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 18th, 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.
