Woke up ridiculously early, approx. 4am. Should have had that 2nd beer last night. Started using the Keurig coffee making machine. It had Green Mountain Breakfast Blend Decaff from Vermont with it, along with a full octane brand. I’d seen their products in Vermont last year. Got the netbook out and started going through all the saved PDFs about the park that I had downloaded months ago. I’d decided yesterday and months ago that the day’s target was Mount Washburn, one of the highest in the park and the most popular hiking trail. I’d looked at a book last night in the gift shop to get the instructions, but it turned out that I had a better trailhead description in one of the park hiking PDF guides for it on the netbook. There were actually 2 trails from the Dunraven Pass. I could take the closer trail from the south, 4.5 miles up the road.
Went for breakfast in the lodge minutes before it officially started at 7am. It was a buffet. I was a disgrace. Loaded up twice. The second time I even ended up with watermelon. Didn’t even sit down at first when they took me to my table. Straight for the hot stuff before the vast party further up the room and around the corner realised where the hot stuff was! After the 2nd plate I headed out at approx. 0730. Made the comment to one the server’s that they’d see me drinking beer in the adjacent lounge at approx. 12 after conquering Washburn. This was a useful comment to make as she then told me that the bar didn’t open until 3pm. I would have to keep this in mind!
Drove up the road. 4.5 miles. The sun was gradually coming up. Stopped at a viewpoint before the top of the pass to get a picture to the east. Then noticed that there was bison (buffalo) in the middle of the road just up the hill. Got in the SUV and slowly drove past, taking pictures. I’d read early this morning that they can run at up to 30mph! I’d seen a couple yesterday from the road, but this was really up close! I got a blurred photograph from 2 feet or less out of my window. After I got past he/she turned, and blocked the road so no-one could get past for a few minutes. Mischevious creatures, or they just don't care. One guy in a car coming down the hill towards me started reversing, probably in a panic. The parking lot for the trailhead to Washburn was just ahead at the summit crest, 8859 feet. I parked there, 2nd vehicle of the day. Started getting the boots on and loading up the hiking backpack with the drinks. Could see the bison behind me still coming up the middle of the road. It came through the first entrance into the parking lot between the stop signs, I wasn’t going to let it get too close to me. It was too early in the trip to be Buffalo Kill, although I’m sure it would guarantee me a certain infamy back home and worldwide in the newspapers.
I hurriedly finished my preparations and walked purposely to the trailhead and got around it’s fence in case it decided to make a charge at me. It didn’t. Walked right past the vehicles and out the exit, then down the other side of the pass. Got some more pictures with my vehicle in the background.
Set off on the trail and realised straight away that I’d left the Garmin in the car due to the bison panic, went back for it and got it setup. Resumed the trail. A constant steep trail with switchbacks. Very wide and well constructed. Occasional traces of tarmac from years ago. I wonder if this was the old road.
After about 25 minutes I went around a corner and saw a backpack sitting at the side of the trail. Something is up I thought. Must be the guy from the other vehicle. He was sitting down the hillside in a steep clearing with a massive camera out. Quite a distance down the hillside clearing was a tree. The unmistakeable figure of a black bear was at the top of the tree. Never talked to the guy as I didn’t want to disturb the bear or the moment. I guess he/she was either having breakfast, or knocking breakfast to the ground for later. Maybe for the cubs. The light wasn’t great but I got some shots. The flash went off, but the bear didn’t seem to care, or didn't notice. It turned out that my camera had a 12x zoom! Took too many shots, it started to stand up at one point. Heard voices coming up the trail. It was a couple from Colorado that set off just behind me. I figured that the bear might get out of the tree when they appeared, but I’d lost patience/interest.
I kept on going up the trail. Many a switchback and some spectacular views. Eventually made the fire lookout on the summit. 1400 feet of ascent. All sorts of signs to tell you what you were looking at inside the viewing platform. This helped me as I was getting my NE etc. and N etc. mixed up due to lack of familiarity with the numerous mountain ranges. I could see all sorts of stuff from up here, incredible vantage point. The Central Plateau was south, the Grand Canyon (of the Yellowstone) to the east, could eventually pick out Yellowstone Lake when the light improved a bit more. For a while I was looking in the wrong direction for it.
