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This backpacking trip took on many iterations before we actually hit the trail on September the 13th. At first I had wanted to request campsite 9D3 near Douglas knob for three straight nights so that I had one full day to explore Ouzel Creek as far as I could, and a second day to find and document the old trail up the north side of the Pitchstone Plateau. Unfortunately, 9D3 can only be reserved for a single night, which threw my plans all out the window. Then when I received my temporary permit, I didn't get the campsites that I had requested, taking me even further away from my goals for this trip. I was able to finagle 9D3 when I called for the official permit, but essentially I would have a long day to see Ouzel Creek with my full pack on, and not much time to find and explore the old trail.
Well, I'm done complaining. Any day in Yellowstone ought to be treasured and I am truly thankful to get to spend so much time in my favorite place. Here is our story.
A day after our Aster Lake day hike, @TractorDoc and I met @wsp_scott at the Lone Star Trailhead for four days of backpacking bliss.
Day 1 - Lonestar Trailhead to Campsite 8R5 on Shoshone Lake - 10.1 miles

Overview map for day 1
We set off along the Firehole River towards Lone Star Geyser at 9:00 am. The path to the geyser is actually an old paved road, that was used by tourists, who could drive to the geyser back in the day. We reached the geyser just after it had erupted, and those there to see the eruption were beginning to head back to the trailhead. They said that we missed it by ten to fifteen minutes.
Thanks @Bob!
We chatted with some park employees as the steam began to fade from the geyser holebefore heading on down the trail.
After departing from the thermal area, we soon came to a string of three footbridges, one of which had caution tape around it (I'm assuming will be replaced in the near future), another that was currently being worked on, and one brand spanking new bridge. Before we knew it we were back on the Firehole and wondering what adventures laid ahead.
Soon, we began to climb towards Grant's Pass through the forest, and then once reaching the highpoint, we began our decent down to Shoshone Creek. Before reaching the creek though, we came to a trail junction and headed left towards Shoshone Lake. Travelling along Shoshone Creek was very pleasant, and we had to cross the creek a couple of times before we got to the lake.
After leaving the creek we approached another trail junction, this one being the route to the Shoshone Geyser Basin, or left to the trail that heads along the north side of Shoshone Lake and at some point our campsite.
Before reaching the spur trail that leads down to the lake and campsite 8R5, the trail skirts an open meadow where we could see two canoeists leaving the small bay where boats can access the geyser basin. Other than thinking, "Oh, there are two guys in a canoe. That' cool." I didn't give it much more thought and continued on towards camp.
When we arrived at camp, I went down to the lake to take a couple of pictures, and once again noticed the canoeists heading east, close to the south shore of the lake. As it turns out, we may have been the last people to see the two alive. It appears that some mishap took place while they were on the lake and they were reported missing. As of today, they found the canoe, one man, a lifejacket and a paddle on the east side of the lake, which is a place you don't want to be in a canoe. Hopefully, they will find the second body soon and give the gentleman's family some closure.
After setting up camp, we made our way to the geyser basin to explore the thermal areas for a few hours before dinner. I'll let @TractorDoc give the lowdown on the basin for you when he gives his account of this trip.
After dinner, we all got some good shots of the sun setting over the lake, and then I was off to bed knowing that tomorrow's route would be a tough one for me.

Map at the information board at the Lone Star Trailhead

The Firehole River

Lone Star Geyser, still putting off a little steam by the time we arrived

Shoshone Lake next up

Back on the Firehole

Dave is testing out the new footbridge

The reds of the huckleberry leaves were just beautiful, and I just couldn't stop taking pictures of them throughout our trip

A mushroom next to the trail

Scott, crossing Shoshone Creek

A view back up Shoshone Creek

And a look down the drainage

Arriving at our spur trail to our campsite - It was a long one!

