Yellowstone National Park Backcountry DAY 3

Day 1 and Day 2 found here.
The third and final day of the trip started earlier then the day before.  Zach had to get home to Utah and I wanted to see my family.  It was to be the shortest day as we headed to the trail head at Lewis Lake. 

The moose

Dropping back to Shoshone Lake

We woke up to a brisk morning.  The cold air had settled in the valley.  Preparations were being made and we were eating breakfast to fuel up.  As we ate breakfast the reason for naming Moose Creek became very evident.  All of a sudden Jordan looked up and motioned to the right of both Zach and I.  We thought he was joking around but looked anyways.  Right there in the middle of our camp with out making a sound was a moose.  Probably about 2 years old, the male moose just stood there looking at us, as if to say "hey guys what's going on", then he started towards the creek.  We scrambled to find out cameras, trying not to make too much noise so we would startle the moose into either running away or charging.  We snapped a couple of shots before the moose disappeared into the bushes.  We followed cautiously.  This was the only animal we had seen after two whole days in the backcountry.  

Jordan and Zach crossing the Shoshone Lake outlet

After all that excitement we packed up and headed out.  The trail was steep straight away. It plateaued around 8,000 feet and then dropped back to the lake.  As we dropped back down we came across a group of volunteers improving the trail.  These were pretty much the only people we had any interaction with up to this point.  We had hardly seen anyone else out on the trail.  We had to ford the crossing at the Shoshone Lake outlet, the start of the Lewis River.  The water provided a good break for our hot feet.  We spend some time enjoying the scenery as we let our feet dry before putting our boots back on.

That way...

Once across the river we headed along the shore to the ranger's station at Shoshone Lake.  I should have snapped some pictures.  The cabin was nothing to shake a stick at, in fact it made me want to be a backcountry ranger.  It had a solar panel, outdoor cooking area, plenty of chopped wood, and all the tools you would need to live in the back country.  From what I could see from the outside there was indoor cooking area, a living area, and a loft of some sort.  There was a chimney as well, not sure if for a fireplace or simply a cooking vent.
This is were we had a decision to make.  We could stay along the river and eventually along Lewis Lake shore, or take the high route off the water and see nothing.  We chose the low route even though it was longer in miles we figured it would be a little more enjoyable.  It probably did take a little longer the way we went.  The trail was up and down 50 feet or so, normally not a big deal, but do that 10-15 times and it gets annoying.  I was driven to get finished though.  I don't know why but the last day of a hike I always just push harder.  It isn't that I want to get out of the woods or even get the pack off my back.  I just feel like I can improve my time, like a runner that catches a 2nd wind.  Something that is hard to explain.  I'm sure it annoys Zach a little bit, he is the one always putting up with it.

Next time we are jumping in.

One spot I wish we could have spent more time at was an out crop of rocks that jutted into the river.  The rocks were anywhere from 10-25 feet from the water surface.  We could see to the bottom and there were a couple of good deep spots that would have been great fun to jump into.  Not wanting to take the time to change and swim and dry off we opted to keep pushing after a short break.

Lewis Lake with the Tetons in the far
distance.

Eventually we came to Lewis lake.  A much smaller lake than Shoshone but deeper.  The wind on Lewis Lake is much stranger than on Shoshone. This created larger waves and kept us cooler.  We could see motor boats on the lake and came in contact with a few people out for day hikes and fishing.  There was a sense that we were reaching the end of our trek.  We paused again to call our wives.  My wife, Jessica, was picking us up at the parking lot and I wanted to try coordinate with here our pick up.  We guessed that we had about 45 minutes left on the trail.  I couldn't get a hold of her so I sent a text and a voice mail.  Pushing on we came to our finish.  The parking lot came almost out of nowhere, tucked in the trees there was no real warning we were at our end point.  The three of us shed our packs in the shade.  It was almost exactly 45 minutes from the time I called my wife.  At the parking lot we didn't have the open space provided by the lake and therefore didn't have a cell signal.  With my phone starting to die I went out to the main road.  The phone picked up a signal, all be it a very spotty one.  I couldn't get through to Jessica.  As cars zoomed by I was hoping to get a signal.  Then almost with stroke of pure luck I saw her coming down the road.  She pulled over and admitted to not knowing where to turn to pick us up.  I had shown her the location on the maps, but didn't blame her for this because the signs for the parking lot were small and the pull out was around a corner.
A good day to end a great trip!

