Yellowstone National Park - Madison Campground

[covering Fri 9/10 thru Sat am 9/11; We're currently in Bozeman, MT, staying with friends - I'm trying to catch up after 5 days with little/no cell coverage - and no time to blog]

We were up by 6:30am, skipped coffee and breakfast, quickly packed up the van and were on the road by 7:15 for the ~30min drive to Yellowstone National Park. We have 5 nights planned in or near the park, spread across 4 different lodging locations, in the hopes of seeing as much of the vast park as possible. Got to the South park entrance at 7:45, then headed directly to Old Faithful, a pretty, hour-long drive, hoping to beat the crowds to this popular destination. Our plan worked perfectly. We pulled into the expansive parking lot at 8:45 and easily got a spot close to the geyser. Karri pulled up the park app on her phone and realized the next eruption was schedule for 8:53 (+/-10min), so we hustled over and found a viewing spot amongst a fairly small morning crowd, waited a few minutes before the show started.

Welcome!

Right on schedule

After the eruption, we walked to the Old Faithful Lodge to grab coffee and breakfast to-go (surprisingly good - excellent biscuits!), which we enjoyed on a bench next to Old Faithful, while we mapped out our plan for the day. After breakfast, we loaded up our backpacks with water, snacks, bear spray, etc., walked through the gorgeous Old Faithful Inn, then headed out on the Upper Geyser Basin trail.

Would love to stay here... maybe next time

Fireplace and clock in the lobby of the Old Faithful Inn

The Geyser Basin trail is a wooden boardwalk that winds through dozens of unique geysers, hot springs and thermal pools - all with great names. It was fascinating to see all the different colors and formations, and to listen to the gurgle of boiling water or the spray of erupting geysers. Our timing was fortunate, as we caught a second eruption of Old Faithful from the opposite side.

Tardy Geyser

Chromatic Pool

Steaming geyser run-off spilling into the Firehole River

Upper Geyser Basin boardwalk

Sapphire Pool

The trail forms a loop, but we noticed at the far, northern end of the loop there was a short connector to the Mystic Falls trailhead, which was on our list of highly rated hikes - so off we went. The connecter was a half-mile dirt trail that passed more geysers and pools before crossing a road at the Mystic Falls trailhead. We headed up the loop trail, climbing about 900ft through tall pines, occasionally catching views back to the geyser basin. We were fortunate to reach a small clearing and notice Old Faithful erupting in the distance.

Old Faithful from the Mystic Falls trail

The trail summits a small peak then starts to descend before reaching the viewpoint for beautiful Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls

Stopped for a snack at the base of Mystic Falls

The rest of the loop provided great views of the Little Firehole River and several meadows where I felt sure we'd see a bear (nope). We got back to the trailhead, crossed the road, picked up the connector, then followed the remainder of the Geyser Basin loop trail back to the Old Faithful Inn, catching our first two (somewhat startling) bison sightings along the way, before finishing a great ~9mi combo-loop hike. 

Bison lounging 20ft off the boardwalk

Got back to the van just before 3pm. We were hungry and tired (and noticed we had intermittent cell coverage), so made a couple sandwiches, grabbed a couple beers from the cooler, walked back toward Old Faithful where we found rustic rocking chairs on the porch of an arts/gift shop - a perfect lunch spot. After lunch, I quickly wrapped up one of our Grand Teton posts, then we headed to the van to start driving to Madison Campground. We decided to stop at the Grand Prismatic Spring Overlook, parked and walked the boardwalk through a field of large and beautiful springs.

Exelsior Geyser Crater

Grand Prismatic Spring

We headed to the 300+ site Madison Campground and were pleasantly surprised to pull into a quiet and somewhat private site. Setup camp, poured cocktails, then sat down to a delicious meal of pasta with chicken-apple sausage and broccoli next to the campfire. 

Essential provisions =)

Dinner in Madison Campground

Early to bed with plans to move on to the Canyon, Hayden Valley and the Lake regions of the park in the morning. Another great day of first-time sights and experiences!

Hiking: ~10mi

Biking: 0mi 

Grand Teton National Park - Colter Bay Campground

[Covering Wed 9/8 thru Fri morning 9/10]

We arrived at the String Lake trailhead parking lot a few minutes after 8am and, as the ranger had predicted, we got one of the last available parking spots. It was about 38 degrees and slightly overcast as we hit the trail for the hike around the north end of Jenny Lake, eventually picking up the Cascade Canyon Trail to Lake Solitude. It's roughly 9 miles from the parking lot to Lake Solitude - and mostly uphill. We had decided we'd go as far as we felt we could handle and, if necessary, turn back before the lake. Yeah, right... We're doing the whole thing!