Shoshone Lake

Checking out some thermal features of the geyser basin

Thermal feature

Thermal feature next to Shoshone Creek

It's well worth ones time to see the geyser basin

One of my favorites

This one looked deep

I found this interesting

Sunset on the lake.
Day 2 - Campsite 8R5 to Campsite 9D1 via the Continental Divide, Ouzel Creek, and Phillips Fork - 16.1 miles

Overview map for day 2
I had been contemplating day two for some time, I knew that it would be a long tough hike for me with 11.1 miles being off-trail and not really having a good grasp of what those off-trail miles looked like. Nevertheless, I was excited to give it a go. We retraced our route of day one, up until we reached the junction with the Bechler River Trail. Once on the Bechler Trail, we started our ascent up the Continental Divide. This section of trail was fun due to the fact that we came across many "I" blazes, which the Park Service used to use to mark their trails way back in the 1920s and 30s. The Becher River Trail has many of these blazes, and I tried to take a picture of each one, slowing down my partners in the process I'm sure.
When we reached the divide for the second time, it was time to head west off-trail, where we essentially just followed the divide through the forest across to Trischman Knob. At one point, we did divert north to look down on Madison Lake before moving on towards Trischman. At last, on the west end of the knob, we ran into a dry drainage which marks the headwaters of Ouzel Creek. We then headed down creek for about 2.5 miles, with some standing water showing up in the small creek bed, and then eventually it began to flow. The hike down the drainage was one of the highpoints of the trip for me, but then again I'm partial to drainages.
We reached a substantial tributary to Ouzel, and at this point we worked our way up that stream and off towards Phillips Fork. The travel between Ouzel and Phillips was more open than the the trek along the divide earlier in the day - some forest and then some open meadows. Once we reached the dry creek bed that dropped into Phillips Fork, we worked our way slowly down the drainage to the base of Hourglass Falls. There are numerous falls in the fork, but Hourglass is the most spectacular of the bunch.
Taking some time to take some pictures of the falls, we then proceeded down the drainage, but were soon thwarted by drop offs and steep canyon walls that we didn't feel comfortable proceeding in that direction. This meant that we would have to regain the ridge above the fork in order to get to our campsite on the Bechler River. There was only one problem. My left knee! While it had done so well up to this point, I was beginning to have a hard time pulling myself up the steep slope to get to the top of the ridge. At this point we were only about one mile from camp, but it took all I had to make it there. I found that if I went nice and slow that I could manage, and I eventually made it to our site for the night.
Now our campsite 9D1, is the closet backcountry site to Mr. Bubbles on Ferris Fork, and after dinner all three of us headed over to watch the moon and the stars while soaking in natures hot tub. Since it was dark when I was there, Dave and Scott will have to furnish the pictures of Mr. Bubbles and the thermal area on Ferris Fork, as they returned the next day for another soak, and a round of picture taking.

@TractorDoc, making his way across Shoshone Creek

Yellowstone "I" candy.

Time to head cross country along the divide

Typical of the view along the divide

Madison Lake below

Jump!

The dry drainage which is the headwaters of Ouzel Creek

I'm all giddy.

Standing water a little further down the drainage

Ouzel Creek. Yahoo! We have flow!

Following the creek

Lots of seeps along our way to help increase the size of the creek

Ouzel Creek

Beautiful fall colors along the banks of the creek

Ouzel Creek

Scott, at our turnoff point from the creek

On our way to Phillips Fork

If you take this down, it will take you to the brink of Hourglass Falls

Some cascading falls in Phillips Fork

Hourglass Falls

More falls lower down the fork

Heading out from the creek and back up to the top of the ridge

More falls

Just happy to make it to camp!
Day 3 - Campsite 9D1 to Campsite 9D3 at Douglas Knob Meadows - 4.1 miles

