project opened a huge tract of public land in the Cumberlands, much of it just north of Frozen Head State Park. The next diversion for Jean and I was the exploration of this area, some of which is described in other posts on this blog.

Raccoon Mountain, Biking and Running, 8-31-2008

Around 2008 Jean and I were in the habit of taking a Labor Day weekend trip down to Chattanooga. The primary target of these trips was to ride the roads and trails of the Chattanooga-Chickamauga National Battlefield. I’d first ridden the battlefield while working on my biking guide (Bike Book), and we loved going back to see the monuments on the battlefield and to learn more about this turning point in the Civil War.

Raccoon Mountain Visitors Center.

Both of us were confident riding on single track so there were many other trail systems that we could explore. We’d also ride the trails from my bike book just outside of town in Prentice Cooper State Forest and the Ocoee Whitewater Center, as well as new trails in town including the Guild-Hardy Trail on Lookout Mountain, the Enterprise South Nature Park, and Raccoon Mountain. At the time Chattanooga was going through an explosion of trail building, most of which were built for mountain bikes by the local SORBA chapter. Enterprise (2023 Enterprise ride) and Raccoon Mountain are two trail networks built expressly for mountain bikes.

Grindstone Ridge Trail.

Raccoon Mountain is a pumped storage facility on the Tennessee River operated by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Pumped storage facilities operate as a giant battery. When power demand is low and power prices are cheap, water is pumped to a storage reservoir above the river. Then when demand peaks and power prices are high, water is dropped through turbines as in a dam to generate power. TVA had partnered with SORBA Chattanooga in 2005 to construct a mountain bike trail network around the reservoir at Raccoon Mountain.

Grindstone Ridge Trail.

After riding the Brush Creek and Bear Paw trails at the Ocoee system on Saturday, Jean and I decided to try the Raccoon Mountain trails on Sunday. We found our way up to the visitor center at Raccoon Mountain, and prepared to ride a loop clockwise around the reservoir. The VC had informative displays about the facility, a nice lookout over the Tennessee River, water fountains, and indoor plumbing. It was a foggy day, but not too hot and muggy.

Our first trail was Grindstone Ridge, rated intermediate, which was a fun, narrow single track with some tight turns that followed close to the VC road. This was a good match for our skills, offering a pretty cross country ride, with just a bit of challenge. Next we’d pass junctions with the Table Rock and Lower Chunky trails near the switchyard about two miles in. Instead, we took the East Rim-Switchyard connector which was rated beginner. We found the junctions easy to spot, but were glad to have our trail maps as the marker posts were generally missing. For most of the loop, we stuck to the inside trails, which were rated easier than their counterparts which typically ranged further from the reservoir.

Jean on Grindstone Ridge Trail.

The connector again was fine riding. Our only troubles were in following the trail amid at least two new trails being built to branch off the connector. We got to the East Overlook a little over four miles in and were super happy with the trail so far. Next we would take the South Rim Trail, which was also rated as Beginner. We took some time out to find two geocaches hidden along the trail.

Geocaching.

At the end of South Rim around 6.5 miles we started the Laurel Point Trail. This trail was rated Intermediate, but we found it significantly more technical with rocky sections and small drops. After another mile Jean bailed out at a spur to a parking area while I continued around to the picnic area. The trail didn’t improve much with more rocky areas with drops.

However, on the back side of the picnic area I found another new trail that led back toward the reservoir road and alongside the picnic area road (This trail would be merged with South Rim to become Electric Avenue). This was another fun, smooth, and low tech single track. I followed this new trail to the reservoir road and then took the access road to the picnic area, where I had planned to meet Jean. From the picnic area we rode the new trail back to the reservoir road, and then stayed on the road to close the loop back at the visitor center to finish with 16.2 miles.

Overall, we’d found the trails a bit tougher than expected. Grindstone had some technical sections, but we were fresh, and there were even some rough spots on the connector. We thought the west half of Laurel Ridge should have been rated advanced. The new trail to the picnic area was probably the easiest. The system is almost 100% single track. We saw lots of people, but everyone we talked to was there for their first time. The trail junctions all had posts set, but the signs hadn’t been added yet. At this point it was just at the edge of Jean’s ability, but would have been ideal for a more experienced rider.

