- Joined
- Dec 23, 2013
- Messages
- 4,611
A little over a year ago, I got a burr under my saddle and started thinking about doing the Mary Mountain Trail again. It hard to believe that it has been seven years since my last mosey across the Central Plateau in Yellowstone. I was curious if I still had a twenty miler in me. It's an easy twenty miles if you stay on trail, but I haven't done that distance in a few years, so I just wasn't sure. @TractorDoc had scheduled his annual September visit to Yellowstone and I thought that he would enjoy doing the premier day hike in the Park before we headed off on a five day backpacking trip up Cache Creek.
The forecast early in the week had called for some snow, but things improved as the week moved along.
Now Hayden Valley has all kinds of wildlife potential. It's great grizzly bear habitat, large bison herds call the valley home in the summertime, wolves and elk frequent the valley too, and lots of waterfowl can be seen along the creeks that wind their way through the valley. Unfortunately for us, only lone bull bison and birds seem to show themselves as we made our way west through the valley.
At the halfway point of the Mary Mountain Trail is the beautiful Mary Lake and the Mary Lake Patrol Cabin. To reach the lake from the west end of Hayden Valley, one must hike the Buffalo Highway which is how the bison travel between Hayden and the geyser basins to the west. Also the old stagecoach road that used to run from Lower Geyser Basin to Trout Creek makes up a good portion of the highway. We stopped at the cabin to eat our lunch and just enjoy the lake and its surroundings. After finishing our lunches and taking pictures, we made our way down the old stagecoach road to the meadows down along Nez Perce Creek. From there, we crossed a couple of creeks (Cowan and Magpie), strolled along Nez Perce Creek, survived a bison stampede, and checked out some thermal features near the west trailhead.
All in all a good day. We survived which felt important, but I was tired. After losing the Mary Mountain Trail at the west end of Hayden Valley and doing some hiking around Mary Lake, we probably totaled about 21 miles and my eighty year old knees felt all 21 of them.
Thanks to @TractorDoc for accompanying me on this one. Hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.
Review Image:
Here's our story:
Mary Mountain Trail Map
We started our day at the cabins at the Old Faithful Lodge. When we woke up it was raining and I made a game time decision to bag my kilt and wear my hiking pants instead. That turned out to be the wrong decision as the weather was perfect all day along the trail. All we had to do know was to shuttle our vehicles - one in Lower Geyser Basin at the western trailhead and the other at the eastern trailhead in Hayden. We shoved off from the eastern trailhead in Hayden Valley at roughly 6:40 am after getting all our gear ready.
Time for an adventure.
The Sube would spend the day and night at the eastern Mary Mountain Trailhead. We picked it up the next day on our way to
Cache Creek
Mary Mountain awaits! Dave at the trailhead.
Hmm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sun is not quite up yet
Sulphur Springs and Crater Hills to the south of us
On the Mary Mountain Trail
Plenty of lone bulls along the trail. This one is giving me the eye.
Foggy up ahead as the sun starts to hit the valley
Nice shot in the morning sun
And yet another bull
Will we make it to the fog?
Mary Mountain Trail through Hayden
We occasionally ran into downed markers and posts
Good to see that @TractorDoc is still with us
A big one on Alum Creek
Alum Creek
Small thermal spots in the valley along Alum Creek
Herding Canada Geese at this point
Steamy Violet Creek. I could sense that Dave wanted to head over to Violet Springs.
One that didn't make it
Don't know this guy
Another downed post as we make our way west
And Dave is still with us. Trees at the west end of the valley become visible.
Elk skull in the valley
Looking back east across northern Hayden Valley - the way we had come
Wouldn't be a Scatman trip report without a wildflower shot. Common yarrow in Hayden Valley.
We lost the trail for awhile near the western end, but at this point we found it again
Approaching the Buffalo Highway
Who are these yahoos? I suspect that they were camping illegally at Mary Lake. My Scatman senses were tingling.
And who are these Yahoos? Scoundrels for sure.
Keep taking the signs down bison.
The beginning of the Buffalo Highway
Uh-oh! When do we open this?
@TractorDoc knows how to eat.