Overview map for day 3. The pink line represents the old horse trail up onto the north side of the Pitchstone Plateau.
Today, the group would spit up. I was heading directly to 9D3, while Dave and Scott were going to check out the thermal area on Ferris Fork and try to catch some more of the waterfalls downstream on the Bechler River, before then heading to 9D3. Again, they can provide some detail about their day exploring the Bechler and Ferris Fork.
My legs were pretty tired from the previous days journey, so it took me a while to make my way up the river and on to 9D3. When I got to camp, I set up my tent and then headed back down the trail to go search for the old trail up the north side of the Pitchstone Plateau.
It took me about forty minutes to get back to where the old trail joins the Bechler River Trail that I had found back in 2014. From there I essentially did a zig-zag across where I thought the old trail might be on the ground. Eventually, I found it! I then hopped on it and followed it up the plateau. There were sewn logs along the way, and even a trail marker. I was in Scatman heaven! Following it for not quite one mile, I began to run out of trail and time. The old trail was getting hard to discern and I needed to get back to camp because I didn't want to be hiking through the woods alone in the dark. So with a heavy heart I turned around and followed the old trail back down the plateau to the Bechler River Trail and then back to 9D3.

Cascade Falls on Phillips Fork, in the morning, near our campsite

Thermal feature on the Bechler River next to our campsite

Looking down the Bechler River Canyon

The intersection for Mr. Bubbles?

A good view of what we bushwhacked through the day before

The lower half of Twister Falls

The Bechler River

Approaching Douglas Knob

The meadows north of Douglas Knob

Our campsite for the night

Beginning my search for the old trail

Well looky there.......... I found it!







Plain as day as it traverses the hillside

Right through the downfall

A sewn log!

What's this? A trail marker!

The corridor the trail runs through as it ascends the Pitchstone Plateau

A view of Douglas Knob from the old trail on my way back down

Sunset at 9D3
Day 4 - Campsite 9D3 to the Lone Star Trailhead - 11.3 miles

Overview map of day 4
Not much to say of day four except that we retraced our footsteps back to the Lone Star Trailhead. @wsp_scott did manage to see Lone Star Geyser erupt though.

Some more I blazes on the south side of the divide

I call this an "H" blaze.

Folks from Idaho Falls scraped their names on this old trail marker back in 1956 - 55 years ago.

Back to the new footbridge

I'm pretty sure that @TractorDoc sent this grouse after me.

Missed it again.
Dave kept me calm by offering me a circus peanut.

Would have been better on tap, but It'll do. A celebratory drink for a wonderful four days

This raven wanted our food

Sunset at the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful
Hopefully @TractorDoc and @wsp_scott will add their accounts and images of the trip so everyone can gain a slightly different perspective of our trip.
The End
Well, I'm done complaining. Any day in Yellowstone ought to be treasured and I am truly thankful to get to spend so much time in my favorite place. Here is our story.
A day after our Aster Lake day hike, @TractorDoc and I met @wsp_scott at the Lone Star Trailhead for four days of backpacking bliss.
Day 1 - Lonestar Trailhead to Campsite 8R5 on Shoshone Lake - 10.1 miles

Overview map for day 1
We set off along the Firehole River towards Lone Star Geyser at 9:00 am. The path to the geyser is actually an old paved road, that was used by tourists, who could drive to the geyser back in the day. We reached the geyser just after it had erupted, and those there to see the eruption were beginning to head back to the trailhead. They said that we missed it by ten to fifteen minutes.
After departing from the thermal area, we soon came to a string of three footbridges, one of which had caution tape around it (I'm assuming will be replaced in the near future), another that was currently being worked on, and one brand spanking new bridge. Before we knew it we were back on the Firehole and wondering what adventures laid ahead.
Soon, we began to climb towards Grant's Pass through the forest, and then once reaching the highpoint, we began our decent down to Shoshone Creek. Before reaching the creek though, we came to a trail junction and headed left towards Shoshone Lake. Travelling along Shoshone Creek was very pleasant, and we had to cross the creek a couple of times before we got to the lake.
After leaving the creek we approached another trail junction, this one being the route to the Shoshone Geyser Basin, or left to the trail that heads along the north side of Shoshone Lake and at some point our campsite.
Before reaching the spur trail that leads down to the lake and campsite 8R5, the trail skirts an open meadow where we could see two canoeists leaving the small bay where boats can access the geyser basin. Other than thinking, "Oh, there are two guys in a canoe. That' cool." I didn't give it much more thought and continued on towards camp.
When we arrived at camp, I went down to the lake to take a couple of pictures, and once again noticed the canoeists heading east, close to the south shore of the lake. As it turns out, we may have been the last people to see the two alive. It appears that some mishap took place while they were on the lake and they were reported missing. As of today, they found the canoe, one man, a lifejacket and a paddle on the east side of the lake, which is a place you don't want to be in a canoe. Hopefully, they will find the second body soon and give the gentleman's family some closure.
After setting up camp, we made our way to the geyser basin to explore the thermal areas for a few hours before dinner. I'll let @TractorDoc give the lowdown on the basin for you when he gives his account of this trip.
After dinner, we all got some good shots of the sun setting over the lake, and then I was off to bed knowing that tomorrow's route would be a tough one for me.

