West Trip Day 15: Hike to Mt. Washburn

Monday, June 28

We woke to a very chilly morning. Each morning we camped we'd fire up the propane stove to heat some water for coffee, oatmeal, tea, and hot chocolate. This morning it tasted especially great. Our plan today was to hike to the ranger's station at the top of Mount Washburn. Mount Washburn is notable because it allows you to view the entire Yellowstone valley that was created by the last eruption 640,00o years ago. We had heard that it was a long and challenging hike, but was one of the best in the park. At the parking lot, the kids were immediately drawn to the piles of snow. The elevation of this area was around 8,900 ft. above sea level.

The hike began by taking you up some moderately sloped switchback trails. I had read in a book that in the early 1900's, they had driven Model T cars up this hill to the top backwards. They did this because cars at this time did not have fuel pumps and would run out of gas to the engine at this steepness. From time to time you could still see remnants of the old road that was used.

The views all the way up were spectacular. At one point we could begin to see the ranger station on top of the mountain. It looked a long way off.

We paused at a few point to catch our breath and capture some pictures.

The higher we hiked, the fewer trees we would see and the more snow. We were surprised to find that we had to hike through, over, and around a lot of snow. The tempatation was just too great - we each took turns pelting each other with snowballs. A lot of the snow piles were melting in the afternoon heat making it a slippery and sometimes muddy hike.

At one point, Jen and Rogan (who were leading) went down a wrong path. Instead of retracing their step along the trail, they decided to take a "shortcut" over a huge mound of snow. It appeared solid at first, but eventually gave way under their feet and they both went waist deep into the snow. Both had trouble getting out, but eventually did after getting a little cold and wet. Since Rogan was upset I didn't snap any pictures, but Jen was game enough to reenact the incident on the way back.

Hurry up and take the picture!

By the time we reached the top of the mountain, we were all pretty tired but excited that we had accomplished the feat. We sat down at the top and had some drinks and snack and took in the view a little bit.

We then gathered for some pictures by the sign at the top.

Greg and I called our dads on top of the mountain, too. We both had a full cell signal. I told my dad that I beat our hiking record by 43 feet. As I looked back though, my previous hike was actually higher than this. My previous best was 10,700 feet. Even though this hike was challenging, it does not even compare to the "Hike from Hell".

We explored the ranger station for a bit. We signed the log book. "We came. We saw. We conquered." It was really neat as you could look out in almost any direction for almost 100 miles. We could see the Teton Mountains 75 miles away clearly. I could see Mount Sheridan 38 miles away.

Mount Sheridan is significant because it was the other side of the valley where a super volcano erupted. I tried to visualize an eruption this large, one that was a hundred thousand times greater than Mount St. Helens. One that left 8 feet of ash over all of Nebraska. An eruption that changed the world's climate for centuries. The 3 eruptions in the area have been happening about every 600,000 to 700,000 years. So far it has been 640,000 years since the last eruption. They are due for another any time. Weird thought.

On our way out, we talked to the ranger that lives at the top of this mountain during the summer months. He was a very pleasant guy. He said he has supplies brought up every week or so. He does have electricity, but has no running water. He gets all kinds of "company" in the form of hikers during the day, but spends a good bit of the rest of the his time in isolation -reading, listening to the radio, and importantly, watching the horizons for fires.

All in all, the hike took about 4-1/2 hours. We rewarded our tough work today by going to the visitor's center for ice cream again. Then we went to the campsite where most of us read and relaxed. I blogged and Rogan played his DS.

That night we decided to go see two scenic overlooks of the Yellowstone River.

One of the overlooks was of the Upper Falls and one was of the Lower Falls. We were pretty tired from the long hike earlier in the day, so we didn't want to walk too far. Fortunately, the Upper Falls was only 1/8 mile and the Lower Falls was 3/8 mile but with a 600 foot descent.

The view of this powerful waterfall was amazing!

The kids climbed on some of the rocks for some pictures.

They even found a small cave to hide in.

The hike up was harder than we thought. The switchbacks kept climbing and climbing, but we made it.

It was another awesome day!

