A Sacajawea Re-Hike

Today we woke to an actual blue sky day... well once the sun rose there were ZERO clouds and a bright blue sky.  On our way into town we spotted a hot air balloon...good sign maybe?  A great backdrop of sky and mountains.  

 

We decided to grab some breakfast and head out to Fairy Lake... then re-hike Sacajawea.  Last month's hike was windy, chilly and the views obstructed by wild fires blowing in from Washington State.  Today had to be better... clear air and sunshine.

 

Free range cow...no goats

The road up to Fairy Lake has not improved since last month.   A bumpy ride, but we made it in one piece.  The parking lot was surprisingly empty of cars... only two.  Wondered why the crowd was sleeping in, but we needed the head start up the trail.  

 

Coop started off like gangbusters... he knew his buddies would be waiting to drive him crazy.  They were though we still have yet to catch sight of the marmots or ground squirrels.  The mountain goats were still playing hide and seek with us.  We found plenty of evidence to their existence... poo and hair... just not an actual goat in sight.

 

Last bits of snow

 

Catching my breath

Of course one of us wasn't feeling up to her usual... hope it is merely allergies playing havoc with both the throat and head.   The trail is a bit over 2 miles up and it was a drag most of the way.  A few times I really wanted to stop and let the guys motor on up to the peak.  I eventually made it and the views were worth the hike.  

 

Still climbing

Break before the Saddle

Not nearly as cold and windy... never had to add extra layers.  Off in the distance we noticed storm clouds in the west.  We stayed long enough to rehydrate and eat a couple of granola bars.  Enjoy the views for just a few minutes and start the trek back down.

 

At the Peak...9000+ feet

How much further?

Got to say that the trip down was a bit scary at times.  I still wonder how we hiked up such a steep trail... you notice it is steep, but nowhere as bad as it feels when you head back down it.  Once back into Bozeman weather once again necessitated eating while in town.   Getting storm after storm isn't a whole lot of fun, but not having to cook and clean up in the rain is fantastic!

The Crazies in the distance

Ignoring the "look"

Views from the Peak

The Climb begins

A Cooper view of the Saddle

Views of the right hand side

The Saddle up ahead

The trail view below

The Saddle

Views from the top

Ditto...views

Cindi finally makes the last ascent

Views of the Ridge Hike back to the 'M'

More views from the top

The Peak

Views back down the trail from the Peak

What to do in the Rain

Our morning sky

We headed back to Yellowstone... figured somewhere within in the Park would be dry enough to watch animals.  Worked out fine until we returned to camp just before the next downpour started.  The 40% chance is not working out too well... turned out that camp was dry all day.  It kept threatening, but never cut loose until we showed up after dinner.  Go figure. 

 

Our day in the Park was fine... enough sun to keep us happy and the most amazing skies.  The herds of bison are back close to the road so we ate our lunch and watched the groups cross the river.  The Rangers were having a 'blast' driving up and down the road trying to keep the animal and vehicle traffic moving at a reasonable rate...not always a success in either case.

 

Bison crossing the road...traffic jams

 

Bull bison on the left

The bulls have started to pay attention to the ladies.  No other animals showed themselves, but it is awesome to watch and listen to the bison.  Their grunts carry a good distance and are more interesting to listen to than the radio.

Walking toward last month's carcass remains

When we reached the area of the dead bison from last month.  We noticed that then the 'closed' signs had been removed.  Weird that the Rangers had already reopened the area, but we figured what the heck... then we had second thoughts.  Once I reached the site the bones had been scattered about and there was still that lingering smell.  Slightly concerned I became shall we say apprehensive about the possibilities of a passing bear and really should have carried my bear spray with me.  Coop and Bill watched from the roadway...so they could call in the Rangers per Bill.  

 

Fascinating to see what was left... hide, hair, hooves, the skull, jawbone, back bone... bits and pieces.  The flies are cleaning up the leftovers and we're pretty sure a stray animal is stopping by to chew on the leftover bones.

 

Bison skull...with flies included

  

Blue Heron

Amazing skies

Lunchtime entertainment

Bull bison on the prowl

Calf in still in his orange phase

 

Tomorrow we're unsure what the weather is up to... supposed to be sunny,  but one never knows around here.  Hiking or animal watching that is the question.

Not much else about our day in the Park except we did stop and get a shower at Mammoth Lodge... it was fantastic.

 

Views leaving the Park...Paradise Valley

 

A Hike, A Bear and a Two Moose Kind of Day

Today we had blast of a day.  We got up super early...6:30 AM so we could get breakfast, get Cooper to daycare (we... all 3 of us love Bark City) and us to West Yellowstone to hike before the storms moved into the area.  No small undertaking since we've been dodging storms most of the summer.  We managed to get our hike done while the weather still perfect... yeah! 

 

 

Sapphire Pool- Biscuit Basin

The hike from the Biscuit Basin area of Yellowstone follows along the Little Firehole River for a bit and then heads up the mountain for the adventurous types... about 2 miles until you turn back towards the falls.  Mystic Falls drops over 80 feet down in a series of steps.  Since the area has gotten a good amount of rain this season there was still a good amount of water flowing over it.  

 

View of Old Faithful from our hike

The views from our vantage point of the surrounding Geyser Area were pretty remarkable.  Next time we must check the time of Old Faithful's eruption since we could see it from the top of the trail.  A much more pleasing view than the one below with 2000 other souls.

 

 

Edge of Sapphire Pool

Common Eider

Once back down to the car we headed to Yellowstone Lake for our lunch at the spot we loved last month.  A beautiful day with just enough wind to get the bugs away and fantastic views of the surrounding mountains.  

 

Our entertainment was provided by a Common Eider who kept running across the water... never could figure out why it was spending so much energy doing it.  One surprise was seeing a pair of Common Loons diving just off shore...would have loved to hear them make their weird call.

 

Common Loon

 

 

Black bear

We drove on through Hayden Valley and were rewarded by watching a bear playing in the Yellowstone River.  To be honest we're not sure exactly what it was doing in the water.  We first thought it was a young bison unable to get out of the river, then the thought crossed that maybe the black wolf was in the river.  

Eating underwater grasses?

 

A bear never crossed our minds until we took the first picture.  It was throwing itself around and looked like it was really enjoying the water when  suddenly it took off up the bison trail at a full gallop until it disappeared over the ridge line.  

Running for the hills

 

Young Bull Moose

As we left the Park and headed towards Bark City it looked a bit iffy for cooking... so a detour by Montana Ale Works for dinner was 'necessary'.  Imagine our surprise as we were returning to camp in Hyalite Canyon when we happened upon a young bull moose standing in the middle of the roadway.  He quickly took off up the bank, but we were able to turn around and watch TWO moose exit the woods.  It looked like a young bull and possibly its mother... who knows, but it is the first moose we've seen in Hyalite.  

 

Mom?

Common Loons

Bison on the roadway

More playing bear

An exciting day from start to finish... tomorrow is calling for an increase chance of rain so Coop goes back to Bark City for the day and we hope to find something to do somewhere the rain isn't falling... may be a really odd day.