Is Wilderness Safe?

I was browsing the 'net today and came across this article and thought it pertained to my current situation. I can say that you can see some of the things the author is discussing in the article. Trail signage here in Yellowstone is very limited. The heavy trafficked trails here in the park have decent signage, as well as being easy to navigate. In the trail book that many of my co-workers and I use they have each trail rated by difficulty, as well as by the amount of hikers classified by "seldom, moderate, or heavy". I have noticed once the traffic level is below heavy the signs and blazes on the trails are few and far between. Trail maintenance varies depending on the trail and the condition of the trail. If there was a massive tree that had fallen down and was blocking the trail, it would likely be cut to clear the path for hikers. However, a couple of weeks ago while I was hiking the Bechler River Trail we came to a situation where we needed to cross a stream and there had been a log that was set up to assist in the crossing for hikers, but it had been broken and was laying in the water.

Why wouldn't that be fixed? Wouldn't it much more logical to have people crawl over a tree trunk rather than wading through flowing water that may or may not be very cool temperatures? At least, I think it seems safer for people to jump the fallen trunk...

I know I haven't really organized this post too well, so I apologize for that. Basically, as you can see from the article (in hopes that you've actually read it), the Park Service wants to collect your money as visitors to all of the parks across the country, yet they don't necessarily want us using their trails and taking advantage of the beauty that is offered. This doesn't make sense to me if they want people to continue to donate money towards parks and be supportive of wilderness protection.

I can see where the Park Service is coming from in hopes of keeping wilderness as pristine as possible, but that can be achieved by helping people be safe. Hikers, for the most part, prepare adequately for their adventures by scoping out maps, preparing for the weather and packing proper gear but it is inevitable that occasionally there are mishaps on the trail such as following a game trail rather than the trail that was designated.

I guess my stance on the article/situation is this: I like the idea of keeping wilderness preserved and pristine, but in order to guarantee safety which ensures more support and visitors trail safety needs to be on the front burner for the Park Service.

Your Scent is Sweet Like Betty Crocker Bakes

Just a quick update. I haven't been doing too much hiking. I have to admit that. It seems like everyone I usually hike with (mostly work folks), and myself, have been in a bit of a rut. We were going and hiking all over creation, so the past week has kind of been a slow one in terms of more hiking. Which is a-ok with me, because I'm coming up on about one month remaining. This will hopefully give me a bit of a rest to get back on my game to get the rest of the hikes I want to accomplish done by the time I leave here.

Last week we went back down to Moose Falls to celebreate the birthday of a co-worker. It was definitley a bit more chilly that last time I was there! I only took one plunge off of the falls, and just waded in the river waters after that.

Today, August 25, is Christmas in the Park here at Yellowstone. There are Christmas decorations up everywhere, including the employee dining room. I went down to breakfast this morning and was impressed to see a Christmas Tree, lights and garland gracing the walls. We're only four months away. Get your lists ready! I have yet to be up to my place of work to see what kind of decorations are up there, and since I've been off for the past two days I was unable to assist in the decorating.
More information can be found here.



I think that's about all I've got for now. I'm currently trying to teach myself how to use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3. If you have any pointers, you should let me know. I'm not familair with this like I am with Photoshop CS(insert version here). Ok, talk to you all later.

Union Falls

(Union Falls)

(Stream crossing... I was standing in the middle snapping a few photos)

Howdy.

The internet has been slow and uncooperative the past few days so I've been unable to update my faithful following on my trip backcountry. First off, it was great. The highlight of the trip was Union Falls, which I'll post a few photos of.

But, leading up to that trip I did Observation Peak (actually finishing it this time). It was probably 10.5 (out and back) miles and we hiked it in a rapid manner. We were to the top in 1 hour and 19 minutes, and finished in 2 hours and 36 minutes. My legs were feeling it the next day. Why so fast? Because we had to make it back in time for dinner! I can't help but get my priorities straight.

A friend of mine that I trained with had a friend of hers coming in to the park to visit for four or five days and since she had a few days off we decided it'd be a good time to go backpacking. Thus, we (they) decided on the Bechler River Trail out to Union Falls. We were feasted on by mosquitoes (Aaron, the lovely visitor, counted roughly 75 mosquitoe bites after our one night stay in the backcountry).

The hike itself actually wasn't too difficult other than the distance. It was very flat and fast. We had a couple of river fordings that got in the way so that took a little bit of time to change shoes and such, but it was pretty fun. The water was chilly, but not freezing. The water was deep enough to come up to my mid thigh, but not enough to get the bottom of my pack wet or anything.

Our campsite, 9U3, was the only one in the area that hadn't been reserved so we were forced to take it. It was difficult finding a spot near the place the hang our packs, but we got it taken care of. It was nice putting the Zolo 2 to use for the first time. It got a little dirty so it'll need a bath after another use or two.





Well, in other recent news, I shaved off my beard. It was getting a bit gnarly so I figured I'd start fresh. It took me approximately two days to upload these select photos, so I'm tired of looking at this Blogger page now. If you want to see other photos I took, feel free to check out my Facebook page. Until next time...