West Trip Day 14: Move to Canyon campground

Sunday, June 27

Today we stopped at a geyser area called Artist Paint Pots. This area is so named because the hot springs are filled with many colors like the pallet of a painter.

While there we watched a mud pot that gurgled as gases flowed up through it. Luke was hit with mud as some of the mud spewed a bit farther than normal.

Today we moved to our new campsite at Canyon campground. As we approached the campground we ran in to a line of cars caused by a "bison jam."

One of the perks of Canyon Campground was that they had pay showers. It had been since Wednesday (4 days) since we’d showered and everyone was really looking forward to getting clean. Believe it or not, I didn't feel that gross not showering. The air is so dry out there that your skin stays very dry and you don't sweat very much. In addition, most days were very cool. Still, I warned the person I paid for the shower that it was possible that we would clog up the drains from all of our grease and dirt. We all took a double shower and felt much better.

Hot showers! Hallelujah!

Freshly cleaned, we visited Canyon ‘s Visitor’s center. While there, the power went out so we decided to do some shopping for some food. By the time we had gathered everything we wanted to buy, the cash registers stopped working because of the power outage. One of the people there had to write down the upc code for each item and look up the price. At the register, a girl used a solar calculator to figure our total. It took forever, but we got it done.

That night we drove to Hayden Valley and saw elk, bison, even a grizzly bear. As we came to one area, there was a big slow down of cars and a park ranger with her lights on. The park ranger was controlling and monitoring a crowd of people trying to get a look at the grizzly bear. I climbed up on a hill to get a better look.

These weren't the bear we saw, but aren't they cute?

Right after we saw the grizzly, we stopped at a spot called Mud Volcano. It was a boardwalk trail through some hot springs and mud pots. At the end, we came upon a spot where 3 bison where grazing. We were nearly boxed in as they moved toward us. At one point a bison scratched itself on a lodge pole pine. We could see the tree swaying back and forth.

The were no vehicles or guard rails to protect us here.

That night we cooked pizza pies over the campfires. It was another great day.

West Trip Day 13: Ferry Falls Hike and Geysers

Saturday, June 26

Today was our first full day in Yellowstone Park. We decided that after breakfast we would go for a hike. The girls had picked out a hike to Ferry Falls. It was about a 6 mile hike that ended in the fourth highest waterfall in Yellowstone. The hike was through a section of forest that had been badly burned in 1988 and was now in the process of regrowing. The new growth was usually around 6-8 feet high and the old dead trees are mixed in both standing and on the ground. All together it makes for an odd look.

The hike was a nice and easy with just a slight incline. We hiked to Ferry Falls in no time an enjoyed the view.

The falls were very tall and reminded me a lot the waterfalls we had seen in Hawaii.

The water cascading down was quite loud which meant you could hear it for a good distance as you hiked up to it. This made a nice incentive to keep going.

Still feeling good, we decided to continue on to a spot called Imperial Geyser. As we walked we followed a hot spring fed stream. The stream looked harmless enough until you noticed all of the dead plant life around it. The water is often above 200º and is nearly as acidic as a car battery. I snapped this picture of a dandelion growing on a dead log in the stream. It shows that dandelions are like cockroaches - they can survive anywhere.

As we walked through a flower-filled pasture, thousands of bees buzzed loudly all around us. It was a really creepy feeling. Rogan was especially freaked out because he really hates bees as they seem to like to sting him. We power walked quickly through the area with no problems though.

As we approached the Imperial Geyser we could smell the distinctive sulphur odor that all of the geysers and hot springs in the area seem to have. We took turns blaming each other for a raunchy farts as we hiked through the steam created by the geyser. We discovered a perfect seat for all of us on a downed tree just a few feet from the geyser. We shared some snacks and drank some water as we watched Imperial Geyser bubble up and occasionally burst about 6 feet out of the water.

Apparently, Imperial Geyser exploded higher and more grandly than even Old Faithful in the 1800 and 1900’s. Mysteriously, the geyser stopped erupting totally in the 1929 and then sprang back to life in 1966.

Rogan wandered off and discovered a nearby mud pot that blurped and gurgled in funny ways. As we sat there eating and joking around, we took pleasure in the fact that there wasn’t another hiker around. We felt like we were the first people to discover this spot.

