Yellowstone Backcountry - Buffalo Plateau Trail - Part 5

On our way to Slough Creek and "home"....

Our last day hiking - out of the backcountry. Got up before dawn to get an early start on the hike back to the car and the long drive back into Jackson. We were now very efficient at breaking down camp and made quick work of making breakfast, preparing the fire pit for our departure, pumping water, taking down the tent, and repacking the packs (minimal yard sale). I really liked the way the Big Agnes Copper Spur UL tent is designed so that you can take down the tent and pack that dry and only have to worry about a damp fly and footprint. Saves weight!

We got going, forded Buffalo Fork creek, and found our way to the Yellowstone Border.









Our legs were good or maybe that it was that we were trending downhill! We marveled at the surrounding slopes and their mineral outcroppings - the stuff of Yellowstone that most tourist need to get in line on a boardwalk to see!



As we weave in and out of wooded sections of the trail, we find fresh bear and wolf tracks left after the previous day's rain. Cool! We continue to fly.





We come to a spot on the trail with a great view of one of the Slough Creek meadows. It was really cool to see the former oxbows that had filled in after the stream changed course. Beautiful!



Wish we had another day to fish! Family and the flight home beckoned...

The trail was well defined, and we passed interesting geology - rock walls, rock peaks, glacial erratics.









Skulls, vertebrae, and various bones scattered about remind us that we're still in the backcountry and of the life and death struggle going on just beyond the tourist campsites. One of the last skulls we saw still had blood on the bones so we didn't linger - no need to risk attack or injury so close to "home"!



Suddenly, we see tents, and we realize we're back at the Slough Creek campground. We ford the streem and we've made it! We're at trail's end. Safe and sound. I fill out the trail register and we take a moment to whoop it up!





Then, it's all business. We throw packs in the rental car, change into comfortable shoes, and make a beeline for Jackson. We make a brief stop at Yellowstone's Canyon campground backcountry office to report on our trip, reporting downed trail markers, lack of bear sightings (for future hikers), difficlty in Poacher's Trail intersection location, etc. We were surprised the park rangers didn't seem too interested in the post-hike brief/intel, especially since the many we talked to had never heard of the Buffalo Plateau Trail and it was obvious it was not often hiked. Oh well, we did our duty.

Made it to Jackson, and got a room for the night. Organized some gear and set out socks, boots, and other stuff for drying. Beat feet to a mexican restaurant in Jackson and had a nice dinner basking in the late afternoon sun. After dinner, we made our way to the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar only to fend off a cougar attack, as we drank some well-deserved celebratory beers and recounted our hike with gusto and loud storytelling - a good way to cap our spectacular trip! Can't wait to do it again!!!!!!!!!




TOM - YOU ARE THE MAN!

Yellowstone Backcountry - Buffalo Plateau Trail - Part 2

Got up early and headed for the creek to retrieve the packs and food bags. In the light fog, I spied a lone bison on the opposite side of Hellroaring Creek making his way towards a clearing along the bank. Tom joined me to get the packs down and as we made our way back to the campsite, we found the bison had crossed the creek onto our side ans was ambling up the slope. Glad we didn't set up the tent in that clearing like we had talked about the night before!

Campsite 2H4: Big Agnes tent and Osprey Aether 70 packs


We pumped water from Hellroaring Creek with my new MSR Hyperflow (nice and fast!), made breakfast, coffee and oatmeal, and reorganized our packs for the uphill hiking we would do this day. It took us too long to clean up our respective "yard sales" of gear, food, trash, and clothes, but we finally bid our campsite and the bison farewell.

Hellroaring Creek


Starting out at around 6000 ft, we retraced our steps to the junction of the Hellroaring Creek trail and the Buffalo Plateau Trail and made the left and started the climb that would continue on for the rest of the day's hike.

Trail signs




In the morning we were fresh and the open grassy terrain did not seem like too much of an obstacle. We talked and joked jovially, and watched our footing in areas where the trial was rutted.

It was obvious that the Buffalo Plateau Trail was not heavily travelled, but it was easy enough to follow.



At first, as we passed the carins, at least I didn't recognize them for wheat they were; they were just curious features as we climbed. This easterner is used to blazes on trees. But after seeing half a dozen or so we figured their purpose out and repaired as many as we could along the way - restanding poles, renailing orange metal blazes to the posts, stacking rocks, etc.

Within the first mile or two, we came across this erratic with a circle of antlers at its base and a few more left on top of the rock.



We continued on steadily upward, taking breaks as needed and stopping for lunch along the grassy slope. As we neared the Wyoming/Montana border and started to be flanked by some wooded areas, we came across this burned trunk that reminded us of one of the Easter Island monoliths.



