Canyon Campground
We got up and made a breakfast of eggs, sausage, and coffee. Our cookstovee gas ran out so Kathi cooked the last of the eggs over an open fire. Nice!
I went to the backcountry office at Canyon and asked about camping at the Buffalo Plateau patrol cabin and the Ranger said No Way!
This was our next to last family day in Yellowstone and we had rearranged our schedule to be able to climb Mount Wasburn with good weather and clear skies so we could make the best of the views. It was also good to do the hard work on this day before we splurged and stayed in the Old Faithful Lodge the night before our early morning drive to the airport.
We were a little late in getting to Dunraven Pass by 11:00 am. In retrospect it would have been better to get an earlier start. We started at 8,859 feet in elevation and were climbing to 10,243 ft. At the beginning, the path was easy enough, but Kathi's lingering bronchitis had her struggling with the altitude and thin air. We took it slow and took rest stops as needed. The views all along the way were spectacular! I think Backpacker magazine rated this hike in the top three family hikes and I would definately agree!
Beginning the climb...
We saw marmot at the bottom near Dunraven Pass...
As we climbed, think I freaked Kathi out when she asked where we were hiking to and asked if it was the peak in this picture on the right.
Mt. Washburn in the center of the picture - way in the distance!
I looked at the map, and had to respond that it was acctually the small peak in the center of the picture, the one with the little point in the clouds. Not even through the first hour of hiking, that almost sparked desertion! Luckily, everyone agreed to soldier on - Dana "hiking" in her Crocs. She probably would've done it in flip flops if we let her.
The views continued to Wow us - especially the view of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone which we had seen before from the rim. But this was a whole new perspective!
Mountain Views...
Happy Campers!
Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone....
(Careful editing =) More Happy Campers....
Mountain views...
On the way up, Dana and Hailey stopped to speak to every brash, handout-seeking, ground squirrel they saw (many). They got nothing but slight of hand from us.
Ground squirrels....
As we continued up, the trees started to thin out and the landscape took on that lunar look, but the panoramic views just kept getting better and better.
Above the tree line....
Nearing the summit...
After about 3 hours to go the 3 miles, there was great relief as we neared the summit. Once on top, we had lunch and took a well deserved rest. We scanned the lower slopes for bighorn sheep and saw a few off in the distance. At the summit, they had a cool lookout with maps of the names and locations of all the visible mountains in every direction. So, I took advantage of the the elevation and located the Buffalo Plateau where Tom and I would be hiking into the backcountry - also to a topographic crest of about 10,000 feet. I was psyching myself up!
We made it!
Mountain Profile Map Showing Buffalo Plateau...
The Real Thing!
On the way down, we spotted a Pika in the rock wall along the path to the summit. We enjoyed watching this hamster-sized creature dart in and out of the rock crevices to spy on us and then dash for cover. The girls always appreciate cuteness!
The Pika...
We made the return trip down Washburn in 2 hours - a long day, but well worth the views. I joked with Kathi that now she could brag to her friends and claim the disticntion of having bagged her first peak over 10,000 feet. She laughed wryly and said that her friends wouldn't care and I shot back that she needed some new friends!
Nearing the End of the Trail...Back at Dunraven Pass...
Kathi also confided in me and told me something the girls said in and exhausted state on the way down Mt. Washburn. "Where the heck is Dad dragging us to tomorrow!" We both had a knowing laugh. They were glad to learn that was our last march, er I mean hike!
We made our way back to Canyon, and had an early dinner while most other people were out and about. It was quiet and peaceful. That was until a black bear cub decided to wander through the campsite next door (where the residents sprayed something over everything they owned - idiots!). The bear cub was definitely interested in their spray as he sniffed everything they had sprayed. We kept waiting for a mother bear to arrive and were vigilent about not getting between mother and cub (a dangerous situation), but the mother never materialized. This made us more worried for the cub since it would likely be tracked down and killed. They say in Yellowstone that "a fed bear is a dead bear" and it seemd like this cub had learned to associate the campground with food. Tragic!
Black bear cub sniffing around next door...
Dinner was hot dogs and mac and cheese. Later that evening we went wildlife spotting in the Hayden Valley. We got a good spot early and it was nice how the folks with the expensive spotting scopes let everyone have a look at what we saw and the people with digital cameras shared pictures of wolves, bears, and other interesting animals with the kids. We heard lots of cool stories. We were hoping to see wolves, nut alas, did not. We did see a BIG grizzly roam lazily across the valley for about an hour - much to everyone's excitement. In addition we saw elk and bison. Closest we got to the wolves was to hear them at night, but that was cool too.
Spotting wildlife at one of the Hayden Valley overlooks....
Christmas day in Yellowstone did not disappoint.
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