On the hike back, we essentially retraced our steps back past the Ferry Falls again. On the way, Greg laid claim to discovering what he called “Wolf Cave” which was on the rock wall of the waterfall.

Greg spotted a dirt path up the mountain which led to a good lookout point for seeing Grand Prismatic Point, a very large and colorful hot spot that we hiked by but couldn’t really see well from the trail. The climb up was steep and challenging. By the time I got up to the top, I was out of breath and my heart was really beating. Like so many hikes we’ve done, the effort was worth the reward. Greg and I took pictures of each other at the top as well as of the hot spot itself and then climbed back down and caught up with the group.

Greg by Grand Prismatic

To reward our hiking effort, we went to Old Faithful village and got some ice cream. On the way back, we stopped at the Midway Geyser basin. Grand Prismatic Spring was the feature of this area, and we walked the boardwalk around it and other giant springs. We learned that the interesting colors of the hot springs are actually a living thing called thermophiles, microorganisms that are adapted to the extreme temperature (over 200º) and acidity of the springs. The springs are incredibly clear and are tempting to touch. (Kind of like a "Do Not Touch: Wet Paint Sign) Obviously, that’s not a safe idea.

On the way out we stopped to watch an osprey hunting for fish by dive bombing headfirst into the river.

We went back to our campsite and relaxed for a bit. We really liked our campsite there. It was close to the bathrooms and had a nice space where the kids could play.

Later we started cooking dinner. It was a chilly evening so we decided to cook up some soups. We had Spaghetti-O’s, chicken noodle soup, chili, and beef stew. We enjoyed watching the ground squirrels scurry around the campground.

After dinner, we decided to explore the area a bit. By the Madison campground, two rivers converge, the Gibbon and Firehole, to form the Madison River. We walked a short trail that followed along the Madison and watched people fly fishing.

Later that evening we listened to talk a naturalist about wolves. This naturalist was an excellent speaker. We learned about the impact of the re-introduction of wolves to the area in 1996. The theme of the talk was really to break down myths about wolves and to focus on how they are similar to us as humans. By the end, you really gained an appreciation for the intelligence and adaptability of this animal.

It was another fun filled day!

West Trip Day 12: Off to Yellowstone National Park

Friday, June 25

On our last morning in Gros Ventre, we ate a quick breakfast and then started packing up all of our gear. We got on the road at about 10:30 and started toward Yellowstone. While the mileage to the entrance of Yellowstone was only about 50 miles, we knew that driving would take a lot longer, probably about 2 - 3 hours. However, one wrong turn later, the 3 hour drive became a 5 hour drive.

Since we had gotten far behind schedule with our diversion, we decided to stop at Colter Bay for lunch. We enjoyed a beautiful view of Jackson Lake as we ate some sandwiches and then got back on the road.

On the way in to Madison campground at Yellowstone we decided to stop in Old Faithful. At about 4:00, we spotted Old Faithful erupting as we pulled in the exit. Jen knew that it erupted every 90 minutes or so, so we knew we had a little time to kill. We stopped in the visitor’s center and asked the naturalists some questions about the area, picked up some maps, and shopped for souvenirs.

The naturalists had predicted that it would erupt again at 5:24. We sat around Old Faithful a little early and at around 5:29 it blew its top, just as expected. Afterward, we beat the crowd into the lodge cafeteria. The food was freshly cooked, reasonably priced, and very tasty.

After the meal, we walked the short boardwalk of the Old Faithful trail and saw several interesting hot springs.

We then drove the 16 miles we had left to Madison campground. As we approached the campground, we began seeing some buffalo milling around. Apparently, these buffalo were also the cause of a traffic jam of sorts as a line of cars came to a standstill in front of us. We eventually made our way to the campground and registered. We set up the camper and tent and then the kids started exploring their surroundings a bit. They made friends with some nearby camper kids, Seth and Micah, and played some ladder toss with them. Luke and Rogan played catch while Lilly and Mikah danced on logs and hunted the ground squirrels.

