Keith
Member
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2014
- Messages
- 75
I was recently in Yellowstone with my wife, son and his friend. We visited various historic sites in the woods, Turbid Lake, Heart Lake and Mount Sheridan and Electric Peak.
Day 6: Finally on July 30 we were headed to Electric Peak! We got our permits at the Canyon VC and the ranger there remembered us so things went quickly aside from our recounting of our Sheridan trip from a few days earlier. We headed to Mammoth. My wife had to head back to Seattle early to deal with a family emergency so she dropped us off at the Glenn Creek trailhead and she headed back to Seattle. We got the bad news upon returning from Heart Lake the previous day. It was pretty depressing watching her drive off. We don’t get a lot of time in the woods together so it was nice to finally have her company at Heart Lake but once a mom, always a mom, and kids come first so she needed to go help our daughter. I felt a little bad about heading into the woods again but I settled on it was OK for dad to spend quality time with a son who is 21 and could move away any time. The hike to Gardiner River at the base of Electric was beautiful. I love Swan Lake Flats.
Something interesting lurks behind this sign
Beyond the flats the hike took us through pretty meadows.
And some pretty cool stretches of woods:
We could see the false summit of Electric the entire hike. It was taunting us the entire time. Little did I know what lies between the false summit and true summit.
The hike was only about 6 miles but I was mostly weighed down by thoughts of family members dealing with problems. We arrived at 1G4 about 1PM:
We spent most of the day resting up for the big ascent the following day up Electric. We saw a moose stomping around the river near our campsite but it was so quick I didn’t get a chance to take a picture. I did explore the neighboring 1G3 and noticed an interesting sign to 1F1:
There is no official trail between 1G3 and 1F1 and off trail travel is prohibited in the area but clearly the rangers are looking the other way for this one if they are providing the signage. It’s yet another corner of the park I need to explore someday – drat!
The moonrise was spectacular that night. 1G4 faces a meadow to the South and the moon was the centerpiece that evening. I went to bed hoping Kristin made it home safely and thinking about Electric Peak.
Day 7: Electric Peak. I’ve made it to the summits of Washburn, Avalanche, Sheridan and Holmes. For the most part I’ve been able to identify them all from each other. Our attempt up Eagle was thwarted by weather the previous year. I needed to reach Electric Peak, especially after the Eagle disappointment last summer. I need to know I was on top of it whenever I drive around the park. We slept in a little later than expected but in retrospect I think the extra rest was good because we were not pressed for time. It was only 4 miles and 3000 feet up.
There are not many switchbacks going up Electric. It’s pretty much straight up.
I had a hard time keeping up with the boys:
Turns out Colin is a bit of a mountain goat and this will come in handy:
We did manage to lose the trail at one point because we got fooled by a game trail. Fortunately I had my GPS so 20 minutes of bushwhacking got us back on course. We saw plenty of sights on the way up – Holmes, Swan Lake Flats, Sepulcher and the Yellowstone plane flying in circles over Gardiner Hole. We had lunch at about 9300 feet after a grueling uphill stretch. Only 1900 more vertical feet to go! Colin was a mountain goat going nonstop whereas Jamey and I needed to rest often (especially me!). It was great to have Colin scout the easiest route for us. I think he might have done an extra 1000 feet trying to find the optimal way for us J. It’s really hard to describe the last 90 vertical feet of Electric. It’s pretty daunting.
I crossed a very narrow section of the ridge line and just panicked.
I found a little cubby and just tried not to cry as I stared down at Gardiner.
Colin pushed on and went straight up a section that I could never do so I had given up and just worried about all us getting down safely. Once a dad, always a dad. I just watched Colin climb willing him to stay alive. He was fearless. He had my camera so I didn’t get any film but I’m sure very few people have climbed this section of Electric so it was exhilarating and scary to watch at the same time. When I lost sight of him I just shouted “Marco” every few seconds. I couldn’t see how he could climb back down. I was formulating how I would tell his father Colin had fallen. After about 5 minutes Colin returns to view and after assessing the situations says “hmm, looks like I came up the hard way….this way looks easier”). I looked “down and to the left” and saw a cairn. When Colin got back to me I told him I’m just going to see how much further I can get on the easier route. I just kept pushing and pushing. Then Colin started pushing me from behind. I was pretty elated to make it to the top. I found the box where people can leave stuff and we signed our names.