Yellowstone National Park Backcountry DAY 2

Pools at Shoshone Geyser Basin

Catch the first day of the hike here.

In the morning of the second day there was a little, lets say, excitement in the tent as we prepped to exit.  We all three wanted to know if a bear maybe came pocking around.  We had seen bear claw marks on the trees and bear pole in camp and figured most of those were made at night.  As we settled down the night before i had forgotten my lip balm in my pocket and Jordan had some jolly ranger wrappers in his.  We put all this in a small bag and tossed it out of the tent near the bear pole.  This little bag full of smellies didn't move an inch all night and we were glad.
Because all of out water purification methods had failed the day before we were now trying to think about how we would ration our stove fuel for boiling water.  We figured we would boil all we could hold in our bottles for the rest of the day and take it from there.  So with breakfast in our bellies and water in our bottles we started off.

Shield Geyser

Day 2 was to be the highlight of the trip, for me.  The only full day of hiking started with a visit to the Shoshone Geyser Basin.  The opposite of an oasis in the middle of lush fields and forest, with a lake on one side and a river on the other.  If you have ever been to Yellowstone and walked along the boardwalks around old faithful you have seen similar thermal features.  The thing that makes the Shoshone Geyser basin special is the fact that you are, in some cases, six inches away from a feature.  There are no boardwalks, there are no railings, it is just a small trail that weaves between the geysers, mud posts, and thermal pools.

Marsh near Shoshone Lake

This trail also got us to our highest point of the trip.  Just over 8,200 feet.  The trail followed the lake after the geyser basin.  We walked through marshy fields and sandy beaches for about a mile before we started to climb.  It really seemed like all the elevation game came at once. My legs were burning.  I can't remember having any breathing issues or headache, like the day before, I think this was just being out of shape.  The bugs were out early today and we had to stop a few times to apply bug spray/lotion.  There was also a set of wolf tracks on the trail.  A lone wolf had made fresh tracks that morning that went the opposite direction.  By the size of the tracks I am very glad we hadn't crossed paths with the animal.  Wolves are normally pretty cautious of humans but a lone alpha male might act out if it felt threatened.

Wolf Track

In the low marshes and up in the hills we crossed many streams and other bodies of water that I would call puddles.  Most had logs across them, none had any actual bridges build.  When we stopped for lunch next to Moose Creek Zach and Jordan gave into the temptation of fresh fast flowing cold water.  Our bottles were still filled but the water was pretty warm still and they couldn't resist.  With at least 24 hours left in our trip I wasn't about to risk getting sick.  I had visions of day 3, stopping every 20 ft to rid my body of what ever organism was disrupting it.  I figured if we ran out of fuel and couldn't treat water any more I would wait until the last day so that if I was sick I could at least get the visitor center toilets.  The guys didn't get sick, and I actually took one swig of the cold fresh water.  To be honest I always feel closer to my surroundings, and feel a little more wild, when I drink direct from a water source.
Our last crossing of the day brought us back around to Moose Creek.  This was the first crossing that required us to ford the creek.  We shed our shoes and socks and crossed.  This was the first time ever hiking that I didn't have logs or rocks to cross over.  About 100 yards later we were at our camp.

Cooling boiled water in creek

Tent at Moose Creek (8M1) site.

As beautiful of a setting our first camp had this second camp was laid out much better.  More flat tent pads, more open areas, tall pines with small about of low brush.  We were about 50 yards from the creek which allowed for more fishing (again had no luck but a great chance to unwind a little).  Even though the trail was hard it was short.  This allowed us quite a bit of time to mull around.  Jordan took a nap and read a little.  Zach and I fished for a while.  We took the time to reorganize our gear a little.  Zach and I both took turns bathing in the creek.  Then when the sun went down the bugs came out and we hit the tent.
It was only around 8 pm when we got bedded down and none of use were ready to sleep.  This left us time to have some philosophical and spiritual conversation.  After a bit of that we ended our day.

