TravelingMel

Heather had to leave early on the fourth day of our Yellowstone vacation. I, however, did not. I took a little hike on the Blacktail Trail to the Yellowstone River.

There was a sign at the trailhead warning of a grizzly on the trail the previous day. I figured that since the big bruins have a territory of 100 square miles, it was probably long gone by the time I got there. I still did a whole lot of yelling as I walked down the trail.

Total mileage: 7.5 miles

No bears down there.

Wolf track near the pond.

I followed these tracks almost all the way to the river.

Fireweed.

Bridge over the Yellowstone. It was closed for construction.

Looking downstream from my lunch spot on the river.

Looking upstream.

Ranger cabin that I wish I could live in.

Hawk.

Heather has been my hiking buddy for the last 12 years. Our first "date" was snowshoeing (that's like winter hiking) on Phillips Ridge near Teton Pass. When I lived in Jackson we frequently walked up Snow King with dogs, once scrambled over rocks to the top of the Middle Teton and spent many, many miles together chatting and exploring the mountains.

Heather always has interesting things to talk about and is willing to do just about anything I suggest. A lazy walk along a river? Check. Climb a 13,000+ foot mountain? Check. Whether it is one mile or 20, she's up for it.

Since I haven't been on a long hike since before Anders was born, I wanted to cover some miles this weekend. I would have considered our hike medium in length four years ago, but these days anything over 6 miles is a long hike for me.

On this particular day we hiked the Washburn Trail. It starts at the end of the Chittedon Road on Dunraven Pass, follows a fire road to the top of Mount Washburn and then descends (super steeply, at first, then gently) through meadows and hot springs to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Total distance: 10.5 miles.

(One of the great things about this trip is that since we had two vehicles we could hike through-trails.)

Lupine.

Heather checks out the view on the way to the Washburn lookout.

Ghost trees. Boo!

Marmot being cute. Also known as a "whistle pig." It was so not afraid of people.

Marmot decides to bask in the sun along the trail and flaunt its cuteness.

Looking at the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from the top of Washburn.

Baby mountain goat with its mom. Some of the kids were coughing since they had pneumonia. The ranger said they would probably die. So sad.

The mountain goats were highly habituated. It was kind of a zoo. Fortunately barely anyone continues the hike beyond the Washburn lookout, so we saw just a few people the rest of the day.

At the top of Mt. Washburn. 2.5 miles done and 8 to go.

Leaving the lookout and heading out on the Washburn trail.

The wildflowers were out of control everywhere we went. Out. Of. Control.

Heather is extremely tall. No, alpine plants are short and hardy.

Coming down from Wahsburn was pretty steep for a couple miles. Heather had trekking poles. I think I want some.

Paintbrush.

Getting closer to Canyon.

One of my favorite flowers, and one I don't see very often--elephant's head.

This meadow is filled with elephant's head.

If you look at the top of the mountain in the middle of this photo you can see the Washburn lookout.

We passed Washburn Hot Springs in the rain. A ranger on horseback we had passed a little earlier told us a nasty storm, complete with hail, was coming our way. So, we barely paused and kept on walking.

More hot springs. It never hailed and only rained for about 10 minutes.

Heather got off trail and ended up on Mars.

We thought the meadows were kind of pretty.

From the Washburn Trail we turned onto the Sevenmile Hole Trail. It was pretty much a parkway for the last few miles.

That narrow waterfall in the shadow is Silver Cord. We didn't hit it at the best time of day for photos.

I made it to the edge of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone! I made Heather take another silly picture!

We both showed up in these goofy shoes. More on them later.

There's the Yellowstone River down there.

After our lovely hike we met my mom for dinner at the Roosevelt Lodge, then got ready for another day on the trail.

We are having such a busy and fun summer that the photos and witty text are starting to pile up. So, let's get right to it.

Last week I spent four days in Yellowstone with my friend Heather. Last fall we took a few days to look for wolves and decided then to make reservations for a summer hiking trip.

I spent most of Friday in Gardiner with my mom. We had lunch, I got a haircut, she accompanied me to the Yellowstone archives, we waited for a locksmith to get the keys out of the trunk of the car I borrowed from Mogie and we had ice cream.

Welcome to Yellowstone.

Heather drove up from Jackson and we met at the Roosevelt Lodge where we shared a "Rough Rider" cabin. I kid you not. It's a small room with two queen-sized beds, a wood stove and a small desk. The bathrooms are down the dirt road.

We were both a little antsy and immediately set out to walk to Lost Creek Falls. It was way shorter than we thought, so we came back and walked up to Lost Lake.

Lost Lake.

Heather sends a text to work to let them know she'd be coming in late. She forgot she booked the cabin for three nights instead of two...

Pond lily

I contemplate life by the lake.

We had dinner in the lodge and prepped our backpacks for the next day's hike: 10.5 miles from the Mount Washburn parking are to Canyon.

While Jen and family were here we took a day trip to the world's first national park.

We went for a three mile hike among the Hoodoos. There was a bit of whining, but Anders walked almost the entire way. Jen carried him for about five minutes on her back. She's tough like that.

Ready to go.

Lunch break on a boulder.

Off and hiking.

James and Cait ahead on the trail.

There's a new children's exhibit at the Museum of the Rockies. We took a trip over the hill to check out Explore Yellowstone. Big H and Mogie met us there; unfortunately Mogie was having a bit of back pain and had to wait in the truck, but we had a great time with Big H. Mogie did join us for lunch and was regaled with tales by the boys.

The new exhibit is a mini replica of Yellowstone complete with Old Faithful, Mammoth Terraces and the Fishing Bridge. There is a campsite where the boys played in a tent and wore backpacks. They loved fishing from the bridge (and throwing the cutthroat tout back while disposing of the invasive lake trout.)

Finn explores the bald eagle nest.

Observers.

The boys showed Big H around.

Looking out the lookout.

Anders tries to match the egg with the bird that laid it.

Big H tries out the binoculars.

Finn glasses the area.

Steamboat geyser gushes.

Old Faithful explodes and is surrounded by photographers, just like in the real Yellowstone.

Anders finds there is some work to be done.

The Terraces look kind of small up close.

Bison bison made out of recycled materials.