The Pre-Trip Trip Report

scatman

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Starting on Monday, July 26th, I would be doing a six night Beartooth Wilderness backpacking trip with @Bob. This report is the two day lead up to heading into the wilderness. On the 24th, I drove up to Yellowstone National Park and stayed one night at the Bridge Bay Campground, where after I set up camp, I took a hike into the forest next to the campground. On the 25th, I then proceeded to a cabin in Cooke City, Montana, and of course on the 26th headed out for some backpacking in the wilderness. Along the way, I took some shots from my car with my old Canon Powershot SD700 IS.

The 24th
01.jpg
Heading up Logan Canyon

02.jpg
Glimpse of some rafters on the Snake River

03.jpg
Jackson, WY

04.jpg
Smoky Tetons

05.jpg
Some burn along the north end of Yellowstone Lake, heading towards Bridge Bay. There is a carcass dump near this location for
the not-so-faint-of-heart.

06.jpg
Campsite 206 at the Bridge Bay Campground. This sight was the furthest north in loop D, right next to the forest. I arrived shortly
after 5:00 pm

07.jpg
I forgot to bring my normal car camping sleeping pad, so I had to empty my pack to get to the pad I use when backpacking. :(

08.jpg
My tent

I started my hike into the forest after eating some dinner.

10.jpg
Harebell

11.jpg
Typical of what it looked like north of the campground

09.jpg
This guy came trotting up on me through the trees. I was a little nervous as I wasn't sure of his intentions, but he passed by me
without incident.

12.jpg
Monkshood

13.jpg
Richard's Geranium

14.jpg
I then ran into what I believe is a trail? :thinking:

15.jpg
Common Yarrow

16.jpg
I then came out onto a powerline cut, and found this.

17.jpg
Curiosity got the best of me, and I opened the lid to peek inside, where I found this valve

19.jpg
A little further up the cut, I ran into a water line

18.jpg
Moss on a tree branch

20.jpg
Pearly Everlasting

21.jpg
Fireweed

22.jpg
A look up the transmission line cut. Time to start heading back to my tent site.

23.jpg
That trail again. I began to wonder if this is a small section of the old Howard Eaton Trail. I'll have
to do some further checking on that.

When I got back to my tent, I went to bed, then about 2:27 in the morning I was awakened by a "Crunch, Crunch, Crunch!" I thought to myself, "What could that be?" So after contemplating for a few seconds I decided to open the flap window on the door of my tent and see what I could see. What I saw was a large bull bison grazing right in front of my tent. He was maybe five feet from my tent, and didn't seem to be disturbed by me watching him graze. So, for the next fifteen minutes I had a front row seat to a grazing bison. :thumbsup: Eventually he moved down towards my Subaru and started scratching his head on a post that was located there. The post is to keep people from driving off the pavement and into the campsite proper. I then began to worry that he might decide the Outback was a nice scratching post too. :eek: But he passed on without incident.

The 25th
24.jpg
Bison track near his scratching post the next morning

25.jpg
And of course he left me a nice gift just to the west of the campsite picnic table.

26.jpg
A campsite geranium

27.jpg
Hey, how did my Subaru, and my Jeep get to the Mary Mountain Trailhead in Hayden Valley? This trail is like a magnet to me. It
took all I had not to head up it for a couple of miles, but I needed to get to Cooke City. :(

The road between Canyon Village and Tower Junction is closed due to construction, so I had to head back across the Park to Norris, and then on up to Mammoth before heading east to the northeast entrance.

28.jpg
Wouldn't you know it, a bison crossing the bridge over the Yellowstone River between Tower and the Northeast Entrance

29.jpg
And then another coming up from behind

30.jpg
Howdy big fella!

31.jpg
And he is past. Notice the other one has now reached the end of the bridge (east side). That one, wouldn't let this one exit the
east end of the bridge! It took a long time before they settled their differences and moved on and finally let the traffic pass. Still,
it was kind of fun to watch it all unfold.

33.jpg
Soda Butte Creek

34.jpg
Monkeyflower along Soda Butte Creek

35.jpg
Red Clover along Soda Butte Creek

36.jpg
Just leaving the Park and into the National Forest

37.jpg
A little Cooke City History

38.jpg
My cabin for the night

39.jpg
The local watering hole

40.jpg
My pre-backpacking trip meal - bison burger with bacon and fries, topped off with a nice Scotch Ale at the Miner's Saloon.


It was then back to the cabin to get some rest before the wilderness journey that would start the following day.


The End
 
Last edited:
Starting on Monday, July 26th, I would be doing a six night Beartooth Wilderness backpacking trip with @Bob. This report is the two day lead up to heading into the wilderness. On the 24th, I drove up to Yellowstone National Park and stayed one night at the Bridge Bay Campground, where after I set up camp, I took a hike into the forest next to the campground. On the 25th, I then proceeded to a cabin in Cooke City, Montana, and of course on the 26th headed out for some backpacking in the wilderness. Along the way, I took some shots from my car with my old Canon Powershot SD700 IS.

The 24th
View attachment 100390
Heading up Logan Canyon

View attachment 100391
Glimpse of some rafters on the Snake River

View attachment 100392
Jackson, WY

View attachment 100393
Smoky Tetons

View attachment 100394
Some burn along the north end of Yellowstone Lake, heading towards Bridge Bay. There is a carcass dump near this location for
the not-so-faint-of-heart.

View attachment 100395
Campsite 206 at the Bridge Bay Campground. This sight was the furthest north in loop D, right next to the forest. I arrived shortly
after 5:00 pm

View attachment 100396
I forgot to bring my normal car camping sleeping pad, so I had to empty my pack to get to the pad I use when backpacking. :(

View attachment 100397
My tent

I started my hike into the forest after eating some dinner.

View attachment 100398
Harebell

View attachment 100399
Typical of what it looked like north of the campground

View attachment 100402
This guy came trotting up on me through the trees. I was a little nervous as I wasn't sure of his intentions, but he passed by me
without incident.

View attachment 100400
Monkshood

View attachment 100401
Richard's Geranium

View attachment 100403
I then ran into what I believe is a trail? :thinking:

View attachment 100404
Common Yarrow

View attachment 100405
I then came out onto a powerline cut, and found this.

View attachment 100406
Curiosity got the best of me, and I opened the lid to peek inside, where I found this valve

View attachment 100407
A little further up the cut, I ran into a water line

View attachment 100408
Moss on a tree branch

View attachment 100409
Pearly Everlasting

View attachment 100410
Fireweed

View attachment 100411
A look up the transmission line cut. Time to start heading back to my tent site.

View attachment 100412
That trail again. I began to wonder if this is a small section of the old Howard Eaton Trail. I'll have
to do some further checking on that.

When I got back to my tent, I went to bed, then about 2:27 in the morning I was awakened by a "Crunch, Crunch, Crunch!" I thought to myself, "What could that be?" So after contemplating for a few seconds I decided to open the flap window on the door of my tent and see what I could see. What I saw was a large bull bison grazing right in front of my tent. He was maybe five feet from my tent, and didn't seem to be disturbed by me watching him graze. So, for the next fifteen minutes I had a front row seat to a grazing bison. :thumbsup: Eventually he moved down towards my Subaru and started scratching his head on a post that was located there. The post is to keep people from driving off the pavement and into the campsite proper. I then began to worry that he might decide the Outback was a nice scratching post too. :eek: But he passed on without incident.

The 25th
View attachment 100413
Bison track near his scratching post the next morning

View attachment 100414
And of course he left me a nice gift just to the west of the campsite picnic table.

View attachment 100415
A campsite geranium

View attachment 100416
Hey, how did my Subaru, and my Jeep get to the Mary Mountain Trailhead in Hayden Valley? This trail is like a magnet to me. It
took all I had not to head up it for a couple of miles, but I needed to get to Cooke City. :(

The road between Canyon Village and Tower Junction is closed due to construction, so I had to head back across the Park to Norris, and then on up to Mammoth before heading east to the northeast entrance.

View attachment 100417
Wouldn't you know it, a bison crossing the bridge over the Yellowstone River between Tower and the Northeast Entrance

View attachment 100418
And then another coming up from behind

View attachment 100419
Howdy big fella!

View attachment 100420
And he is past. Notice the other one has now reached the end of the bridge (east side). That one, wouldn't let this one exit the
east end of the bridge! It took a long time before they settled their differences and moved on and finally let the traffic pass. Still,
it was kind of fun to watch it all unfold.

View attachment 100421
Soda Butte Creek

View attachment 100422
Monkeyflower along Soda Butte Creek

View attachment 100423
Red Clover along Soda Butte Creek

View attachment 100424
Just leaving the Park and into the National Forest

View attachment 100425
A little Cooke City History

View attachment 100426
My cabin for the night

View attachment 100427
The local watering hole

View attachment 100428
My pre-backpacking trip meal - bison burger with bacon and fries, topped off with a nice Scotch Ale at the Miner's Saloon.


It was then back to the cabin to get some rest before the wilderness journey that would start the following day.


The End
I don’t eat bison, elk , moose, bear or any other big animals cause they know n will mess with ya…no wonder bison mess with ya! I need ya to only eat Oscar myer bologna ( or those orange circus peanuts) til Setp 8…ok?
 
Very nice! I think you had that same bison thing happen, (or close to it), at that campground we stayed at before the Mirror Plateau trip didn't you?
"The Bison Whisperer"... Hope y'all had a great trip! Looking forward to the TR.
 
Very nice! I think you had that same bison thing happen, (or close to it), at that campground we stayed at before the Mirror Plateau trip didn't you?
"The Bison Whisperer"... Hope y'all had a great trip! Looking forward to the TR.

You have a good memory Jon. That time was just after sunrise and it had its head pressed against the side of my tent as it grazed - the same tent by the way. I could see the shadow of his big head on the inside of the tent. I was a little nervous that time. :)

I wonder if I was in the same campsite?
 
You have a good memory Jon. That time was just after sunrise and it had its head pressed against the side of my tent as it grazed - the same tent by the way. I could see the shadow of his big head on the inside of the tent. I was a little nervous that time. :)

I wonder if I was in the same campsite?
That would be crazy!
 
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