String Lake trailhead, 8:30am, 38 degrees; start of a long day of hiking

The first portion of the hike was beautiful, with great views of the morning light on Jenny Lake. We hardly saw another hiker and were on the alert for animal sightings, with my trusty canister of bear spray latched to my pack! We got to the Cascade Trailhead, next to the boat landing, just before 9am. Would have been at least an hour later - and hit the trail with 30+ other people - if we had taken the boat. Right choice, even though it added 3.5 total miles to the hike.

Sun coming up over Jenny Lake

We hiked to Hidden Falls, then continued on to Inspiration Point, before setting out on the Cascade Canyon Trail. From the start, we both felt it was one of the more beautiful trails we've hiked, as we passed through dense forests, open meadows, giant boulder fields and more, alongside a number of streams and rivers, all in the morning shadow of Grand Teton. After about 4 miles (total), we saw a moose about 40 yards off the trail, munching on the tall grass. He was rather inconsiderate in that he never turned around to pose for a photo, though we do have several nice shots of his butt!

Inspiration Point

Moose butt

After about 6 miles of gentle uphill, we passed a junction where we turned slightly north and started to climb more aggressively. I have to say, the last 2 miles up to the lake were a slog, but we pressed on - and were we glad we did! Lake Solitude sits at the basin of a slide area, with a rocky slope on one side and a delightful meadow on the other. The lake is fed from glacier melt that streams down the rocks. 

Getting close to the top

Lake Solitude

We walked part-way around the meadow side until we found a quiet spot to sit, take our boots off and relax. We both eventually worked up the nerve for a quick take-your-breath-away plunge in the freezing water. It felt so good, especially after the 9mi uphill hike. We dried in the sun over peanut butter and honey sandwiches, then packed up and started the journey back down. 

The initial, steeper descent was tough but the trail got easier once it leveled off a bit. We made great time - partly due to gravity and partly due to our desire to get off our feet. We got back to the parking lot shortly after 5pm - 9 hours and 18 miles after starting out - exhausted and exhilarated from another amazing adventure. We took a quick dip in String Lake to cool off and wash off some of the trail dust before heading to our campsite at Colter Bay. 

We had hoped for cell coverage in the campsite (something that's been difficult to come by) but had no signal, so we drove a few miles back down the road to Jackson Lake Lodge (and its 3 bars of Verizon coverage) to dial into my weekly Zoom call with my siblings! We said goodbye after about 25 minutes, drove back to camp, quickly got setup, made dinner, started a fire and enjoyed a lovely fireside dinner of chicken and rice with black beans and corn. So good. In bed around 10. We both slept very well.

Thursday we decided to take it easier, driving through the park to some of the sites we had missed or passed - Oxbow Bend, Snake River Overlook, Cunningham Cabin, and a stroll along Jenny Lake. 

Grand Teton from Oxbow Bend

Snake River Overlook - where Ansel Adams' snapped his famous Teton photo

Leisurely walk along Jenny Lake

Early afternoon, we stopped at Signal Mountain Lodge where we took a walk along the edge of the the lake/reservoir, which was about 35ft below its normal depth. It was sunny and hot, so we found a spot for a quick swim to cool off before heading back. 

Shore of Jackson Lake near Signal Mountain Lodge

Next stop was Jackson Lake Lodge, where we decided to grab a cocktail on their outdoor patio and surf the 3 bars of cell signal (me working on the blog, Karri sorting through photos). The place started to fill up with folks coming to watch the sunset so we decided to stick around and have dinner (and another cocktail) and enjoy the view. 

Sunset over the Tetons from Jackson Lake Lodge

15min drive back to camp for a campfire before heading to bed around 10. Up early for the drive to Yellowstone. Expect very infrequent cell coverage for the next several days, so may be even slower to post our next update.

Jackson Hole, WY and Grand Teton National Park

[Mon 9/6 thru Wed 9/8 - We'll be spending 4 nights in/near Grand Teton NP. This post covers the first two, while we stayed in Jackson Hole]

The drive from Alpine North to Jackson Hole was quick (30min), easy and pretty - winding alongside the Snake River. We found a great bagel shop, Pearl Street Bagels, for an easy breakfast.

Bagel, coffee and morning sunshine

After breakfast, we headed to the Moose Junction Visitor Center entrance to Grand Teton park. Checked out the very nice visitor center, then changed clothes, unloaded the bikes and started riding along a lovely paved bike path through the park. We rode 8 miles to Jenny Lake, enjoying spectacular mountain views the entire way. We locked the bikes and wandered around the south side of the lake a bit. Our plan for Wed morning was to ride a shuttle boat across the lake to the Cascade Canyon trailhead. Fortunately, we stopped by the boat dock to check hours of operation - after Labor Day they reduce hours and don't open until 10am, too late for our plans. We stopped at the visitor center where a ranger recommended starting at the String Lake trailhead instead - as long as we arrive by 8am to get a parking spot.

Start of the ride to Jenny Lake

We got back on the bikes and started riding the trail back. We stopped about halfway back at the Taggart Lake trailhead and set out on a ~4mi loop, with a decent climb up to a beautiful, wooded lake. We were hot and tired and so decided to take a quick dip. It was icy cold but so refreshing - a great call. We continued on the loop, descending through a beautiful forest and back to the trailhead where we hopped back on the bikes and rode the last 4 miles back to the car. 

Start of Taggart Lake loop

All smiles after a refreshing dip!

Back on the trail - middle peak is Grand Teton

We have 5 consecutive nights of camping coming up in Grand Teton and Yellowstone, so had decided to splurge a little and stay at Huff House Inn in Jackson Hole for a couple nights. We checked in around 5, took a quick shower, then hit the outdoor hot tub, before walking into town to find some dinner. The streets were busy and most places had long waits for a table. We checked a few spots before finding two open bar seats at the highly-rated Snake River Grill - another splurge, but oh-so-good. After dinner, we wandered town a bit before heading back to the inn for a great night of sleep.

Up around 7:45am for a nice breakfast at the inn. Relaxed in our room for a bit before driving out to take in some more sights on an, unfortunately, smokey morning. We headed to Schwabacher Landing - a beautiful, quiet spot along the Snake River, and then to Snake River Overlook, where it was difficult to make out the mountains through the forest fire smoke. 

Smoky Tetons from Schwabacher Landing

We had purchased tickets to ride the gondola at Teton Village on the west side of the mountains and wondered whether it would be worth it in the smoke, but decided to give it a try anyway. We drove the ~30min to the ski resort and took the Bridger Gondola up to about 9,000ft. Karri had read that the restaurant in the roundhouse at the top of the gondola was famous for waffles. We arrived around lunchtime and decided to order a couple slices of pizza and (when in Rome...) the Gateway Waffle - a waffle sandwich made with peanut butter and bacon. Mmmm. I can't believe it took me 55 years to discover this culinary delight!

Bridger Gondola

Carb-loading at 9,000ft (with the smokey Tetons in the distance)!

After lunch, we decided we should probably burn some calories, so headed out on the 2-mile long Casper Ridge loop, with a steep (tough) climb from the roundhouse. There were several viewpoints that would have provided amazing views of the Tetons, but we could barely make them out through the smoke - another sad reminder of the fires burning throughout the west. Despite the smoke, the trail was beautiful and a surprisingly challenging workout. 

Smoke-shrouded Tetons in the distance

We got back to the roundhouse, took the gondola back down and headed to the car. We were anxious to get back to the inn and then take care of a few necessary tasks - laundry, grocery shopping, and a car wash (to get rid of accumulated dead bugs and sap). We finished our chores and got back to our room around 7. Decided to order takeout, Annie's Thai Kitchen (highly recommend), which we enjoyed on the patio with a cocktail.

Thai and manhattans on the patio

Early to bed for an early departure in the morning. We had requested grab-and-go breakfast so we could get an early start and make it to the String Lake trailhead by 8am. Up at 7, checked out and on the road at 7:30 with a long day of hiking ahead of us!

Caribou-Targhee National Forest

 [Sun 9/5 thru Mon am 9/6]

Well that was... different.

The ~4hr drive from Park City was easy and, at times, beautiful. The route straddles the Utah, Wyoming and Idaho borders, passing through open prairies, ranchland, and a few small towns. 

Open road

Afton, WY - population 2,058 (2019)

We had decided to camp outside of Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National park, in part because campgrounds and hotels in those areas were booked up for the holiday weekend. On a map, Alpine North campground looks like it's right up our alley - on the shores of a large reservoir formed from the Snake River. We had visions of renting kayaks for a paddle on the reservoir or a bike ride along the river.

We pulled into the campground mid-afternoon and checked out our site - decent enough - before heading out to explore the shores of the reservoir. We both noted that the vast majority of vehicles we passed were pick-up trucks or motorhomes towing some form of adventure vehicle - dirt bikes, buggies, ATVs, etc. Once we caught a glimpse of the reservoir, we understood why. The reservoir was clearly at a fraction of its normal depth, leaving vast stretches of dried up lake bed which had become makeshift campgrounds - and playgrounds - for the ATV crowd. There were dozens of 'pods' of camps spread along the few miles that we drove. One appeared fairly close to actual water, so we decided to drive down and check it out. Our shiny blue Mercedes-Benz camper van drew lots of stares from the made-in-the-USA-mud-covered-truck crowd, and the road became increasingly more treacherous with potholes and mud, so we decided this probably wasn't the place for us and turned around.

