Unlike summers past, 2009 was not a great year for wildlife sightings. Even Dow, who spends most of his summers in the Canadian Rockies (often solo), said he'd yet to see a bear that season.
Total count for the summer 2009 roadtrip: 3 bears (one in Kananaskis and 2 in Glacier NP), 1 moose and 1 fox. And a bunch of the "normal animals" = elk and mule deer.
Showing posts with label Yellowstone National Park. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yellowstone National Park. Show all posts
Wildlife On the Road
Hoyt Peak (10,506 Feet)
Where: Absaroka Range, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
When: July 2008
Partners: DB
Route: North Ridge (Class 3)
Mileage/Gain: 4/2,200
Much more striking than its slightly higher northern neighbor, Avalanche Peak, Hoyt Peak is a particularly nice mountain in the Absaroka Range. Its precipitous east face and narrow(ish) north ridge leading to the summit, invite the intrepid scrambler!
Heading up the initially easy ridge, it soon narrows, becomes craggy, and offers a little dose of class 3 (and harder, if one likes) scrambling to the highpoint.
TOPO
Yellowstone's Avalanche Peak (10,568 Feet)
Where: Absaroka Range, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
When: July 2008
Partners: DB
Route: Avalanche Peak Trail (Class 1)
Mileage/Gain: 5/2,200
Despite the cool-sounding name, Avalanche Peak is a mellow mountain located in the Absaroka Range on the eastern edge of Yellowstone National Park. It makes for a fine half-day hike in a sublime wilderness.
With an initial walk through the forest, one comes above the treeline and the views open up. There, we began to encounter snow.
Soon reaching a cairned highpoint, one drops down ever so slightly and walks the final 100-yards across the wildflowered tundra to the highpoint.
Once on the highpoint, one never wants to leave...
*Despite reading of a knife-edge ridge on the way to the summit, and being told by a ranger that one "must climb an arete" to reach the top, neither exists. This route is certifiable, 100% pure, easy trail...all the way.
TOPO
A Few Days in Yellowstone National Park
Where: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
When: July 2008
In July 2008, DB and I made a pass through Yellowstone National Park. It was her first visit, and my second. It never disappoints: wildlife, geysers, hotsprings, mudpots, massive Yellowstone Lake, rivers and waterfalls, the Absaroka Range, on and on...
And my favorite hydrothermal feature in the park, Dragon's Mouth...
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