Traveling Tuesday: Yellowstone National Park

Words & Photos: Kelley Wren
Other Photos Contributed by: Sarah Anderton, Scott Schlegel

In the last month, the Yellowstone National Park’s tourist have been getting a bad wrap. From tromping all over the highly sensitive Grand Prismatic Spring to calf-napping a baby buffalo; things have not been going well for the park’s good name. Well, I’m here to finally pick up and dust off that name with this week’s Traveling Tuesday. I was able to get a small crew together to come out to the park and enjoy the wilderness away from the tourist and the busy scenic by-ways.

The backcountry of Yellowstone is not a location to be taken lightly. Permits are required as well as an orientation before you begin your adventure. You need to be educated about the wildlife you will most definitely encounter while you are far from civilization as well as the terrain you will be trekking on. The backcountry rangers are there in the beginning to make sure you are physically capable for the journey ahead and that you are packing in the right equipment and nothing harmful. After that, you are on your own with only the support of your fellow backpackers.

But don’t let this deter you! I more so am hoping to motivate some of you to do the same! My three day exploration of Yellowstone far from the crowds and cries of people was eye opening, intimidating and special. To have so much land laid before you it’s memorizing and inspiration itself to keep going.

Coming from Breckenridge, Colorado, my partner-in-crime, Scott and I made the 11 hour journey to northern Yellowstone a multi-day venture. The first stop on our radar was Jackson, Wyoming. After cruising the main streets of the town and enjoying a cool brew at the Snake River Brewery we had to Google some near-by places to set up camp. We were pretty fortunate with Jackson, only one campsite was open for the season at this point in the year and when we arrived it happened to be opening day! Jenny Lake campground was gorgeous and secluded, located right in Grand Teton National Park, just north of Jackson. It is easy to see how in peak season, it probably fills up quickly and constantly, but for the beginning of May we were one of the few tenters among the sites.

Jenny Lake was created by a receding glacier. The water is so clear it invites you in for a swim, but the frigid temperature keeps you away to admire from afar.

We were up and out early the next morning, but Grand Teton National Park is definitely one that I will have to return to for a better look around. But, it was time to get into Yellowstone. Our drive was detoured from our original plans from the south entrance still being closed, but we were again lucky to hear that the west entrance had recently opened up it’s gates only three and a half hours away.

The west entrance flows you into the small town of Madison. Less than 20 miles away from Old Faithful, as well as the Grand Prismatic Spring and other paint pots, Madison is a bustling area. We sent it straight to the campground to secure our own site before heading out to stretch our legs.

Old Faithful, the most popular and historic landmark in the park, was our first stop. The parking lot is huge and equipped to hold hundreds of people’s cars at a time. Again, since it was still cool weather and so early in the season when we pulled in it was next to empty. This gave us an unobstructed view of the geyser. Within ten minutes of our arrival, Old Faithful erupted, holding her liquid structure for more than a few minutes.

Moving on we enjoyed walking the short loops through the different hot springs and paint pots. The biggest of the series and most beautiful was the Grand Prismatic Spring. The G.P.S. is a hot spring that is home to millions of different bacterias artistically dying the surface they grow from.

We went to bed with the sun to be refreshed for the backcountry journey ahead. In the morning we trucked along the Grand Loop Road to find ourselves at Mammoth Hot Springs in the north of the park for our orientation with the park rangers and meeting up with the second half of our crew.

We decided on our route months before our trip and settled on Yellowstone River Trail in Black Canyon. It is a thru-hike placing one of our cars at each end of the trail. We began the 17 miles walk at Hellroaring Creek trail before transferring to Yellowstone River Trail.

The beginning was a casual stroll downhill into the canyon and flattened out as we crossed the foot bridge over the Yellowstone River. We had six and a half miles to go until our first camp site. During the day we spotted all sorts of wildlife. American Bison filled the fields and Pika scurried through the tall grass; a badger was caught digging around for some grub and even a groundhog was relaxing underneath some shade. Not another person was seen until we completed the journey. We were officially in the wild.

For three days we covered the miles, took in the views with the weather. We experienced spring, summer, fall and winter all in one. We were always respectful and observant of our environment. Making noise around each blind turn to not come up on an animal unannounced, keeping an appropriate distance between ourselves and the wildlife, packing out what we packed in, staying on the trail and always correctly storing our food. It was an experience to remind you how small you are in the world.

Our final day had the fewest miles to be covered. We were chased out of the backcountry at a quick pace with a snowstorm on our tails. With only a few hundreds yards left of the climb out of the canyon the beast of Yellowstone was spotted. Chowing down on a buffalo carcass, too close for comfort, a Grizzly Bear was enjoying being out of hibernation. Thankfully, we were all equipped with bear mace, but it went unused. He was too busy to even look our way, but we knew better than to linger.

We had come out of the woods successful, experienced and slightly changed for the better. Our knowledge and respect not just for the animals but for our environment was enhanced and had us wanting more.

-VNTRbirds

More from Traveling Tuesday:
Moab, Utah
Telluride, Colorado
Steamboat Springs, Colorado
Cat’s Cali Roadtrip Part II