Since our 2008 ride the trail system has been expanded with the addition of Live Wire, a long advanced trail around the north side of the reservoir, and with a number of new connecting trails. The system now totals around 30 trail miles.

9-6-09, Raccoon Mountain Trail Run

11.7 miles in ~ 3 hours, Solo

2009 brought us a four day weekend to spend in Chattanooga. The first day we drove down to the Walls of Jericho in Alabama to explore new trails. On day two we rode through the battlefield. Jean needed the next day to catch up with her teaching responsibilities, so I decided to head back to Raccoon Mountain. Essentially, I would repeat our mountain biking loop, except that I would run the advanced Megawatt Trail, instead of the road between Laurel Point PC area and the visitors center.

I’d hoped to mountain bike, but a rainstorm started on the drive, so I thought I’d be better off running. To save some driving I used the East Brow Trailhead. My route was clockwise around Electric Avenue 1, and 2, River Gorge, Megawatt, Grindstone Ridge, Connector, and East Rim. As I’d seen on our MB ride, the trail junctions still needed some signs, but otherwise it was great running. I walked a bit near the VC but otherwise ran nice smooth trail.

2009 Raccoon Mountain Biking and Running loops.

Current TVA trail map: (Here)

Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, 7-19-08

In 2000 Jean and I had driven to Wyoming for a six day backpacking trip into the Wind River Mountains. At the end of the trip, we’d spent a day hiking the Jenny Lake Loop in Grand Teton NP, and then did a one night backpack trip into Shoshone Lake in Yellowstone NP. One visit to Yellowstone together was enough for us to know we had to get back there, and make it the headliner trip. But for the next few years most of our vacations were spent scouting trails for trail guidebooks, and on various family matters. But the beauty and diversity of the Yellowstone landscape still called to us. In 2008, we were finally able to plan a return trip.

We anchored our visit around a backpacking trip to Heart Lake in Yellowstone. Heart Lake had been our first backpacking choice in 2000, but was fully reserved. In the meantime, all we’d read indicated that the site had everything we’d want in backcountry destination, a beautiful lake, great campsites, a fire tower-capped mountain to climb, and an active geyser basin in the backyard. We were thrilled when our permit application came through, and looked for some great day hikes to fill out our agenda. As rookies, one mistake we made was not securing all our accommodations ahead of time. Park lodging has a very forgiving cancellation policy, so rooms were likely to open up somewhere in the park each day, but that meant we spent some of our mornings working the front desk for the night’s room before we were able to head out for the day’s hike.

We flew out on Friday the 18^th, and made it to Denver OK, but our flight to Jackson was cancelled. We were able to cancel our Jackson room, postpone the rental car, and find a room in Denver.

 

7-19-08, Cascade Lake, 5 miles

The next morning, we got up at 3:15AM (luckily we were coming off eastern time) for a 6AM flight. The early morning flight gave us great views of the Tetons.

Flying into Jackson.

We got our rental car, drove into town for groceries, and then stopped by the Golden Eagle Motel where we had shipped our backpacks. Our first stop was the Canyon Area. We had a picnic lunch at Lewis Lake and saw a 100+ herd of bison in Hayden Valley along the way.

Yellowstone Bison herd.

We hiked into the far end of Cascade Lake from the Cascade Lake TH, passing two nice campsites, and seeing lots of hikers and a few lone bison. The wildflower filled meadows gave us taste of things to come. We had a Western Cabin for the night and ate at Canyon Cafeteria. 

Cascade lake flowers.

 

7-20-08, Mt Washburn, 9.4 miles

The hike to Mt Washburn remains one of our favorite Yellowstone day hikes. There was a large crowd at the pullout just before the Dunraven Pass Trailhead watching a grizzly bear a few hundred yards up the slope. Luckily for us it remains the only grizzly sighting of our career.

Bear jam in Yellowstone.

Alpine flowers on Mt Washburn.

2008 had been a very wet spring. That meant great wildflowers throughout the park, but also lots of bugs in the wet areas where the snow had recently melted. 

