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)