In the evening we went to a free naturalist program at the amphitheater in the park. We walked down to the amphitheater and enjoyed the view of the full moon over the river. The focus of the program was forest fires. In particular, the discussion focused on the fires of 1988 in which over 30% of the 2.2 million acres of the park were burned. I recalled my visit to the park in 1988. In July when I visited, certain areas of the park were burning and were restricted. I did remember some areas of the park were smoking or smoldering as we passed in my dad’s van. But, in August of that year, the fire really grew out of control.

It was interesting to see areas of the park that still show evidence of this major fire and how in the 22 years since then it has rejuvenated. In the presentation we learned that the lodgepole pines that make up 80% of the tree in the forest are “ecological tricksters.” They have adapted to fires by having three different kinds of pine cones. One kind, the serotinous, actually needs a fire to open. So, after the fires, the pines began growing in the ashes of the burned forest.

West Trip Day 11: Riding the Snake

Thurday, June 24

The Halls and the Pranskys had planned to do separate morning activities today. The Halls wanted to do a scenic float down the Snake River to look at wildlife. We chose to book a whitewater rapids experience. This was another activity that I did when I was here in 1988 and wanted the kids to experience it, too.

We met our driver, Lindsey, who took us about 30 minutes down the river to the place we’d put in. She was a very nice young lady who was starting teaching kindergarten in the fall, so we had a lot to talk about. We also talked a lot about her living at the camp with the other river guides. These guides lived largely in simple tents along the river during the summer months that the boats rafted.

When we arrived at the put in spot, we changed into our swim suits and put on our wet suits over them. Mine was a little small for me, and Jen laughed uncontrollably as I jumped to pull mine up completely. We met our guide and Linsey snapped a picture for us.

Our guide was Matt, a 25 year old med student. He was a really good guide - he navigated well and kept everyone happy by telling a lot of jokes and funny stories. He’d tell us tall tales about various spots on the river such as the place where Chevy Chase got drunk and crashed his car into the river during the filming of Vacation, and where President George H. W. Bush was dumped while rafting with his secret service river guides. He told us where sasquatch is often seen and where they leave Twinkies and beef jerky for him. He showed us a famous rock formation hundreds of feet above the river where a cliff jumping scene from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid was filmed. He showed us features of the rocks that looked like a coyote and one that looked like a face from one direction. (The other side was broken up because Chuck Norris was tired of the rock staring at him so he punched it to bits.)

Early on Jen got a lot of the soaking as huge waves would slam the front of the boat. Jen and I rode in front, while the kids rowed behind us and another couple we didn’t know rowed in the rear. It was an eight person boat so everyone, even the kids, needed to pitch in to keep us out of the bad spots. Matt described to us several very bad spots that people have become trapped and in a few cases killed on the river. One spot was called a hydraulic. Matt showed us how in that spot water flowed down the side of the mountain into the river causing an area of suction that can pull the entire boat down into the water.

We passed several rapids with colorful names like Wet Crotch 1 and 2, Camel Hump, Shrimp Diaper, Campagne, and Last Chance. A couple points of the ride slowed down a bit and gave you a more scenic look at the mountains. One of the girls riding with us jumped into the 40º water as did our guide, Matt.

The highlight section of the ride was an area called Lunch Counter. Matt yelled to us just before entering, “Don’t get scared and don’t stop rowing!” We floated through a narrow rock wall with giant waves. At a couple points I would reach down with my oar to paddle and would catch nothing but air. I could hear Mikah and Rogan giggling and laughing hysterically behind me. When we made it through, Mikah asked, “Can we do that again?”

Lindsey picked us up at the end and we had a 30 minute ride back to our car to dry off and laugh about all of the fun we just had.

Since our supply of clean clothes was dwindling, we visited the local laundry mat and did a few loads of clothes. The Halls met us there to do some laundry as well. In the down time we told stories of our rafting and read and relaxed a little bit.

From there, we parked in the public parking in Jackson Hole and walked through the town a bit. We stopped at the town square to admire the antler art and the bronze statues. Then we found a shop that had taken pictures of our whitewater rafting through Lunch Counter and laughed at the expressions on everyone’s faces as we paddled through the rapids. We decided to order some pictures online when we got home.