Snow on Mt Washburn Trail

A breeze kept the bugs off us, and the meadows were a bonanza of flowers, columbine, lupine, queen Ann’s Lace, Indian Paint Brush and many others. Above treeline we traded the flowers for views of the high country. Closer to the top there were plenty of snowbanks to negotiate.

On top of Washburn.

At the top I wore three layers to stay warm in the wind. The unmanned tower is a unique three story structure with signs identifying the views. We could see Mt Sheridan, Yellowstone Lake, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. 

Bighorn sheep on Mt Washburn.

Just a bit into our descent we encountered a herd of 30+ bighorn sheep lounging in the sun. We snapped pictures like crazy, expecting them to move off quickly, but they were unperturbed by us, and we got plenty of great shots.

More sheep on Washburn.

Back at Canyon we visited the two main overlooks above Upper and Lower Yellowstone Falls. It was my first visit to these signature features of the park, and I was dazzled by both falls. At the ranger station we found that Heart Lake was closed due to bear activity, and wrangled a backup permit for the east end of Shoshone Lake. We would later realize that this had been our backup choice when we had initially applied for Heart Lake. Canyon Village had a great geology display, and visitor film. We moved into a Pioneer Cabin (slightly more rustic) for the next two nights, and ate the next two nights at the cafeteria.

The lower falls of the Yellowtone

In the evening we hiked the 3-mile south loop of the Canyon Area starting near Artist’s Point. This trip is strong candidate for the most scenic hike ever. 

The Upper Falls.

The north side of Canyon was partially closed for construction, but somehow we had the south side relatively uncrowded, except for an active population of mosquitos. We saw a geothermal area with mud pots near Clear Lake, then the canyon views started near Lily Pad Lake.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

We could see the upper and lower falls thundering down into their Grand Canyon of wildly bleached rock.  After an orgy of pictures the evening was topped off by a small elk herd.

Last shot of the falls.

 

7-21-08, Fossil Forest and Geyser basins, 6.6 miles

We cheated a bit on this hike, taking a copy of a guidebook description on an off trail hike. This particular forest is in the Lamar Valley, just west of Crystal Creek. Though there is no official trail, there is a parking pullout and a well beaten trail at the start. Apparently this was once the route of a ranger-led hike. 

An unhappy grouse.

We hiked along the valley floor, then up a steep section in the forest, before reaching a rocky knob containing the petrified trees. At one split we turned right and were led to an 8’ diameter stump and two upright, in place, trees. 

Twin petrified trees.

The old trail continued on to the ridge crest, but we explored only a bit further before deciding the ridge was to hot and sunny for us. We continued to find a few other stumps. Apparently this area was part of a larger series of petrified wood bearing layers that lent the name “specimen” to Specimen Ridge.

Jean at Petrified Forest.

According to one source this is the largest petrified forest in the world, just more proof that Yellowstone is the “est”est place ever. 

Close up of petrified wood.

Next we drove over to Mammoth Hot Springs, which was really crowded. We walked the lower loop, but the many of the lower features had dried up. These carbonate rich geysers are distinctly different from the rest of the geysers in Yellowstone. To escape the sun, we drove around the upper area, and looked at a few pools, but we saw nothing that had the impact of what I remembered from earlier visits to Mammoth. 

Liberty Cap.

Our final stop was the Norris Geyser Basin. We walked a long loop around Steamboat Geyser and listened to a ranger presentation. Steamboat was erupting intermittently, but only ~10’ high, rather than the rare, giant eruptions it is known for. We saw a bison road walking, and got a brief shower on the road back to Canyon. 

Crossing Norris Geyser Basin.

 

7-22/24-08, Shoshone Lake Backpack Trip

Day 1 Lone Star Trailhead to CS 8T1 on Shoshone Lake, 10.2 miles

A good omen, we saw an elk grazing outside our cabin as we got ready to leave. It was a short drive to the Lone Star Trailhead, and an easy walk on an old road to Lone Star Geyser. We even saw a ranger on a mountain bike on the trail! We’d learned on our visit in 2000 that Lone Star has a regular eruption, but the last note in the logbook was for 6PM the previous night so we weren’t confident enough in the timing to stick around and wait for the next one. 

At Lone Star geyser.