Some fall colors thrown in for good measure
Old wolf track
This is where the old stagecoach road intersects with the Mary Mountain Trail. This
shot is looking down the stagecoach road.
Now this is more like it.
On to Mary Lake
And Dave is still with us.
What we found at Mary Lake
We watched these two elk for a good while
The geese had to make an entrance.
Eventually the elk left on the southwest corner of the lake
Mary Lake
Anyone know what this is? It was located on the eastern shore of the lake and wasn't there the last time I was at the lake.
Old trail marker that will lead one south to Beach Lake if they are willing to tackle the route
Standing by an old trail marker that will lead you north to Cygnet Lakes
Mary Mountain Patrol Cabin
The best outhouse in the Park
A two-seater
Ran into this guy on my way back from the outhouse
This squirrel was chewing on the elk antler. For calcium maybe?
I'd heard rumors of a sasquatch at Mary Lake before
The three essentials for a Mary Mountain hike - Tony's Chocolonely (dark chocolate), a Scatman gold hammer, and a squatch. Let
me know if you need to borrow any of these.
Obligatory cabin shot
Leaving the lake and heading down to the meadows along Nez Perce Creek
How would you like to drive a team of horses and a stagecoach up this? Some hard
individuals back in the day.
Reaching the meadows along Nez Perce Creek
And Dave is still with us.
Cowan Creek
Another big boy
The old stagecoach road is clearly visible through here
Magpie Creek
Ran into a bison carcass
Nez Perce Creek
Old stock bridge over Nez Perce Creek
The old stage coach road became a service road up to the bridge from the west side.
It is now abandoned. You can make out the Porcupine Hills ahead.
More Nez Perce Creek
Some nice thermal features near the end.
Dave is about to come upon a big surprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A bison stampede. I call this bison dust.
After they settled down a bit, we had to work our way around the herd.
One last lone bull who wandered away from us.
Dave nears the trailhead in Lower Geyser Basin
Information sign at the trailhead
Fini!
View south from the western trailhead.
Well, we made it. I was beat. We drove back to Old Faithful just in time to get some food at the lodge before the cafeteria closed.
Some BBQ pork (out of sauce
), mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes (sour), and cornbread (sweet 
)
Thanks Dave for going along and letting me see the Mary Mountain Trail one more time. A little disappointed that we did not see a grizzly, but I guess that is the way it goes sometimes.
Up for doing it next year?
The End.
The forecast early in the week had called for some snow, but things improved as the week moved along.
Now Hayden Valley has all kinds of wildlife potential. It's great grizzly bear habitat, large bison herds call the valley home in the summertime, wolves and elk frequent the valley too, and lots of waterfowl can be seen along the creeks that wind their way through the valley. Unfortunately for us, only lone bull bison and birds seem to show themselves as we made our way west through the valley.
At the halfway point of the Mary Mountain Trail is the beautiful Mary Lake and the Mary Lake Patrol Cabin. To reach the lake from the west end of Hayden Valley, one must hike the Buffalo Highway which is how the bison travel between Hayden and the geyser basins to the west. Also the old stagecoach road that used to run from Lower Geyser Basin to Trout Creek makes up a good portion of the highway. We stopped at the cabin to eat our lunch and just enjoy the lake and its surroundings. After finishing our lunches and taking pictures, we made our way down the old stagecoach road to the meadows down along Nez Perce Creek. From there, we crossed a couple of creeks (Cowan and Magpie), strolled along Nez Perce Creek, survived a bison stampede, and checked out some thermal features near the west trailhead.
All in all a good day. We survived which felt important, but I was tired. After losing the Mary Mountain Trail at the west end of Hayden Valley and doing some hiking around Mary Lake, we probably totaled about 21 miles and my eighty year old knees felt all 21 of them.
Thanks to @TractorDoc for accompanying me on this one. Hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me.
Review Image:
Here's our story:
Mary Mountain Trail Map
We started our day at the cabins at the Old Faithful Lodge. When we woke up it was raining and I made a game time decision to bag my kilt and wear my hiking pants instead. That turned out to be the wrong decision as the weather was perfect all day along the trail. All we had to do know was to shuttle our vehicles - one in Lower Geyser Basin at the western trailhead and the other at the eastern trailhead in Hayden. We shoved off from the eastern trailhead in Hayden Valley at roughly 6:40 am after getting all our gear ready.