Bechler River Backcountry Trip

Coming to you live from the back seat of a silver Toyota Corolla:
I've told a few of you that I'm headed backcountry for a couple days. We just left Ashton, Idaho and are nearing our destination. I will be sure to give a full report upon my return!

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A Few Photos for my Fans

A shot of a meadow with the rain falling over Canyon Village from the Cygnet Lakes trail, which I hiked two days ago. Luckily we missed the heavy part of it while we were out on the trail.
If you look VERY closely you can see a black bear. I promise it was bigger in real life. But at least now you have evidence that I truly saw one. This is near the Cygnet Lakes trail ending point.
Just a shot of Observation Peak. I began this hike today but didn't finish it. Just headed out on the trail near Cascade Lake and began towards the peak. A nice hike, but 11 miles and I didn't have that many miles in mind, so I decided to turn back after a nice snack of peanut butter properly smeared on my wheat crackers.

Falling With Moose

Again, a few days have passed since I have gotten to posting, my apologies.

Since my last post I went on a hike, the Cygnet Lakes trail which travels through a lot of the forest that was burned by the fires of 1988. I've talked with quite a few people about the hike and none of them seem too high on it. It was a bit boring walking through nothing but fallen lodge pole pines, but still relaxing in a way. You also view a couple of good meadows during the hike from atop a hill. There are multiple ponds, puddles and lakes scattered throughout the 8.2 mile hike (4.1 each way) with many covered by leaves or lily pads. Really, a pretty neat view in my opinion. Coming up on the last bit of the hike, the trees seemed to get much more dense and we began to wonder where the lake was at the end that had presented itself so majestically on the map. The trail was quite flat, so we weren't exactly fatigued, but up against the clock as one person had a dinner date and it was also getting late into the evening.

After the slight confusion we were literally dropped into a meadow that really reminded me of Kansas in a way. You couldn't see the mountains above the treeline, so it seemed a bit familiar. As we were walking roughly half a mile to the lake (which was a bit swampy, really) I noticed a dark furry creature in the distance off to our right. What was it you ask? A black bear. It was all by itself and just cruising around with his nose in the ground. I don't think he noticed us because he didn't seem interrupted in the least. We were far enough away to feel quite comfortable, but close enough to get a good look. That was the first time I had seen a bear on a hike, so I was pretty pumped to say the least. On the way back it began to sprinkle and rain a bit, but we made it back before suffering any serious damages.

As some of you may have heard, weather here has taken a turn for the chilly type. The other morning I woke up to a temperature of 34 degrees. It warmed up, don’t you worry. However, that morning we experienced a slight rain shower along with some decent hail. It cleared up eventually, only to return later in the evening while I was out checking on the beauty of Artist’s Point on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. It’s still beautiful, not even hail could harm that baby. Basically, summer is now over here in Yellowstone and I can only imagine that snow is right around the corner. So, to about 99% of my readers… enjoy your 100+ degree temperatures! (Enjoy responsibly, with water, of course).

Today was my off day. I didn’t have much of a plan other than to do something awesome. A few folks had discussed camping near Cascade Lake (which I think I discussed in a post a few weeks ago, if you’re interested). That ended up not happening. Probably for the better, as it’s been raining for about three days now. As I was sitting at lunch someone suggested I head down to Moose Falls. I’m about to give away a bit of a secret, so feel honored. Moose Falls is a place very few tourists ever stop at, so it’s a pretty big employee hang out. When we arrived down there, it was still raining and cloudy and a bit chilly, but that didn’t deter us one bit. There were a handful of people there and a guy and girl were jumping from the falls. Moose Falls is a 25 foot tall water fall that flows into the river just south of Grant Village and about 2 miles north of the South Entrance to the park.

I decided to put my waterproof Keens to the use and take a dip in the river. I didn’t want to get outdone by the muscular fellow with a cute lady friend while they were leaping from the rocks near the falls, so I decided to follow them. It was probably a 20 foot drop to the surface of the water, and a good time. The water was plenty deep enough, which I was a bit worried about. It was probably a good 8-10 feet deep because I would just barely touch the bottom and it was enough for me to push off the bottom to get to the top and do it all over again.

Here are a few shots so hopefully you can experience Moose Falls to the maximum!
(I'll post a picture of the bear later)

Avalanche!

(Poor quality, but I was using the self timer so give me a break. Thanks.)

Hello,

It’s been a few days since an update, which seems to be the way it goes. Not too much has happened since the last bloggerific post. I had a three day weekend and was hoping to maybe make it down to the Tetons for a little sightseeing. That didn’t happen, so maybe next week!

The most exciting part of my week was definitely my hike up Avalanche Peak. I did it a few years ago when we visited with Blake and Jacob. I remember it being tough, but I was certainly surprised with the difficulty of the climb. It’s pretty much a steep incline the entire way except for one little break after hiking 1.2 miles in. It was right as you reach tree line and you can see the amphitheater of the mountains. Usually this area is covered in snow and people will jump down and sled to the bottom. Unfortunately, as you can see in the picture, there isn’t enough snow to do this. There were enough rocks I probably could have made it happen , though. That may have been a bit painful.

