Saturday, September 12, 2009

The Centenial Mountains and The Land of the Yellow Stone















































































Wow, it feels like forever since our last post. We hiked the Centenial Mountain Segment to Mack's Inn, ID thereby completing the entire state of Montana and a large portion of the Idaho border! We finally tried our luck and ate some wild berries, we have been missing out, they were so delicious in our fruit deprived state. Nick stopped on the trail smelling huckleberries before seeing them, farther on was a patch of wild rasberries, mmmmm, so good! We spent some time walking through the U.S. Sheep Experiment Station, thats right, our government is experimenting on sheep, no but really, research is showing that grazing of sheep does not impact the ecosystem or affect water quality the way that cattle grazing does. So less hamburgers more lamburgers. Hit the east summit of Taylor Mountain, and worked our way into the secluded canyon of Hell Roaring Creek, the top of which is "the Utmost Source" of the Missouri/Mississippi. We recorded our visit in the logbook hidden in an old ammo box. Before that we camped at Blair lake where we hung out with a moose for an hour or so. Then a very relaxing and contemplative day spent around the shores of Lillian Lake below majestic Mount Jefferson, it was bea-utiful. The next morning from inside my tent I hear "Alex, theres bears out here," and unzipped my vestibule to see a mother and two cubs a hundred feet away! Whats more is we both agree they were grizzly. It wasn't scary, more like a dream, they looked over and then calmly strolled out of sight. Wow!
After we hit Sawtell Peak, we hitched down into Labor Day weekend around Yellowstone, just use your imagination. We made our way up to West Yellowstone and scoped the place out before Meghan and David arrived! After an IMAX double feature we grabbed some supplies and headed into the park. we actually drove all the way through it to find an open campground at Eagle Creek, it was a nice perch north of the rim. We stopped off at Old Faithful and walked around the geyser basin there, inspecting an array of peculiar smoking mounds and bubbling craters. What a strange planet we live on. We got to the trailhead and headed in. Five miles to a perfect campsite along the Yellowstone River. We had a sandy beach all to ourselves at a calm part of the river, ooooh, that water is cold. The next day we dayhiked down to Knowles Falls and climbed around on the rocks in the mist of the thundering water. After a late lunch back at camp we walked over to the shore of glistening Crevice Lake. The hike out was harder, all uphill, but in the middle of rolling grasslands. We spent our last night in a campground by gigantic Lake Yellowstone. Stayed up way too late laughing around the campfire and woke up before sunrise to get David to the airport. We saw herds of bison, elk, and all of the steam rising off of the lakes and streams in the early light. Now we are but three, but just as determined to explore more of this magical place, and with that we depart back into another corner of the park for more other-worldly sights.

1 comment:

  1. What fun to have your BFFs join you! You guys certainly are living the life... and those of us back here in 'town' are living ours vicariously through you. All is well back home-- usual drama and pace, but Stacy is the one deserving the kudos on her play, to open Oct 8!! How great!
    Let us know what you need for your next drop -- lots of 'bars' still to send! -- Carolyn (and Kim and Kelly-- the messy room king!)

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