Map at the information board at the Lone Star Trailhead

The Firehole River

Lone Star Geyser, still putting off a little steam by the time we arrived

Shoshone Lake next up

Back on the Firehole

Dave is testing out the new footbridge

The reds of the huckleberry leaves were just beautiful, and I just couldn't stop taking pictures of them throughout our trip

A mushroom next to the trail

Scott, crossing Shoshone Creek

A view back up Shoshone Creek

And a look down the drainage

Arriving at our spur trail to our campsite - It was a long one!

Shoshone Lake

Checking out some thermal features of the geyser basin

Thermal feature

Thermal feature next to Shoshone Creek

It's well worth ones time to see the geyser basin

One of my favorites

This one looked deep

I found this interesting

Sunset on the lake.
Day 2 - Campsite 8R5 to Campsite 9D1 via the Continental Divide, Ouzel Creek, and Phillips Fork - 16.1 miles

Overview map for day 2
I had been contemplating day two for some time, I knew that it would be a long tough hike for me with 11.1 miles being off-trail and not really having a good grasp of what those off-trail miles looked like. Nevertheless, I was excited to give it a go. We retraced our route of day one, up until we reached the junction with the Bechler River Trail. Once on the Bechler Trail, we started our ascent up the Continental Divide. This section of trail was fun due to the fact that we came across many "I" blazes, which the Park Service used to use to mark their trails way back in the 1920s and 30s. The Becher River Trail has many of these blazes, and I tried to take a picture of each one, slowing down my partners in the process I'm sure.
When we reached the divide for the second time, it was time to head west off-trail, where we essentially just followed the divide through the forest across to Trischman Knob. At one point, we did divert north to look down on Madison Lake before moving on towards Trischman. At last, on the west end of the knob, we ran into a dry drainage which marks the headwaters of Ouzel Creek. We then headed down creek for about 2.5 miles, with some standing water showing up in the small creek bed, and then eventually it began to flow. The hike down the drainage was one of the highpoints of the trip for me, but then again I'm partial to drainages.
We reached a substantial tributary to Ouzel, and at this point we worked our way up that stream and off towards Phillips Fork. The travel between Ouzel and Phillips was more open than the the trek along the divide earlier in the day - some forest and then some open meadows. Once we reached the dry creek bed that dropped into Phillips Fork, we worked our way slowly down the drainage to the base of Hourglass Falls. There are numerous falls in the fork, but Hourglass is the most spectacular of the bunch.
Taking some time to take some pictures of the falls, we then proceeded down the drainage, but were soon thwarted by drop offs and steep canyon walls that we didn't feel comfortable proceeding in that direction. This meant that we would have to regain the ridge above the fork in order to get to our campsite on the Bechler River. There was only one problem. My left knee! While it had done so well up to this point, I was beginning to have a hard time pulling myself up the steep slope to get to the top of the ridge. At this point we were only about one mile from camp, but it took all I had to make it there. I found that if I went nice and slow that I could manage, and I eventually made it to our site for the night.
Now our campsite 9D1, is the closet backcountry site to Mr. Bubbles on Ferris Fork, and after dinner all three of us headed over to watch the moon and the stars while soaking in natures hot tub. Since it was dark when I was there, Dave and Scott will have to furnish the pictures of Mr. Bubbles and the thermal area on Ferris Fork, as they returned the next day for another soak, and a round of picture taking.

@TractorDoc, making his way across Shoshone Creek

Yellowstone "I" candy.

Time to head cross country along the divide

Typical of the view along the divide

Madison Lake below

Jump!

The dry drainage which is the headwaters of Ouzel Creek

I'm all giddy.

Standing water a little further down the drainage

Ouzel Creek. Yahoo! We have flow!

Following the creek

Lots of seeps along our way to help increase the size of the creek

Ouzel Creek

Beautiful fall colors along the banks of the creek

Ouzel Creek

Scott, at our turnoff point from the creek

On our way to Phillips Fork

If you take this down, it will take you to the brink of Hourglass Falls

Some cascading falls in Phillips Fork

Hourglass Falls

More falls lower down the fork

Heading out from the creek and back up to the top of the ridge

More falls

Just happy to make it to camp!
Day 3 - Campsite 9D1 to Campsite 9D3 at Douglas Knob Meadows - 4.1 miles

Overview map for day 3. The pink line represents the old horse trail up onto the north side of the Pitchstone Plateau.
Today, the group would spit up. I was heading directly to 9D3, while Dave and Scott were going to check out the thermal area on Ferris Fork and try to catch some more of the waterfalls downstream on the Bechler River, before then heading to 9D3. Again, they can provide some detail about their day exploring the Bechler and Ferris Fork.
My legs were pretty tired from the previous days journey, so it took me a while to make my way up the river and on to 9D3. When I got to camp, I set up my tent and then headed back down the trail to go search for the old trail up the north side of the Pitchstone Plateau.
It took me about forty minutes to get back to where the old trail joins the Bechler River Trail that I had found back in 2014. From there I essentially did a zig-zag across where I thought the old trail might be on the ground. Eventually, I found it! I then hopped on it and followed it up the plateau. There were sewn logs along the way, and even a trail marker. I was in Scatman heaven! Following it for not quite one mile, I began to run out of trail and time. The old trail was getting hard to discern and I needed to get back to camp because I didn't want to be hiking through the woods alone in the dark. So with a heavy heart I turned around and followed the old trail back down the plateau to the Bechler River Trail and then back to 9D3.

Cascade Falls on Phillips Fork, in the morning, near our campsite

Thermal feature on the Bechler River next to our campsite

Looking down the Bechler River Canyon

The intersection for Mr. Bubbles?

A good view of what we bushwhacked through the day before

The lower half of Twister Falls

The Bechler River

Approaching Douglas Knob

The meadows north of Douglas Knob

Our campsite for the night

Beginning my search for the old trail

Well looky there.......... I found it!

Plain as day as it traverses the hillside

Right through the downfall

A sewn log!

What's this? A trail marker!

The corridor the trail runs through as it ascends the Pitchstone Plateau

A view of Douglas Knob from the old trail on my way back down

Sunset at 9D3
Day 4 - Campsite 9D3 to the Lone Star Trailhead - 11.3 miles

Overview map of day 4
Not much to say of day four except that we retraced our footsteps back to the Lone Star Trailhead. @wsp_scott did manage to see Lone Star Geyser erupt though.

Some more I blazes on the south side of the divide

I call this an "H" blaze.

Folks from Idaho Falls scraped their names on this old trail marker back in 1956 - 55 years ago.

Back to the new footbridge

I'm pretty sure that @TractorDoc sent this grouse after me.

Missed it again.

Would have been better on tap, but It'll do. A celebratory drink for a wonderful four days

This raven wanted our food

Sunset at the Snow Lodge at Old Faithful
Hopefully @TractorDoc and @wsp_scott will add their accounts and images of the trip so everyone can gain a slightly different perspective of our trip.
The End
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