Colin found a skull:
I was shaking the entire time but I took a 360 degree video:
I identified the other peaks and found Big Sky as well.
Big Sky:
Washburn:
Sheridan:
Holmes and Tetons:
I couldn’t enjoy it too much because I knew I the journey was only half completed. We made our way back down the really daunting 90 feet. Colin was still tending to me but I managed pretty well getting down on my own but was careful to not look down and just think about one move at a time.
I had one moment where I started to slip but otherwise we did OK. I have replayed that near slip so many times in my head. We began the journey back to camp. At about 10,000 feet (which I think is also pretty close to the Montana/Wyoming border) we ran into two young ladies heading up. It was about 2PM and they were still trying to summit and make it all the way back to the road before dark. One had tennis shows on and we didn’t see any bear spray. I was openly skeptical about their water supply (I was out myself at that point). I hope they made it back safely.
We trudged our way back to camp taking a couple breaks but the lack of water and heat of the day encouraged us to not dilly dally.
Upon reaching camp we parked at the river, cooled off, snacked and rehydrated. I told my son it was the second thirstiest I had ever been in my life. He smiled. We both nearly died of dehydration on his 18th birthday returning from Fairyland. It turns out you need 3 liters of water when climbing Electric. I had 2. Fortunately the boys had a few extra gulps for me.
After a short nap I gathered firewood for our traditional last night in the woods bonfire. The boys woke up a few hours later, we ate and then enjoyed an impressive fire. I didn’t sleep much that night because I kept falling in my dreams.
We got up early the next morning and hiked back to civilization. We saw a distressed baby bird on the trail with mom flying in circles and an owl not too far away. Closer to the trailhead we saw a big trail crew heading out for the day. The trip out was pretty short and no bad news this time – just too many tourists, crowded facilities, road construction and 12 hours in the car.
Featured image for home page:
Day 6: Finally on July 30 we were headed to Electric Peak! We got our permits at the Canyon VC and the ranger there remembered us so things went quickly aside from our recounting of our Sheridan trip from a few days earlier. We headed to Mammoth. My wife had to head back to Seattle early to deal with a family emergency so she dropped us off at the Glenn Creek trailhead and she headed back to Seattle. We got the bad news upon returning from Heart Lake the previous day. It was pretty depressing watching her drive off. We don’t get a lot of time in the woods together so it was nice to finally have her company at Heart Lake but once a mom, always a mom, and kids come first so she needed to go help our daughter. I felt a little bad about heading into the woods again but I settled on it was OK for dad to spend quality time with a son who is 21 and could move away any time. The hike to Gardiner River at the base of Electric was beautiful. I love Swan Lake Flats.
Something interesting lurks behind this sign
Beyond the flats the hike took us through pretty meadows.
And some pretty cool stretches of woods:
We could see the false summit of Electric the entire hike. It was taunting us the entire time. Little did I know what lies between the false summit and true summit.
The hike was only about 6 miles but I was mostly weighed down by thoughts of family members dealing with problems. We arrived at 1G4 about 1PM:
We spent most of the day resting up for the big ascent the following day up Electric. We saw a moose stomping around the river near our campsite but it was so quick I didn’t get a chance to take a picture. I did explore the neighboring 1G3 and noticed an interesting sign to 1F1:
There is no official trail between 1G3 and 1F1 and off trail travel is prohibited in the area but clearly the rangers are looking the other way for this one if they are providing the signage. It’s yet another corner of the park I need to explore someday – drat!
The moonrise was spectacular that night. 1G4 faces a meadow to the South and the moon was the centerpiece that evening. I went to bed hoping Kristin made it home safely and thinking about Electric Peak.