Time for an adventure.
The Sube would spend the day and night at the eastern Mary Mountain Trailhead. We picked it up the next day on our way to
Cache Creek
Mary Mountain awaits! Dave at the trailhead.
Hmm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sun is not quite up yet
Sulphur Springs and Crater Hills to the south of us
On the Mary Mountain Trail
Plenty of lone bulls along the trail. This one is giving me the eye.
Foggy up ahead as the sun starts to hit the valley
Nice shot in the morning sun
And yet another bull
Will we make it to the fog?
Mary Mountain Trail through Hayden
We occasionally ran into downed markers and posts
Good to see that @TractorDoc is still with us
A big one on Alum Creek
Alum Creek
Small thermal spots in the valley along Alum Creek
Herding Canada Geese at this point
Steamy Violet Creek. I could sense that Dave wanted to head over to Violet Springs.
One that didn't make it
Don't know this guy
Another downed post as we make our way west
And Dave is still with us. Trees at the west end of the valley become visible.
Elk skull in the valley
Looking back east across northern Hayden Valley - the way we had come
Wouldn't be a Scatman trip report without a wildflower shot. Common yarrow in Hayden Valley.
We lost the trail for awhile near the western end, but at this point we found it again
Approaching the Buffalo Highway
Who are these yahoos? I suspect that they were camping illegally at Mary Lake. My Scatman senses were tingling.
And who are these Yahoos? Scoundrels for sure.
Keep taking the signs down bison.
The beginning of the Buffalo Highway
Uh-oh! When do we open this?
@TractorDoc knows how to eat.
Some fall colors thrown in for good measure
Old wolf track
This is where the old stagecoach road intersects with the Mary Mountain Trail. This
shot is looking down the stagecoach road.
Now this is more like it.
On to Mary Lake
And Dave is still with us.
What we found at Mary Lake
We watched these two elk for a good while
The geese had to make an entrance.
Eventually the elk left on the southwest corner of the lake
Mary Lake
Anyone know what this is? It was located on the eastern shore of the lake and wasn't there the last time I was at the lake.
Old trail marker that will lead one south to Beach Lake if they are willing to tackle the route
Standing by an old trail marker that will lead you north to Cygnet Lakes
Mary Mountain Patrol Cabin
The best outhouse in the Park
A two-seater
Ran into this guy on my way back from the outhouse
This squirrel was chewing on the elk antler. For calcium maybe?
I'd heard rumors of a sasquatch at Mary Lake before
The three essentials for a Mary Mountain hike - Tony's Chocolonely (dark chocolate), a Scatman gold hammer, and a squatch. Let
me know if you need to borrow any of these.
Obligatory cabin shot
Leaving the lake and heading down to the meadows along Nez Perce Creek
How would you like to drive a team of horses and a stagecoach up this? Some hard
individuals back in the day.
Reaching the meadows along Nez Perce Creek
And Dave is still with us.
Cowan Creek
Another big boy
The old stagecoach road is clearly visible through here
Magpie Creek
Ran into a bison carcass
Nez Perce Creek
Old stock bridge over Nez Perce Creek
The old stage coach road became a service road up to the bridge from the west side.
It is now abandoned. You can make out the Porcupine Hills ahead.
More Nez Perce Creek
Some nice thermal features near the end.
Dave is about to come upon a big surprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
A bison stampede. I call this bison dust.
After they settled down a bit, we had to work our way around the herd.
One last lone bull who wandered away from us.
Dave nears the trailhead in Lower Geyser Basin
Information sign at the trailhead
Fini!
View south from the western trailhead.
Well, we made it. I was beat. We drove back to Old Faithful just in time to get some food at the lodge before the cafeteria closed.
Some BBQ pork (out of sauce
), mac-n-cheese, mashed potatoes (sour), and cornbread (sweet )Thanks Dave for going along and letting me see the Mary Mountain Trail one more time. A little disappointed that we did not see a grizzly, but I guess that is the way it goes sometimes.
Up for doing it next year?
The End.
Last edited:
