Training Log Archive: JanetT

Event: 2008 Laramie Daze & US Champs
 

After entering Grand Teton NP, we stopped at a Visitor Center near Colter Bay and found a little walk out onto a peninsula jutting into Jackson Lake, so we took it. The lake water was COLD.

AOWN: After dinner at the Pioneer Grill in the Jackson Lake Lodge, we went out onto Lunch Tree Hill to see if we could spot some moose (it's supposed to be an excellent location to see them). There were hundreds of elk in several clearings that we saw first, but then Glen spotted a dark shape moving off in a different direction. The binoculars confirmed it was a mama moose and a fairly good-sized calf. The elk at times looked nervous and grouped up, then dispersed; we later learned that someone had noted a grizzly bear in the area, but we never saw it.

Hike in YNP (Canyon rim trail).

Hike along the Yellowstone Canyon Rim from the parking area near the Lower Falls. We even did the descent halfway down the canyon on the Uncle Tom trail, which descends ~240 steps. Spent as little time as possible near Artist Point (because you could drive there too, and there were LOTS of tourists jockeying for position to take photos), and continued to Point Sublime, where there was one other hiker. It wasn't quite as sublime as I had expected, but we did see intriguing and beautiful views along the way there. On the way back we took the inland route which bypassed several mudpots and lakes.

Time estimated; my FR was turned off between Artist Point and Point Sublime.

Went the opposite direction from the Lower Falls parking lot to a canyon-side overlook of the Upper Falls (also viewable from the Brink of the Falls parking area on the north side of the canyon). I was impressed with how green the water looked, as opposed to the expected blue.

Hike in YNP (Lamar Valley).

YNP - Hike into Lamar Valley, from the Soda Butte parking area to Cache Creek. It was mid-day, so there wasn't a lot of wildlife to be spotted, though we saw an antelope, a bison, several mule deer, a sage grouse and babies crossing the path in front of us, and lots of different wildflowers.
Spoke briefly to a forest range who was riding a horse (and "towing" three others) back the way we had come; he asked if we had seen wolves, which are also in the immediate area.

AOWN: On the drive up to Lamar Valley we saw an eagle flying over the Yellowstone River. Later we stopped near Mt. Washburn and saw 2 black bears. After our hike we drove up towards Mammoth Springs and saw a bull moose grazing in a low marshy area. Of course we saw lots of bison and elk the whole time we were in Yellowstone, but I was hoping the bears and moose would be easier to spot. :-)

Event: Northwest Forest Frenzy
 

Spent the day in the Old Faithful Geyser basin. We'd originally planned to do this over the weekend, but on Wednesday when we arrived in Yellowstone there was a forest fire on the east side which closed the part of the loop road between Canyon and Lake (where we were staying). It wasn't reopened until noon on the 1st, so we postponed activities on the east side of the park until the weekend.

Hiked maybe 3-4 miles in the basin, including a climb to an overlook of OF (from which we missed an eruption; arriving at the tail end), not measured on FR. Lots of interesting stuff to see besides Old Faithful; my favorite formation was a cone-type geyser called Castle Geyser, which was bubbling but not erupting.

Also peered at geysers in the Black Sand geyser area.

YNP hike to Fairy Falls, a 100'+ high waterfall coming down the edge of a hill. Along the trail near a wet streambed we heard an odd repetitive sound; a short while later we encountered a woman headed the other way who asked, "Did you hear the sandhill cranes?" I guess we did.

After Fairy Falls, we continued on to Imperial Geyser, which was alternately colorful and bubbly.

Also on the agenda today: the Lower Geyser basin including Steamboat geyser, which was spouting about 20' or so (but isn't considered erupting until it's about 200'!), Great Fountain Geyser (which arrived just in time to see) and Fountain Paint Pots. Walked on boardwalks but didn't use FR to note distance.

We also took a little detour off the trail to a viewpoint overlooking the Grand Prismatic Spring (the lower one which looks more like a peacock feather than the other, Excelsior Spring, which bubbles up 4000 gallons of hot water per hour!). It was pretty neat to see the various colors reflected in the steam rising above the spring.

AOWN: Besides the sandhill cranes we heard, we saw a yellow-bellied marmot near the waterfall area.

Hike in Yellowstone National Park, from parking area near Gibbon Creek to Monument Geyser. Monument is a cone geyser (as opposed to a fountain geyser) about 8-10 feet tall, but was only steaming occasionally when we were there). Still, a nice hike to introduce us to YNP.

[Times/distances are from my Forerunner, which doesn't agree with Glen's.]

Also walked on boardwalks around Norris Geyser Basin, not measured.

Hiked trails around Craters of the Moon National Monument near Arco, Idaho (home of the first domestic nuclear power plant), including around some spatter cones and through lava tubes (both open- and closed-end caves). We didn't go in the one that's supposed to have ice and icy water puddles! Time is an estimate.