Halfway back to camp, we pulled over at a less populated spot and decided to try our luck riding bikes on the dried lake bed. It was interesting but difficult to ride on the caked mud. We rode about a mile before heading back.

Reservoir ride

For our next miracle...

We headed back to camp, got setup, then relaxed a bit before happy hour and dinner - leftover steak and salad. We were slightly concerned that a large group was setting up in a nearby site - with dozens of kids, barking dogs, and a loud boom box. They were loud, but we kept reminding ourselves of the annual end-of-school camping trip we took with school families when our kids were younger, when I'm sure we annoyed lots of other campers. Karma, right? A Prince fan took control of the boombox around 9:30pm and we climbed into bed listening to 'Purple Rain' and loud conversation from the remaining crowd. They eventually turned it down and we both slept reasonably well. In the morning, we didn't even bother making coffee - opting to quickly pack up and find a coffee shop in Jackson Hole, WY, our next destination.

Hiking: 0mi

Biking: 2mi 

 

Park City, Utah

 [Sat 9/4 thru Sun am 9/5]

After four nights of camping, we were both ready for a shower(!), a bigger bed, and related creature comforts. Karri has wisely scheduled in a few hotel stays throughout our adventure and our first was in Park City, Utah. It was a short but, at times, harrowing 30-minute drive from Redman Campground to Park City. The road climbs and descends through the mountains, with hair-pin switch-backs, steep drop-offs, and few guardrails. Much of it is, understandably, closed during winter, but it's a busy thoroughfare for summertime adventure seekers. 

We arrived in Park City around 10am, both hungry for breakfast. We found a great spot, The Bridge, right in town next to a ski lift. We walked around town a few minutes while we waited for a table, then returned to enjoy a delicious breakfast on their patio.

Pre-breakfast stroll through beautiful Park City

After breakfast, we walked through town, which was much larger than we had expected. It's a nice, high-end ski town with lots of expensive shops, restaurants, bars and brew pubs. Around noon, we called our hotel to see if our room was ready (it was), and drove about a mile out of town to the DoubleTree Hotel to check in. Karri had scouted a bike trail, so we decided to postpone our R&R to get in an afternoon ride - a great call. 

We rode our bikes a half mile from the hotel to the start of the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail. The trail runs north from Park City for 28 miles along reconstructed rail beds. We decided to ride for a while and see how far we felt like going. The first ~4 miles were paved, passing through suburban Park City and getting increasingly more rural, then switched to dirt/gravel as we rode through open ranchland - all of it gently downhill.

Wide open trail to ourselves!

At the 8-mile mark, the trail meets up with I-80 - actually running between the separated east- and west-bound lanes. Realizing this section might not be as enjoyable - and day-dreaming about a dip in the hotel pool - we decided to turn around. We definitely felt the uphill on the return, but were aided by an occasional tailwind. We got back to the hotel around 3:30, started a load of laundry, cleaned up, headed to the outdoor pool for a dip, then hot tub, before lounging in the sun. It felt great to relax for a while. We took turns showering and finishing the laundry, got dressed and headed back into town to... catch the Purdue football game at a sports bar!

Table with our own TV to watch the Boilers!

We watched the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the game, with me frequently texting with my college buddies and our son, Matthew, who was at the game. We had to leave early in the 4th quarter (with Purdue holding onto a small lead) for a dinner reservation at a spot Karri had picked near our hotel. My buddies kept me updated on the game via text message (sorry sweetie! but we won!) while we enjoyed a delicious meal on the outdoor patio - pork chop for Karri, trout for me (plus Karri's leftovers!). It was a great evening.

An indulgence on our rugged adventure

We were back at the hotel around 10:30pm, exhausted, full, and very much looking forward to sleeping in a king bed! We both slept great. I was up first, tip-toed out to the lobby to grab a coffee and work on the blog. Once Karri got up, we had breakfast at the hotel, worked on the blog some more, then packed up and hit the road for the ~4hr drive to Alpine North Campground in the Caribou-Targhee National Forest, outside Jackson Hole, WY. Park City was a great stop and a nice way to recharge!