Tom and I were both getting tired and we stopped for a break, a snack, and a drink in the shade of a tree right next to the trail. Half an hour later, my eyes opened. My fellow TATC members would probably frown, but a trailside nap is SWEET!

At close to 8,400 feet, we made the left turn off the Buffalo Plateau Trail and headed to our campsite for the night - a stock site labelled 2B1 on the maps. We stopped at a small stream to pump water again, at this point not wanting to carry the weight, but worried about not having a source of water for cooking at the campsite.



The distance from the turn off the Buffalo Plateau Trail to campsite 2B1 was supposed to be 0.7 miles according to the Nat. Geo. Trials Illustrated map and it was supposed to be mostly ridge running. NO WAY! I wish I had GPS because we hiked for an hour or two thinking we had somehow missed the campsite, especially as we hiked up and down several steep ravines. We stuck to the trail, and finally spotted an orange blaze, and as we got closer, a nice bear pole and fire ring. We had done about 8.5 miles and 2,400 of elevation gain in about 8-9 hours on the trail (hiking, breaks, lunch, water-pumping, and nap!).

We scouted out a place to put the tent. The ground was all hummocky (animal activity) so flat ground was at a premium. We finally found a spot within a crescent of live trees that was fairly flat and level. We set up the tent and then got busy making dinner.





I had brought along a "Pack-it Gourmet" meal of Ya Ya Gumbo. There was an ingredient missing for the sauce, and the preparation was more time consuming than I would have liked, but the result was good and we ate heartily after the arduous hike.

We hung the packs and food from the bear pole and enjoyed a nice campfire until it was time for bed. The next day's hike would be more of the same - up and up.

Yellowstone Backcountry - Buffalo Plateau Trail - Part 1

After waking before dawn (4:30 am) and sneaking out out the Old Faithful Inn, We made the long trip through Yellowstone, past the Grand Tetons, and into Jackson by 8 am. We ate a quick breakfast at McDonalds while the girls watched a DVD about Yellowstone wildlife. We stopeed by the "Leslie" store to see if I could pick up the necklace that Kathi fancied, but it didn't open until 10:00 am. So I took the girls to the airport and got them checked in. Back to JAckson, bought the pendant, and bought bear spray and some caddis flies at Jack Dennis.

Headed north and drove along the Gros Ventre to see the historic structures along the Mormon Row. The buildings with the Tetons in the background were spectacular!



Continued north along the Antelope Flats Road winding in and out of the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Very scenic but also very rough going along the gravel pitted road.



Made my way back onto route 191 and picked up a nail in the construciton zone near the sourht entrance of Yellowstone. Pulled over at Grant Village gas station, but no one availabel to patch the tire so I changed it but lost precious time in my Slough Creek rendezvous with Tom and Denise.

Finally made it to Slough Creek at 5:15 pm and left the rental car at the Slough Creek trailhead where we would end our hike. We got our packs together and Denise gave us a ride to the start of our hike, Hellroaring Creek trailhead.



We started out at 6:30 pm for the short couple of downhill miles to Hellroaring Creek site 2H4. We stopped at the bridge crossing the Yellowstone River and admired the view in the setting sun.





We could tell we were in the backcountry because of all the bones we saw lying around. This was not groomed touristy area!





We found the campsite (Fire ring), but there was no sign marking the spot. We hung the packs and food from a tree overhanging Hellroaring Creek, set up the tent in the dark, and went to bed.

First Yellowstone Nightmare

My Nikon digital SLR battery was dead and I realized I had forgotten the battery charger and spare battery (on the charger). I was in one of the Yellowstone campstores looking for a replacement when I woke up!

In reality, how will I charge batteries using campsites with no electricity? Anyone got some good suggestions? Rely on the kindess of RV strangers? Ranger station? Car charger?

Yellowstone and Grand Tetons itinerary set

The plans are set. The family will fly into Jackson, WY and spend two days in the Grand Tetons. Even though we made reservations in December for a trip in August, most of the accommodations in the GTs were already booked. The lodges and cabins were pricey and the park campground logistics were unreliable (more on that later) so we made reservations to stay in Colter Bay Village in their log and canvas "tent cabins". They have four bunk beds, a wood burning stove, and an outdoor barbecue grill. This set up was appealing since we'll only be staying for two days and we won't have to set up a full camp just to break it down the next day. We'll just have to unpack sleeping bags and perhaps our camp stove.

On the way from the airport to Colter Bay Village, and after picking up our rental car, we'll need to find a grocery store where we can stock up on food, stove fuel, and anything else we'll need that it didn't make sense to fly with.