The hike was great though. It felt good to get the heart rate up since I’ve been slacking on my running recently. Hiking through a pretty dense forest at the beginning and being rewarded with a great view at the top was absolutely worth it. You can see to the Shoshone National Forest, which doesn’t have a single trail through the park. So needless to say, it was an uninterrupted view of wilderness. To the other side of the peak you could see the never-ending water of Lake Yellowstone. The clouds were looking a bit like cotton from a pillow that was just torn to shreds by your cute and loveable puppy, and they were just floating across the sky. Unlike the last time I was atop this manly mountain, it stayed sunny for the entire time rather than thundering, lightning and raining on me. So, thank you Mother Nature for that one.

By the way, I’ve been looking into ways to get people out here for really cheap and have had much success…so if you’re interested, let me know!

The other night I went out to see the Northern Lights. I know what you’re thinking, “I thought those were only in Alaska?” Well, you’re right. Sometimes they (the lights, of course) make it low enough to where you can see them elsewhere. I haven’t had a chance to do much research on them (why? Read my posts where I’m complaining about internet access and you’ll realize why) but the other night they were supposed to be visible from this area. We waited around until about 2am and went down to Hayden Valley to watch for a colorful sky amongst our closest bison friends. You could hear them burping, growling, snorting and trotting by on the pavement right around car. It was a near experience to say the least. I wasn’t able to see them, but could hear every single thing they were doing. You can’t do that in very many places! (Jealous yet?)

Back to the lights: they weren’t constant like you might think, but a cool experience nonetheless. A couple of flashes of blue and red took over the sky for a split second here and a millisecond there, but it was worth it. Not to mention the high number of shooting stars that we were able to see, the late night and loss of sleep was made up for the next morning.

A few nights before that a group of around 12 of us hiked down to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone to hang out and watch the moon rise and such and just take in the Yellowstone air. I didn’t think to take my camera just because I figured it’d be too dark to capture any quality images, but I think I may have been mistaken. The moon lit the place up like crazy. I will have to make my way back down there to give it a shot and hopefully I’ll have something of decent quality to post to all my faithful readers out there.

Other news? Not that I can think of. Oh, wait. I did go up to Bozeman the other night with my extended weekend with a few folks from Canyon. I really only needed one thing from “the city” and that was the new Tech N9ne album, “The Gates Mixed Plate”. The album is an ode to Kansas City and the famous Bar-B-Que that is provided in the city. It’s a pretty decent album, as is anything that Mr. Tecca Nina decides to put out. The Kansas City King will actually grace Billings, Montana with his presence on September 23rd, so I think I will treat myself to a little birthday gift and enjoy a nice rap concert in the heart of Montana. If you happen to be free that night, please, don’t be shy and come on out. It shall be a good time had by all!

We tried to go to the Bozeman Brewery to get a bite to eat, but they sadly didn’t serve any food. It would have been a great place to hang out because there was a nice live band on stage singing some splendid tunes. That lead us to the Bacchus Pub on Main Street which certainly didn’t disappoint. It was located in the first floor of an old hotel which had been renovated into apartments. I’ll admit it: I ate an entire pepperoni pizza. So healthy.

Alright, I really think that’s about all I’ll waste your time with for tonight. I’m working the early shifts the next couple of days before my weekend returns. I’ll hopefully get in a couple of hikes and try to get a couple photos up for your viewing pleasure. If no photos, I’ll try to increase my writing creativity as I’m feeling a bit more confident about heading out for a run on the trails around here. I really need to get in shape. For some reason I just have to keep these fleet feet a-movin’!

Until next time…

Internet Does Exist

Yes, it's true, Yellowstone National Park does provide internet...sometimes. It's been down for 6 of the past 7 or 8 days. So, it's not necessarily the best internet in the world, but it'll do for now.

I'll try and make this quick. I don't have a ton of pictures due to the fact that the last couple of times I went out I didn't have my camera or I forgot to put my memory stick back in my camera and basically carried the extra weight of the Nikon D3000 for no absolute reason.

Yesterday we went up the North side of Mt. Washburn, which is a service road to the top. It was nice to see different views than what was on the other side, so I enjoyed that. I'm not sure which one I like more, but as often as I've been hiking this thing, it's only a matter of time before I make up my mind.

Yesterday afternoon me and a few other folks drove up to Bozeman to get a little bit of civilization in our lives. We just made a few of the important stops, such as Target and Wal-Mart. I wandered around on Main Street for awhile. I'm surprised they have a running store here, yet it has such a limited selection I'm still not sure how they remain open. I'm not complaining, just surprised. I'm tempted to apply for a job there anyway...

I've attached a couple of photos. One is the view from the top of Mt. Washburn looking north into the valley below us. The other is a picture I took a few weeks ago of tourists dropping their jaws at the bison flooding the road.

Anyway, I'm off to go run or hike or something. I'll hopefully have internet to keep you folks updated on my happenings when I return. Keep your fingers crossed!