Words about science and hiking
Despite the drought and dry soils, my meadow campsite turned wet as soon as the sun went down. My tent was sogged with condensation which froze around midnight. But the morning was clear and bright. I felt a little better, managed to eat a couple bites of breakfast (scrambled eggs with veggies), and set out Read More …
East Fork back to Big Sandy TH then out to Dad’s Lake Rain continued through the night and was joined by hail and snow, as well as plenty of lightning and thunder. It was still raining and thundering in the morning as I packed up to head to the car and retrieve my AquaMira. I’d Read More …
Cathy completed her last round of chemo (yay!) and her sister came to visit, so I had time for a multi-day backpack trip, and thus also had the pleasant task of deciding where I wanted to go. The mountains of the Front Range and the rest of Colorado are very beautiful. They are big, broad-shouldered Read More …
Sentinel Creek to Mary Mountain Trailhead and an early end I fell asleep to wolf song last night and rose early this morning in anticipation of a long, and possibly hot, day. The plan is to cross the highway and head east over the Nez Perce Trail to Mary Mountain Trailhead where I will meet Read More …
Firehole Falls to Sentinel Creek A short hike today to Sentinel Creek, maybe 10 miles. I’m camping there because there are no other allowed campsites for the next 25 miles or so of my route. The trail from Firehole Falls winds along the meadows of the upper Little Firehole, its grassland ringed with forested plateaus. Read More …
Shoshone Lake to the Little Firehole River Up early and hiking as today we resupply at Old Faithful. There we will also have a chance to get cold drinks and cheeseburgers. No need to rush, though –there is always time to admire the early morning light on a beautiful wilderness lake. A three-mile hike after Read More …
Heart Lake to Shoshone Lake A long hike ahead today so we were up and out early. Our reward was a beautiful sunrise. The valley leading up and out of the Heart Lake basin was lined with hot springs and bubblers all the way up to its head. We stopped and admired each one for Read More …
Grouse Creek to Heart Lake Because Yellowstone NP requires you to camp only in designated campsites, our daily mileages on this trip are uneven. We did 18 miles yesterday, but only 10 today. In its own way, that made today sort of a rest day. We waited until the sun actually hit our camp before Read More …
Brimstone Basin to Grouse Creek Rain in the morning gave way to sunny skies as we hiked down the east side of Yellowstone Lake. The trail was mostly in the forest, set back from the lake, but it popped out on the occasional promontory to yield outstanding views of the upper Yellowstone country. We encountered Read More …
Nine-mile TH to Brimstone Point Made it to the trailhead by 9, after a few stops along the way to admire a bison herd in the Hayden Valley and the sun shining through fog and steam near the Nez Perce Ford. Starting a hike, especially a challenging one like this, always makes me a bit Read More …