The first day in the GTs, we'll probably just drive around to get the lay of the land and take lots of pictures of the mountains. Perhaps we'll get in a short hike along the 2 mile Colter Bay Nature Trail or make the pilgrimage up Lunch Tree Hill.The second day we hope to get up early and hike the 2.5 miles around Jenny Lake, then 2 miles round trip to Inspiration Point, and finish with a boat ride back across the lake to our car. We'll spend the afternoon poking around and getting ready for the next day's drive to Yellowstone.

In Yellowstone, our family will spend three days at the Madison Campgrounds (run by the commercial Xanterra Parks and Resorts) and venture out on short day hikes to explore the geyser basins, Belcher, Gallatin, and Washburn sections of the park. So far we've targeted the Upper Geyser Basin, Mystic Falls Loop, a portion of the Howard Eaton Trail and Elephant Back Mountain.

Next, we'll move our basecamp to Xanterra's Canyon Village where the family will explore the Central Plateau Canyon, and Mirror Plateau sections of the park with hikes tentatively planned along the Canyon and Crystal Falls trails, Mt. Washburn, Tower Falls, Specimen Ridge and Avalanche Peak.For our last night together as a family, we'll pack up the camp to get ready for the flight home and spend the night in the Old Faithful Inn (seems like a must-do). After an inspirational overnight, I'll drive my wife and children back to Jackson and they'll fly back home. I will drive back into Yellowstone where I'll rendezvous with a buddy for our backcountry part of the trip. We haven't settled on a destination yet or secured our backcountry permit, but once that's settled, I'll post the itinerary. Of course, I will chronicle a detailed post-trip evaluation of all places visited. After the backcountry hiking, I'll drive back to Jackson to return the rental car and fly home.

You may be wondering why we chose to fly in and out of Jackson. First, it made sense given our decision to spend the first part of our trip in the GTs, but that itinerary decision was driven, in fact, by the cost of airfare. When I was looking in December, the flights into Jackson were over $100 cheaper than flying into Bozeman for the same date range. Flying with a family of four, that had a big affect on our budget. Interestingly, the Frommer's National Parks of the American West guide that I used to do initial research provides information on the Bozeman (MT), Billings (MT), and Cody (WY) airports as the gateways to Yellowstone but does not include information on the Jackson airport even though it's closer than both Bozeman and Billings and an equal distance with Cody - strange. Do your research!

I mentioned earlier that we chose to stay at the commercial campgrounds instead of the park service campgrounds. Initially, we had wanted to stay in the park service campgrounds in both the Grand Tetons and in Yellowstone (Norris and Slough or Pebble Creek), but it was maddening that you could not make advane reservations - reservations had to be made on-site and were granted on a first come/first serve basis. This is not a very accommodating policy for travelers coming from outside the area, with kids, without a detailed knowledge of the parks and campground use, and for those with constrained itineraries (perhaps this is by design to provide deference to locals?). For instance, flying into Jackson, the flights arrive in the afternoon, and yet I was advised that the better campgrounds in the Grand Tetons fill by 10 am so it's too risky to fly in with the prospect of no place to stay. In reality, this seems to force you into commercial campgrounds, like it or not, where you can make advnace reservations. Similarly, travelling from the GTs to Yellowstone, or even from basecamp to basecamp within Yellowstone, with camping slots filling in the morning, it seems like you could be set off on a wild goose chase to find accommodations at a park campground with a vacancy but you wouldn't know if they had one until you got there. Tough policies for this planner. I'd still like to stay at Norris and may try to check on availability once in the park, but it may not be worth the effort to relocate the basecamp for a day just for a change of venue. This is something I will report on post-trip.

You may be wondering how I've been planning. I did some initial research online, but detailed information about airports, accommodations, trails, etc I'm getting from books. My local library was woefully inadequate when it came to books needed to plan, so I started buying books. I will provide additional information on the books I've purchased with a short critique on each in future blogs.

Happy New Year! For us, it's "Yellowstone Year!"

Yellowstone: November 28, 2008

While waiting outside at 6 am on Black Friday for a mystery amounted gift card at Blue Ridge Mountain Sports, I finished Tim Cahill's "Lost in My Backyard - A Walk in Yellowstone National Park". It was a good and fast read, and I particularly like the last section of the book on three backcountry treks. It's a good psych up book. I also particularly liked the section at the end of the book including the descriptions and critique of other suggested readings. Unfortunately, a quick online search of the Virginia Beach public library turned up none of the titles. How can that be?! I will check the Norfolk Public Library to see if that turns out better. If not, it's off to Amazon for some used books.

I did get one book of photos from the VB library and it was great to leaf through it with my kids. The Upper Geyser Basin looks awesome. Hope it's not too crowded!

Oh yeah. My mystery gift card was $1.00 I bought an aluminum water bottle to replace the BPA one I threw out. I will carry it with me so no more plastic bottled water for me from now on!