Day 7: Electric Peak. I’ve made it to the summits of Washburn, Avalanche, Sheridan and Holmes. For the most part I’ve been able to identify them all from each other. Our attempt up Eagle was thwarted by weather the previous year. I needed to reach Electric Peak, especially after the Eagle disappointment last summer. I need to know I was on top of it whenever I drive around the park. We slept in a little later than expected but in retrospect I think the extra rest was good because we were not pressed for time. It was only 4 miles and 3000 feet up
.There are not many switchbacks going up Electric. It’s pretty much straight up.
I had a hard time keeping up with the boys:
Turns out Colin is a bit of a mountain goat and this will come in handy:
We did manage to lose the trail at one point because we got fooled by a game trail. Fortunately I had my GPS so 20 minutes of bushwhacking got us back on course. We saw plenty of sights on the way up – Holmes, Swan Lake Flats, Sepulcher and the Yellowstone plane flying in circles over Gardiner Hole. We had lunch at about 9300 feet after a grueling uphill stretch. Only 1900 more vertical feet to go! Colin was a mountain goat going nonstop whereas Jamey and I needed to rest often (especially me!). It was great to have Colin scout the easiest route for us. I think he might have done an extra 1000 feet trying to find the optimal way for us J. It’s really hard to describe the last 90 vertical feet of Electric. It’s pretty daunting.
I crossed a very narrow section of the ridge line and just panicked.
I found a little cubby and just tried not to cry as I stared down at Gardiner.
Colin pushed on and went straight up a section that I could never do so I had given up and just worried about all us getting down safely. Once a dad, always a dad. I just watched Colin climb willing him to stay alive. He was fearless. He had my camera so I didn’t get any film but I’m sure very few people have climbed this section of Electric so it was exhilarating and scary to watch at the same time. When I lost sight of him I just shouted “Marco” every few seconds. I couldn’t see how he could climb back down. I was formulating how I would tell his father Colin had fallen. After about 5 minutes Colin returns to view and after assessing the situations says “hmm, looks like I came up the hard way….this way looks easier”). I looked “down and to the left” and saw a cairn. When Colin got back to me I told him I’m just going to see how much further I can get on the easier route. I just kept pushing and pushing. Then Colin started pushing me from behind. I was pretty elated to make it to the top. I found the box where people can leave stuff and we signed our names.
Colin found a skull:
I was shaking the entire time but I took a 360 degree video:
I identified the other peaks and found Big Sky as well.
Big Sky:
Washburn:
Sheridan:
Holmes and Tetons:
I couldn’t enjoy it too much because I knew I the journey was only half completed. We made our way back down the really daunting 90 feet. Colin was still tending to me but I managed pretty well getting down on my own but was careful to not look down and just think about one move at a time.
I had one moment where I started to slip but otherwise we did OK. I have replayed that near slip so many times in my head. We began the journey back to camp. At about 10,000 feet (which I think is also pretty close to the Montana/Wyoming border) we ran into two young ladies heading up. It was about 2PM and they were still trying to summit and make it all the way back to the road before dark. One had tennis shows on and we didn’t see any bear spray. I was openly skeptical about their water supply (I was out myself at that point). I hope they made it back safely.
We trudged our way back to camp taking a couple breaks but the lack of water and heat of the day encouraged us to not dilly dally.
Upon reaching camp we parked at the river, cooled off, snacked and rehydrated. I told my son it was the second thirstiest I had ever been in my life. He smiled. We both nearly died of dehydration on his 18th birthday returning from Fairyland. It turns out you need 3 liters of water when climbing Electric. I had 2. Fortunately the boys had a few extra gulps for me.
After a short nap I gathered firewood for our traditional last night in the woods bonfire. The boys woke up a few hours later, we ate and then enjoyed an impressive fire. I didn’t sleep much that night because I kept falling in my dreams.
We got up early the next morning and hiked back to civilization. We saw a distressed baby bird on the trail with mom flying in circles and an owl not too far away. Closer to the trailhead we saw a big trail crew heading out for the day. The trip out was pretty short and no bad news this time – just too many tourists, crowded facilities, road construction and 12 hours in the car.
Featured image for home page:
