Ok… Yellowstone went a tad differently than planned, but we still had a great time… cold, but great!
Day one was spent attempting to summit Bunsen Peak which started off FABULOUSLY with our new crampons and trekking poles. We started our climb following along the trail and enjoying the beautiful mountain scenery… the snow was deep in places, but totally manageable. We were also on the high alert for bears, so we took the advice of the rangers and made noise as to not sneak up on anything. By making noise, we decided it was best to sing at the top of our lungs and have full on conversations with the bears we never saw. We eventually lost the trail in almost knee-deep snow… whoopsie. We snagged the obligatory selfie at our best attempt at the summit and made our way back down to the warmth of Charlie parked at the trail head!
After thawing out a bit we explored all the walking paths around Mammoth Hot Springs and those were like nothing we had ever seen before. The sulfur smell was, well… powerful, but the beauty of these natural springs easily trumped the eggy-ness! Some of the formations reminded us of coral reefs you would find on the ocean floor and one was even overtaking the walking path and a ranger was on site detailing plans to remove the path to allow the springs to grow naturally. Really amazing place.
The next day plans to see the Grand Canyon of Yellow Stone and take on a bit longer of a hike were thwarted due to weather… the roads and trails were closed… so we enjoyed venturing over to Lamar Valley instead. We found ALL the bison, having to stop more than once to let the herds pass along the road. Lamar Valley was different than our usual hikes since it was not to a specific peak or destination, more a long nature walk, but we did spot a few bison roaming the surrounding hillsides so Josh just HAD to hold one in his hand ha! By mid afternoon, the sun melting the snow on our way back made for an interesting slip-n-slide type trek back to the truck… not to mention the bison head we saw along the way… yikes!
The NEXT day we we’re again thrown off our original plan of seeing Old Faithful, The Grand Prismatic Spring, and Norris Geyser Basin when ALL THE ROADS WERE STILL CLOSED. We quickly made a change of plans to take on a hike a bit north of Yellowstone, and by a bit, I mean an hour and half drive to the middle of freaking nowhere only to find hunters at the trail head telling us the snow was upwards of 18 inches high… no thanks. So after a lovely 1.5 hour drive north, we started driving south only to realize the Yellowstone roads had OPENED after all so it was game time!
We grabbed some caffeine at a gas station and high tailed it to the southern part of the park to see the infamous Old Faithful geyser eruption… did I mention it was 14 degrees outside… sheesh! Old Faithful definitely lived up to the expectations, but we were glad to get back in the truck to regain feeling of our hands even though we were dressed for the next casting of Life Below Zero!
After being on the road ALL day to say the least, we made a quick pitstop at The Grand Prismatic Spring and did a brisk walk around in the thick steam! The steam coming off the spring mixing with the frigid air made it hard to see much and we were too busy anyway trying to not slip on the snow/ice on the narrow walkway and fall in!
Yellowstone definitely got the best of us weather-wise, so due to mother nature’s temperamental cold front we will have to make a trip back another time to truly experience this amazing place.
Time to head south and thaw out a bit… stay tuned!
Getting Lost and Eating Cake 