West Trip Day 6 - Yellowstone National Park

    We awoke around 7am to a rather fog-filled morning. The weather up to this point has been completely clear, warm during the day, but dropping to almost freezing at night. During the night we were hit with some rain and as a result, a thick blanket of fog enveloped us. Today we planned to do a big 6 mile hike up Mt. Washburn. We decided that rather than rush out the door, and do our hike in the fog, we would take our time and let the sun burn off the haze around us.
    Leaving the cabin around 9:30am, we made our way north along the main park road to Dunraven Pass (Click for MAP).  The road was steadily rising in elevation at this point and the views to the south were amazing. At the top of the pass, 8,859 ft., we saw the parking lot for the Mt. Washburn trailhead. The parking lot was quite busy with groups getting ready for their hike up the mountain. We wasted no time preparing ourselves for a great hike.

     Mt. Washburn is and has been a very popular tourist attraction in the park since its inception. In 1870, during the Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, Henry Washburn did a solo climb of the mountain to find Yellowstone lake to the south. When the rest of the expedition eventually joined Washburn the view from the top was described as "beyond all adequate description". The mountain became so popular in the coming years that a road was built to take cars to the top. Model-T Fords ascended the mountain in reverse, since it was the only way to keep gasoline pumping to the carburetor. Eventually the road stopped being used, but what remained, was a great trail to the summit.

       During the summer there are a couple of weeks that the wildflowers are in full bloom in Yellowstone, and apparently we were there at the perfect time. The Washburn range is famous for having fields of wildflowers at lower elevations and it did not disappoint. The beginning of the hike had us traversing along the trail, slowly climbing in elevation amongst brilliant fields of wildflowers. We saw yellow violets, blue lupines, yellow balsamroots, indian paintbrush, cow parsnips, bluebells and many others. The flowers simply pop-out against the dark green of the surrounding hills and along the edges of the trail up the mountain.
      The hike itself was a bit strenuous but very enjoyable. There were a number of long switchbacks ascending up the mountain, which helped alleviate the slope. We stopped at just about each turn of the switchback to catch our breath. We were slowly rising in elevation which naturally reduces the oxygen in the air. Since we eventually would cap out at 10,200 feet, this would be a good test to see how our bodies react to such elevations. Some individuals can develop Acute Mountain Syndrome ( AMS ) when they get in the 10k range, which can manifest itself with a host of symptoms: headaches, nausea, dizziness, fatigue, etc. The only cure is to get back down in elevation.

        After 3 miles of steady uphill hiking we made it to the fire-tower at the summit of Mt. Washburn. The view was a panorama of the entire park, and was breathtaking. To the south we could see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone river and further down, the Teton range, to the north, the Absaroka mountain range. Just prior to the summit we saw a rare sight, a female mountain goat. In fact this particular mountain goat was standing right on the trail. She did not move, and was not phased at all by our presence. She was staring down the cliff. We got to within a couple feet of her and she still did not move. I was amazed she could live in such a barren and harsh environment. Gone were the lush meadows and wildflowers of the lower elevation, replaced with rocky, craggy slopes. We even saw a patch of snow.

        The fire-tower at the top was a multi-level building, with a level for hikers to view the surrounding area via scope and an observation deck. The top level was off limits, and is actually manned for the season by a ranger. Yellowstone is one of the few parks that still have live-in firetowers. This person spends from June till October living up in the tower and is sent supplies every 2 weeks. They spend their time scanning for any signs of a forest fire and have a rather meager and I assume lonely existence.
         The hike back down the mountain was naturally much faster, and

easier than the hike up. We passed by quite a few groups making their way to the top. The views on the descent were quite amazing. A few times we could actually see Old Faithful going off to the south. The perspective on the way down  made it feel like a completely different hike, though it was the same trail. When we made it to the trail-head, it was very packed and bustling with groups getting ready to hike. I think our timing was impeccable once again since we had the trail mostly to ourselves on the ascent.
        After leaving Mt. Washburn, we made our way south and decided to visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. This was a short distance away from our cabin at Canyon village and is possibly the 2nd most visited area of the park. There are two waterfalls( upper and lower ) in a massive canyon carved out by the

mighty Yellowstone river. The canyon walls are a shade of yellow. The falls are probably one of the most photographed features in the park, from a viewpoint at the end of the canyon, called Artists Point. There are two trails on either side of the canyon, the north and south trails. We decided to take the south trail, since it brings you close to the river and has a side-trail that brings you to the base of the upper falls.
       Heading out on the trail we were amazed at the enormity and power of the Yellowstone river. The trail edged its way precariously along the river bank and in certain sections became quite steep. There

were multiple rapids and one in particular really caught our attention for its depth and power. Along the trail we hit a clearing with a few trees that played host to 2 very large bull elk. They were both laying low in the grass beneath the shade of the trees, aware of our gawking presence, but unaffected. Continuing on up the trail we arrived at the side-trail that would take us to the base of the lower falls. The trail was called Uncle Tom's Trail. In 1900 a man named Tom Richardson took groups down the "trail" which was a mixture of 528 steps and rope ladders. Today it is a set of 328 metal steps and it brings you 3/4 of the way down the canyon.

       We descended down the stairs and Ill admit it was quite nerve-wracking. The steps were basically metal grates and some were bent in. Below you could see 500 feet to the canyon floor. A bent stair was all that prevented you from plunging to the bottom and the stairs did not seem like they were standard width, slightly thinner. Going down was a slow process of holding onto the railing and watching your feet carefully. We were told that a 1/3rd of the way down was an incredible view of a rainbow and the person was right on target. The rainbow was beautiful. We made it down to the bottom and started climbing back up. We had to stop at a few landings to catch our breath, and our leg muscles were absolutely burning partly from the climbing and partly from the adrenaline and anxiety. We hit the top very tired but happy we actually did it. The 2 mile hike back was tough, our legs had endured quite a workout today.
       We returned back to Canyon village and had a meal at the buffet. The bizzare thing about this particular buffet was that you could only make one trip to fill your plate. The plates they sold were in various sizes and prices. We piled up everything we possibly could on each plate, it was quite the sight. On the table the food seemed like a mountain range of its own. We needed all the calories we could get, tomorrow would be a big day. The day I have waited for since arriving in the park. The Lamar Valley!