Beyond the geyser was a long gentle climb through the bugs in a lodgepole forest. At site 0A1 we saw our only ever group of llama packers. The party who had stayed at 8G1 the previous night were abandoning a four night backpack trip because the bugs had been so bad, and they had run out of repellent. That was a very bad omen, as our next night stay was scheduled at 8G1. Our trail went over Grant Pass in as easy a crossing of the Continental Divide as one could ask for. The trail then followed Shoshone Creek through a series of meadows. After a junction with a horse bypass trail, we hit a bug free zone and lingered there for lunch.

Meadow crossing.

Next up was a half mile walk through the Shoshone Geyser basin. Several geysers were playing, or modestly erupting. We weren’t sure on all the names, but thought that Minute Man was one of them. We took the requisite pictures hoping to be able to make some ID’s later. Minute Man was erupting every few minutes with w 6-10’ waterspout. Next to it was a white circular vent, and next up a deep clear pool.

Eruption in Shoshone Geyser Basin.

Beyond the geyser basin we crossed one stream on a log, then had an ankle deep ford of Shoshone Creek. We stopped to check out our next day’s site at 8G1, in a forest knoll, just past the Belcher Trail junction. At midday, the 8G1 bugs were not bad. 

No bugs!

After the far end of the horse bypass (presumably around the geyser basin) we had a long marshy walk to the inlet of Shoshone Lake and our campsite 8T1. The campsite is in the pines at the end of the meadow, and we both feared we had a mosquito-infested evening ahead of us.

But only 100 yards from the campsite was a long, beautiful breezy beach. Hallelujah! We wouldn’t have to spend our afternoon in perpetual battle with the bugs. I swam while Jean waded, then we lounged around the beach. Around 5PM the clouds rolled in, so we joined the bugs to set up camp and cooked dinner. By evening not even the beach could make the bugs tolerable, so we went to sleep early, despite knowing we had an easy day coming up. 

Jean in Shoshone Lake.

 

Day 2 8T1 to 8G1 at Shoshone Meadows, 4.1 and 2.0 side trip

We got up early to cook in the cool, less buggy part of the morning. Then it was down to the beach to watch the birds, the fog, and a pair of canoeists. We would only retrace part of our inbound route back to site 8G1, so it was a quiet morning. 

The beach at Shoshone Lake.

We left around noon and hung around the geyser basin and explored some of the social trails to the other geysers. In contrast to yesterday, we saw no new eruptions, but the pool next to Minute Man was active with splashes a foot or so high.

Jean at the beach.

While Jean stopped to read, I took a side trip over to 8R5 on the North Shoshone Trail, which turned out to be a windy site on a point overlooking the lake. More hikers warned us that 8G1 was buggy, so we got in, set up, and cooked early, trying to beat the evening bugs. By the end of dinner, the bugfest was on and we noticed they were particularly attracted to the stove, maybe tracing the CO2 or the heat? We retired early again, but Jean was up around 10PM and reported the mosquitos had thinned out.

Shoshone Geyser Basin.

 

Day 3 8G1 to Lone Star Trailhead, 6.5 miles

Another early start to foil the bugs. With a genuinely cold morning this worked well, we didn’t see a skeeter until we’d been out on the trail about an hour. We saw geothermal features all the way from 0A2. We were the first to Lone Star at 8:45, but soon a ranger led group arrived, and we decided to stay for the next eruption. There were two minor eruptions of 15-20’, then the main event started, about 10 minutes of water, then about a 15 minutes of steam eruptions 30-40’ high. The water volume out of Lone Star is impressive, and getting the ranger’s interpretation of it was informative.

Hiking out.

Even with the geyser stop we were still back at the trailhead by noon. We headed for Old Faithful, saw an eruption, and picked up another backcountry permit for the next two nights. Our original plan was to do two nights just west of the loop road by Old Faithful in the 0G1 and 0D area around Fountain Freight Road.

Lone Star Geyser erupting.

But mostly we were looking forward to our room at the Old Faithful Inn. We gotten one of the rooms with a shared bath, but after two nights in the backcountry any sort of indoor plumbing looks good. The Inn is a classic of “parkitecture” a huge old log building with an open three story common area, one of the most recognizable buildings in thee NPS system. We showered off our coats of sweat, bug repellent, and sunscreen and settled in for a relaxing, indoor evening.