We were hungry since we had missed lunch so we stopped in a Thai restaurant that we had planned to eat dinner. It was before 4:00 and they were not open yet so we milled around the town some more before coming back. We stopped in a couple shops to buy some sweatshirts and t-shirts. By the time we finished shopping, the restaurant was open and we sat down for our meal. The food was excellent, albeit a little spicy. (This came back to haunt me a bit later).

After an early dinner, we explored more of Jackson Hole. While the kids stopped in the candy store, Greg and I ran into Lindsey, our driver from whitewater rafting earlier. We all went back to the campground, started a campfire and went to bed.

West Trip Day 10: Colter Bay, Gros Ventre Slide, Rec Center. Rodeo

Wednesday, June 23

This was one of our most busy days of the trip. We began the day by driving to Signal Mountain Lodge and Colter Bay to see what they had to offer. Both surround Jackson Lake which has the Teton Mountains creating a gorgeous backdrop for it. Most any time a picture is taken of the Tetons, it is around Jackson Lake.

As we pulled our coolers and food over to some picnic tables, a bald eagle swooped over our head. It looked like it was ready to land as it had its talons extended. Seeing us though, the eagle flew past along the shore of the lake and perched on a lodge pole pine in the distance.

After lunch, we decided to head back toward our camp. The lady at the desk of the visitor’s center of the campground had recommended to go see Gros Ventre slide. This is a giant rock slide that occured on the mountain in 1925 and dammed up the Gros Ventre River, forming a lake on one side. Apparently, years later a slide occurred again and caused a massive flood that swallowed up the small town of Kelly. 6 people died of drowning. Many others were spared because they were at church that day.

We walked a short trail to the scene of the slide. It looked like a bomb had gone off as rocks of various sizes extended for a long way. The kids collected a few interesting rocks and then we headed back to the campground.

The bald spot on the mountain is the area that slid down.

Just for fun, on the way to the campground we stopped at "Shane's cabin." This is the farmhouses that were used in the movie Shane.

Shane's Cabin

We had planned today to be a shower day. We had heard that Jackson had a public rec center that you could pay $25 to get in and swim and shower. The kids loved this place. It had an Olympic sized pool with a diving board, a shallow heated pool, a hot tub, and most importantly, an 80 foot slide. The kids had a blast and didn’t really want to leave. Lilly was too scared to ride the slide initially, but Mikah convinced her to do it eventually. After that, she was hooked. We all got a much needed shower and got ready for dinner.

We had used resturaunt.com ahead of time to get some a gift certificate to the Teton Steakhouse in Jackson Hole. The food was pretty good and we shared some good laughs as we reflected on our day.

Our day wasn’t done, however. Every Wednesday and Sunday there was a rodeo in Jackson at 8:00. We left the restaurant, and headed straight there. It had been a perfectly timed day and we were there early enough to get a good seat, but not too early.

They fired up the crowd with some music as they paraded around some cowgirls and cowboys on horses. The first event was the bull ride. The kids were on the edge of their seats as the bulls bucked and twisted in the air. Only a couple cowboys were able to stay on for the required 8 seconds.

Next they did an event where two cowboys tried to rope the horns and back legs of a calf. Next came the bronco busting. Cowboys rode wild horses and, like the bull riding, only a few were successful staying on for 8 seconds.

The announcer introduced the next cowboy as an “20 year old, up and coming young cowboy” and he flew out of the chute on the back of a gray bronco. Something appeared wrong right away as horse bucked and the cowboy fell off to the right of his horse. Right after the horse rolled to its right and fell on top of him. The crowd let out a unified gasp of horror as the horse rose and raced away. The cowboy laid down in the dirt motionless. The rodeo clowns surrounded him immediately to protect him from the horse and motioned for medical help. Soon a whole crew of people surrounded him. The medical staff began giving him cpr for several minutes as they waited for an ambulance to arrive. In the ambulance, cpr continued and they hurried him to the hospital.

Sadly, we found out a couple days later that the cowboy did, in fact, die. Article link. It was a very somber way to end what otherwise was a great day.