Received an intermittent Emergency Signal on the mobile phone at the summit. Typed in a text message to my mother to reassure them all back home that the lack of Yellowstone blog entries were due to factors beyond my control, no joy on “Sending”. Emergency meant emergency up here. Must be run by the Park Service.
I hung around for quite a while and eventually went back down. Talked to the couple from Colorado at the top. She asked about Andy Murray and the US Open. She said they were normally in the UK at this time of year or such. I said I had no idea how he was doing, didn’t really care and that he’d become a joke back home. British when he wins, Scottish when he loses. She’d heard that too, she laughed. They said that when they saw the backpack at the hillside clearing, they joked that the owner had been dragged off by a Grizzly. I thought of the same gag 30 mins after the black bear. I guess coming from Colorado their brains work faster at altitude.
Also talked to the Fire Ranger briefly. He was concentrating more on his job scanning the horizon than chatting to me. He was a retired National Park Service employee from Massachussets. He was doing this as a summer retirement job! He was in an awesome location for it! Sleeping at the top of the mountain by himself!
Signed the visitor’s book. I expected to be the first of the day, but some guy from Florida had beat me. A flatter place than Scotland, I was ashamed. I guess he came up the other route.
Predictably the bear was gone when I got back to the clearing. Some of the many hikers now coming up the trail had bells on them to keep the bears away. One guy was rattling a can. If they’d been out earlier like us pros they’d have ruined it, we’d never have seen that bear! Fools.
Back to the car at approx lunchtime. 7.33 miles on the Garmin. Drove back to the Canyon Village. Into the grocery store. Bought 2 six-packs of beer. One was Old Faithfull Ale, the other Howling Wolf. Both from the Grand Teton Brewing Company. Almost $20.00 evaporated. Must be quality stuff. The woman in the shop said the bear family at the top of the pass were famous. Lots of people have recently seen them up trees. Cubs too. Talked to a few English tourists from a tour bus. Went back to the lodge to abandon the SUV. Hiked back to the Canyon Lodge with beer in the backpack. Sat in one of the comfortable chairs drinking a bottle of one of each type of beer, this was the life. I had one of each type. I think I preferred Old Faithfull’s Beer more than her eruption yesterday. It’ll be a miracle if these six-packs make it out of the park. I’d already done one of the signature hikes in the park. This was a brief celebration.
Spent the rest of the afternoon on a hike around some of the viewpoints above the Grand Canyon. I reset the Garmin first. Went to Inspiration Point, Grand View and the Lower Falls along the North Rim before heading back to the Lodge where the bar was now open. On the final deserted trail through the woods I wondered what I would do if I encountered a Grizzly. Take out my wallet and invite him/her, maybe the kids too, for beverages at the Lodge. That would give them something to talk about for years! Wonder what the legal drinking age for a Grizzly is?
Drank a few at the lodge. Ordered my first pint of Old Faithfull Ale from Dre of Illionis according to her badge. Turned out that’s short for Andrea. However for some reason she decided I looked like more of a Bozone drinker, that was the other draught beer they had, so she poured away the Old Faithfull glass and gave me the other one. Both would do the job. I alternated both for the rest of the evening, let her choose mainly. One came from Victor, Idaho the other came from Bozeman, Montana. After a couple I said that the tourists like myself should all get issued with name badges too. “Stu B from Scotland” etc. When I read the first nameplate the night before, I just assumed the Asian looking girl was from family called “Taiwan”. I must have been tired.
Had a pleasant evening, various conversations with people before I headed back to the room in the dark. Got various bits of gossip from Andrea. The only place you could get Internet coverage (she reckoned) was at Old Faithfull. I bet they charge through the nose for that! Some of the visitors freak out when they find this out. No TV either, the only news was going to come from the newspapers! She also said there was a rumour that the emergency mobile phone signal strength had been turned down to prevent tired hikers out in the backcountry phoning up for a rescue. Probably true.
Garmin told me in the morning that I’d done 4.5 miles after abandoning the SUV at lunchtime. That had been mercy killing after a vast early mileage across Colorado, Nebraska and Wyoming. That meant I’d hiked almost 13 miles today, and only driven 10!
I’d already planned the next day’s activities. I was going to head north, anti-clockwise thru the park to a few places.
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