Inside the Old Faithful Inn.

One final walk netted us another Old Faithful eruption, this time shared only with a lone coyote walking between the tourist benches and the geyser.

 

7-25-08, Geyser Basins and Campsite 0G1, 5 miles

After looking over our backcountry permit, Jean and I decided to change our plan. We realized we would be making a loop in an area entirely accessible by easy day hikes. 

Old Faithful geyser basin.

We decided to just day hike, and then head into campsite 0G1 at the end of the day with our packs. This allowed us to do a couple short hikes. 

Jean at Economic Geyser.

The first hike was from Old Faithful out the interpretive trail around the Upper Geyser Basin to the north. We first planned to go all the way to Biscuit Basin, but a toe blister cut that plan short. We saw a couple of eruptions, a large one from Grand, and another near Firehole. This was just an amazing walk with geysers, cones, and pools all around. 

Morning Glory Pool.

Next we checked out of the Inn and drove up toward Norris to see some of the features we’d missed on our drive in. We stopped in Biscuit Basin and walked the interpretive loop. Then we saw an eruption of White Dome. We also walked the Fountain Paint Pots Loop, but by then the sun and heat had gotten us worn out and a bit cranky. We stopped at Madison for interpretive talk on the use of bison by Native Americans, then went to Gibbons Falls. On the return we drove thru Firehole Canyon, stopped at a picnic area for shade, and saw a group of elk.

Elk grazing.

For dinner we got sandwiches from Old Faithful Lodge then went to the Nez Perce Picnic area. We just had a one mile walk to 0G1, and half of that was on the old Fountain Freight Road. The site is gorgeous, in a grove of trees on the edge of a meadow with a series of geysers steaming off in the distance. The site was dry and nearly bug free! At dusk we spotted elk, five cows and a bull, plus a coyote who was calling to the rest of his pack. Our Old Faithful eruption count was up to five.

Enjoying our campsite!

 

7-26-08, Fairy Falls Loop and site 0G1, 13.1 miles

We packed up early to dump our packs back at the rental car, then planned a day hike loop around the Lower and Middle geyser basins (counter?) clockwise.

Our tent at 0G1.

We saw a few lone bison, and up close views of the geysers we’d seen steaming from the campsite. Uncharacteristically, we got off trail briefly near the neck of the loop. Site 0D4 looked decent, but we would be heading back to 0G1 for the night. Fairy Falls is visible from a long way off. It tumbles off the top of the end of a huge lava flow that makes up most of the southwest corner of the park. It’s a narrow, low flow falls, but probably is 200’ high.

Hiking out of 0G1.

The standard hike in is a bit bleak, mostly dead trees, maybe from the 1988 fires. Site 0D1 was correspondingly stark, as was the section of bike trail following the Freight Road. 0D5, north of Goose Lake, looked like a desirable site, with good shade and plenty of breeze. 

Fairy Falls.

After the hike we went back to the Nez Perce PC area to cool our feet, and then drove to Old Faithful to get another 0G1 permit. We ate dinner at the village, then drove back and hiked into 0G1, spotting another coyote.

 

7-27-08, Colter Lakeside Loop and Taggart Lake Loop, Tetons, 6.8 miles

This would be our only day in the Tetons for this trip. We did a quick hike out from 0G1, then drove to Colter Bay. We did a nice two mile double loop on the Lakeside Trail, enjoying the fantastic views of the peaks looming up from the opposite lake shore. The loop went around a small peninsula and had great views of Mt Moran. We had planned to hike Jenny Lake again, but found that area far too crowded. 

The Tetons across Jackson Lake.

We chose Taggart Lake instead and did a fine 3.8 mile loop, this time nearly at the base of the Grand Teton. We saw a moderate crowds on both our loops, but Taggart was the one that gave us that alpine feel.

Jean near Taggart Lake.

Finally, we head into Jackson for the packing up and other chores. We stayed at the Golden Eagle Motel and were able to box up the backpacks and ship them home via UPS. The shipping strategy for our backpacks proved more cumbersome than we had imagined, and we did not repeat it on any later trips.

Near Taggart Lake.