Yellowstone National Park Backcountry DAY 1

I have always loved Yellowstone.  It is easy to say that it is my favorite place to visit.  Since going as a child with my family I have always found the park to be magnificent.  Since moving to Eastern Idaho I have visited with my own family at least twice a year.  I have to admit though, that up until a few years ago, I had no idea one could venture off the pavement and boardwalks, away from the tourists, into the backcountry.  Since really getting into hiking and backpacking I have wanted to spend time on the trail in the world's first national park.
Last February I did some winter camping in Utah with my friend Zach.  During that trip we talked about when we could do something over the summer and where we should go.  We talked about heading back to the Tetons and maybe hitting up Zion's or even the Grand Canyon.  With about half a week of open window between our school schedules we opted for something a little closer to one of our homes.  Yellowstone was chosen and by April 1st (the first day for backcountry applications) I had our application in the mail.  We got the trail and campsites we requested (reverse order).
Preparations went on and anticipation built.  Many emails with ideas for meals, how to lighten our packs and selections for gear were sent.  In June my brother in-law came to live with me for the summer and I invited him along as well.  So as time passed and plans were finalized the time came to head out.

Lunch at Firehole River

The first night was spent at the Grant Village on the West Thumb of Yellowstone Lake.  We camped here on Wednesday so that we could get to the backcountry office and hit the trail as soon as possible.  It was a little strange camping in a normal campsite living out of a backpack.  That night, and that night only, I was a little jealous of all the other campers luxuries.

Jordan read the whole trip, even while
hiking at the front keeping pace.

Thursday morning we checked in at the backcountry office and got our permits.  After a short video on how not to get eaten by bears we parked at Old Faithful and walked a few hundred yards to the trail head.  We started on the Howard Eaton trail and headed south towards Shoshone Lake.  By the time we actually hit the trail it was around 10 am, and we hit camp around 5pm.  With a stop for lunch at the Firehole River and a little back tracking to actually find our camp the day went pretty quickly.

Small portion of the almost 270 degree
view from the beach.

Even though things went smoothly as far as timing the day did have it's problems.  First, I didn't eat enough for breakfast or lunch and by the end of the day in hot temperatures I was dehydrated and under nourished.  I had a killer headache, and almost vomited a couple of times.  Second problem was my Steripen, used for purifying water, wasn't working.  After only one previous use the batteries had failed (even though that was months ago I figured the batteries should last).  Lesson learned, I grabbed extra batteries for my head lamp but forgot about the Steripen.  At first this wasn't going to be an issue because Zach had brought his water filter and we would just have to pump our water.  Unfortunately later in the evening after getting to camp his filter failed as well.  We resorted to boiling all our water for the rest of the trip (we had just enough fuel and ran out at breakfast on the last day).

Backcountry site 8R5 Basin Bay Point

I couple of very valuable lessons learned here.  Even an experienced camper can forget something.  I will always keep a list and check it twice.  If we had been on the trail even a day longer we would have had to resort to drinking straight from the water source, risking sickness.
 At camp we did our best to relax after the failure of our equipment.  I wasn't going to let it get me down.  The camp we were at was beautiful.  Tent site and cooking area were elevated about 10 feet from the waters edge and we had a small beach to sit at.  Jordan spent all evening down there and had to be coerced to coming up to help cook and clean up.  After eating I got out my pole and lures.  Zach and I had both got 3 day fishing permits for the trip and each carried out own poles.  Not expecting to catch anything from shore I waded out into the very warm water and used the time to enjoy myself.  I felt like i could have gone 50 feet off shore and still only been up to my waste.  Shoshone lake is not very deep.  Wading up to my knees was fine for me.  After about 30 minutes I was about to call it quits.  That is when a Brown Trout took hold of my lure, at first I though I was snagged up on some weeds, then my line started to drag.  I got him in closer and at about three feet away the 5-7 incher surfaced and shook loose.

Jordan packing with bear
pole in background

After the sun went down we hustled to get camp cleaned and ready for bed.  This was the first time I was required to hang my food.  We decided it would just be better to hang our entire bags on the bear pole provided, that way we wouldn't have a curious bear carry one of our packs away.  It was about this time that all the bugs had come out.  Along the trail we had mosquitoes bothering us, but this night was insane.  We had to hustle and practically dive into our tents in order to survive the night.  As we laid in the tent we could hear the flies down on the water.  The noise was incredible.  We all agreed it sounded as if we had been sleeping in a bee's nest.  After twilight dispersed and the flies went to bed so did we.