Hiking: 0mi

Biking: 16mi 

Solitude and Brighton - Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest

 [Thu 9/2 thru Sat am 9/4]

I wasn't looking forward to the 9hr drive from Joshua Tree to the Redmond Campground in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest, east of Salt Lake City, but was pleasantly surprised by stretches of it. The first leg passed through the Mojave Desert, which was vast and surprisingly beautiful. It looked like it had rained recently and so the landscape was greener and more vibrant than we had expected. The Las Vegas to SLC portion of the drive on I-15 was less interesting, but has some nice stretches - and an 80mph speed limit! We stopped a few times for gas/restrooms and to pick up a few items, but otherwise made good time, arriving in camp around 7pm.

Mojave Desert as far as you can see

More Joshua Trees - native to Mojave

Redman Campground was less than half full and we were pleased to find we had a large, private spot for 2 nights of camping. We setup camp as the sun set and temperatures dropped - the campground is at 8,300 feet in Big Cottonwood Canyon. We enjoyed happy hour, followed by a smoked salmon dinner around our first campfire of the trip, as there was no burn ban in effect. 

Campsite at Redman Campground

Fireside dinner

Star-filled night sky

We gazed at the stars until around 10pm, then climbed in the van. It was getting cold with rain in the forecast, so we kept the top down. Rain started shortly after we climbed into bed and temps dropped into the low-40's. We bundled up and both slept well. We decided to take our time in the morning before leaving around 10am for the 5min drive up to the trailhead at Brighton Ski resort. There are dozens of trails in the area. Karri had scouted out a 7+ mile loop that included three 10,000+ft summits and a handful of mountain lakes. We hit the trail around 10:30am under gorgeous skies and 60-degree-and-warming temperatures.

Start of the trail alongside Silver Lake with 10,735ft Mount Wolverine in the distance

Initial climb through a beautiful forest

The trail started at about 8,600ft. After a short, easy stroll past Silver Lake, we had a get-the-blood-flowing climb to Twin Lake at 9,500ft. After the first mile or so, we mostly had the trail to ourselves. 

Twin Lake with Patsy-Marley Peak on the right

Trail up to Patsy-Marley Peak

From Twin Lake we climbed another 1,000ft up to 10,525ft Patsy-Marley Peak - the first of 3 summits on our route. The last stretch before the summit required us to scramble up a boulder field - at times on all fours - with a steep drop-off to the left and slightly-less-steep drop-off to the right. It definitely challenged my fear of heights!

Twin Lakes from Patsy-Marley Peak

We made it!

Mount Wolverine from Patsy-Marley

We paused at the summit to catch our breath, soak in the views, and take a few photos. Looking ahead to our next stop, 10,762ft Mount Wolverine, and the narrow, precarious-looking(!) path to get there, I briefly pondered my mortality, but decided to press on anyway! My intrepid wife was mostly unfazed - and incredibly supportive. There were a few breath-taking stretches, but we were able to slowly and safely work our way up. I'm so glad we did! We soaked in the top-of-the-world views over almond butter and jelly sandwiches.

Summit of Mt Wolverine, looking back to Patsy-Marley (center-right)

Lunch at 10,762ft! Trail behind (left), trail ahead (right)

From Wolverine, it was all (mostly) downhill, with a relatively easy trail to 10,601ft Mount Tuscarora, our 3rd and final summit. We were both surprised at the realization that we'd only gone about 4 miles from the trailhead - with the 2,100ft elevation gain, it felt like we had traveled much further. From Tuscarora, we had a steep initial decent to Lake Catherine, a little further down to Lake Martha and, finally, Lake Mary. From there it was a mostly steady decent as we followed and occasionally crossed a small stream.

Lakes Catherine (right) and Martha (left) from Tuscarora summit

Start of our decent

Lake Mary (9,400ft) with 3 summits in the background - Tuscarora behind trees on the left

Like horses heading back to the barn, we hustled the last stretch, with portions of it following blue (moderate) ski runs to the bottom. We were both tired, but exhilarated and proud of our accomplishment. We drove back to camp, where we set up the hammock for Karri to take cat-nap while I grabbed a beer and worked on the blog.

Post-hike R&R in camp

After relaxing a bit, we poured a cocktail and started making dinner - pasta with sausage and a salad - which we enjoyed fireside as the sun set. We star-gazed for a while, inching closer to the fire as the temperature quickly started to drop. By 9:30, we were both ready for bed. We decided to leave the top up this time, and grabbed an extra layer of bedding to keep us warm. Once again, we both slept well. In the morning, we made coffee, but opted to wait and have breakfast at our next destination, Park City, UT, just 30min away. We packed up camp and were on our way around 9:30am, having thoroughly enjoyed our 2 days in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. Highly recommend!

Hiking: 7.7mi

Biking: 0mi