Yellowstone: Black Sand Basin
This was my first visit to West Thumb Geyser Basin near Yellowstone Lake in the southeast corner of the park.
Yellowstone Canyon, Cascade Lake, and Mammoth Hot Springs
Our second day we drove over the the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone and walked over to Inspiration Point on the north rim. The road was closed and we had the place all to ourselves.
We also did a 5 mile out and back to Cascade Lake, where we saw a couple of mellow looking bison hanging out under a tree.
In the evening we ended up checking out the geothermal features at Mammoth Hot Springs. I hadn’t been there all summer and it was interesting to see how the area changed.
Yellowstone October
Hilary and I just got back from a weekend trip to Yellowstone. Cold weather finally hit Montana and everything was looking rather wintery.
Our first evening we ended walking around Norris Geyser Basin as darkness set in. In the low light the rising steam from the geothermal features combined with the barren landscape made for a surreal experience.
Blodgett Canyon Climbing: Drip Buttress
On Tuesday my friend Steve and I did a 5-pitch climb up the Original Route on the Drip Buttress in Blodgett Canyon. It is 3 pitches of 5.9 followed by two of 5.8. We had some awesome weather for October in Montana, sunny all day and the windiest part was at the base of the climb.
It was definitely a long day, taking us about 3 hours to walk off the route once we had finished climbing and get back to the car. I am really sore now but it was well worth it.
Biking to Stevensville
From Wikipedia
Stevensville is officially recognized as the first permanent settlement in the state of Montana. Forty-eight years before Montana became the nation’s 41st state, Stevensville was settled by Jesuit Missionaries at the request of the Bitter Root Salish Indians.
An Asheville Evening
A few more pictures of Asheville that I took one evening over the summer.
Going Home
From Static Peak at 11,303 ft, about 10 miles of hiking to Death Canyon Trailhead at 6800 ft. Load up the car, down highway 287 to Jackson, west over Jackson Pass, north through Idaho to West Yellowstone, through Gallatin Canyon to Bozeman, drop off Busy, 200 more miles west down I-90 to Missoula, Montana. It was a long day.
To Static Peak Summit
Our last day was the most epic. After eating breakfast and packing up, we hiked out of Alaska Basin, and alongside the base of Buck Mountain. After cutting around Buck Mountain the trail takes you up some really steep mountainside with some amazing views until you are within a couple hundred feet of Static Peak.
Busy and I made a short excursion to the top of Static Peak and were rewarded with some really nice views of the Grand Teton, Jackson Hole, and the scenery we had been hiking through for the last day or so.
