Beaver
Ponds, Wraith Falls, Yellowstone National Park
Happy birthday to Peri
and Happy Anniversary to Jim and Peri!
Jim and Peri met us at
Mammoth Hot Springs this morning for our six-mile hike to Beaver Ponds. The
first animals to greet us were elk right next to the start of our trail. We
skirted the elk that was closest with no incident. As we started up the trail
another elk was browsing off to the side. We felt safe from bears as Jim
carried bear spray.
The first 0.7 miles
(pant, pant) was (pant) uphill (pant, pant). We stopped to catch our breath (pant,
pant) along the way. Soon we had a good view of the surrounding mountains. The
trail wound us through the forest, across an open high sage plateau with few
trees (hence lots of sun), and finally we came upon cool, green forest and the
first three beaver ponds. They were okay, but a little disappointing.
Bob, Jim & Peri |
The trail is a loop
and we continued winding up, down and around hills in the cool forest. After
another mile or two (hard to keep track without a pedometer), we came to the
prettiest of the beaver ponds. Reflections of trees and mountains in the pond
made this a good place for photos.
On we went, around more
hills, up and down over what seemed like small moranes. Even though we were up
high on the mountain, we climbed even more and came out in the high sage
plateau. Being 12:30 p.m., the sun was beating down on us. I was hot and hungry
and set a brisk pace toward food and air conditioning--the proverbial horse
back to the barn. After about one mile of sagebrush, we crested the hill and
looked straight down into Mammoth Hot Springs. Ahhhh, close to lunch and a
comfortable chair!
We booked it down the
hill and into a grill. The grill was a madhouse…the line was four deep to the
door, and most of the tables were taken. The guys, bless their hearts, took all
our gear (hiking poles, cameras, backpacks) to the cars. While waiting in line,
Peri and I said, “The restaurant looked really nice.” We decided to go there
instead. We had cell phone service, so I called Bob to let him know we went to
the restaurant.
The prettiest beaver pond. |
Trail back through sagebrush. |
Mammoth Hot Springs. |
Happy to be finishing hike! Lunchtime. |
Wraith Falls |
Trail down from the viewpoint at Wraith Falls. |
Gardiner is a cute
little town which isn’t as crowded or touristy as West Yellowstone. I went to
the pharmacy and resupplied my hairspray and we opted for ice cream cones:
Moose Tracks for me, and Lemon Custard for Bob. Very yummy ice cream in the
pharmacy.
Bob fueled up with
diesel for $3.89/gallon. We drove across the Yellowstone River to see the rest
of Gardiner and found a very nice, newer grocery store called Food Farm. We
stocked up on fruit, meat and salad fixins, even found our favorite Cholula Hot
Sauce and Bob’s Red Mill Ground Flaxseed. Can’t beat that in the middle of
nowhere.
On the way back into
the park, I was able to take a photo of Gardiner’s historic arch without any
cars or people in the way. We then booked it back to the 5er.
Wildlife sightings today:
elk, bison, bighorn sheep, 6 sandhill cranes, coot, Canadian geese, one white
pelican, one Western grebe.
Hiked 7 miles total.
Tonight we’re going to
buy 24 more hours’ internet time. Yay!
Travel Bug out.
Thanks for sharing your photos. They're super, really made me want to return to Yellowstone. Loved the charm about ice cream in a pharmacy -- and the western town. We paid between $8.00 and $9.00 a gallon for gas in Germany, Austria, and Italy this summer. British friends pay $11.00 a gallon in England.
ReplyDeleteHi Kittie,
DeleteNot only was there an ice cream shop in the pharmacy, but the ice cream was super yummy.
Those gas prices in Europe are astronomical. I'm wondering what we'll be paying in Australia. Guess we'll find out.
Susan
Bob and Susan-we had a wonderful time on the hike. Enjoy the rest of your time at Yellowstone and we'll see you down the road.-Peri
ReplyDeletePeri & Jim,
DeleteWe had so much fun! I hope we cross paths again sooner rather than later. In the meantime, keep on blogging.
Mmmmm, Moose Tracks ice cream. What wonderful memories of Yellowstone that evokes!
ReplyDeleteEnjoy, and thanks for the great photos. I DO miss hiking there, too.
One of these years let's meet somewhere and do a couple of hikes together. When are you heading south?
Delete