I got a brand new knee on December 12th, and had done all the PT (physical therapy), etc., and was anxious to see how it was going to work out. I had asked before, I think here, about what people with new knees had to change, or what they had to work on, and I think someone said use a lighter pack, and that was about it. What I was worried about was getting down on the ground, and getting back up off the ground. But I was also concerned that there might be something that would be different, that I wasn’t expecting, and would regret not asking about at PT. PT didn’t seem too excited about me going backpacking. They wanted me to be able to empty wastebaskets, I guess. As the season approached, I dreamed of those first few trips. Yellowstone has two handicapped sites, and I figured I would be eligible, for a little while. I decided June was my window, and on one of my first trips into the park, I went to a backcountry station, and made reservations for four trips. This little, weird report, is a mix of those trips.
Trip number one, was to Ice Lake. I’d been to this site before, and really liked it. It’s only a short distance in. It has a bear box, and is at the shore of the lake. This is the very start of the trail.
Over the winter, if I can’t GO outside and play, I apparently buy. (You’d think I would know this, but the behavior really just hit me this winter. Maybe it was the knee, but I don’t think so.). This is a Haven Tent. It features a “flat lie.” The trees in Yellowstone are not at all helpful when trying to hang a hammock. They are either just-a-little-too-far-apart, or worse. The Haven Tent page talks about whoopie slings, so I used them to get the extra distance I needed. I didn’t particularly like that, but it’s supposed to work. I set up everything, and then went back to sit by the lake. Oh, the boisterous colored tarp, I love that. I’m not gonna win any awards for stealth camping.
The site has a little point of land that sticks out into the lake. I like to sit there and watch ducks and whatever else shows up. This was just to the right. There was still snow on the ground. I might have been a little anxious to get out.
When I bought the Haven Tent, it came with a matching blue tarp. I liked the bold one, and so now had the blue one left over. For crummy weather, I could put up that tarp! Over the winter, I had read some stuff about making your own whoopie slings and dog bones and ridge lines. Soooooo, I took up a new craft! I got some Lash It, and started splicing little things. It was fun. (The whoopie slings I showed above were NOT by me, and were of real Amsteel.) I now have all kinds of spliced “things.” I attached a whoopie sling on both ends of the tarp, and hooked it around trees, and sat under the tarp during some rain. It all worked splendidly. In fact, I was sitting there, drinking coffee, when a pine martin trotted up on a log, about a dozen feet away. I tried to put the lid on my coffee, and get out my phone to take a picture. It looked at me, moved forward, and then decided I might be a problem, and headed back the way it had come. I sort of regret trying to put the lid on the coffee, but then, I would have regretted spilling coffee all over everything, too. Having a martin come by was an excellent way to start the backpacking season.
It had already rained, and it was supposed to rain again. Hmmm. I didn’t like that idea much. I decided to be a wimp, and pack up all my toys and head home. I also decided it was a successful trip for my knee. It was strong. I was a wimp. But a dry wimp.
Trip 2 was to Goose Lake. That’s by Grand Prismatic. This hike is around 2 miles in. There are a few patches of trees that you go through, but mostly it’s in the open and there are huge meadow views. There are a couple of little lakes that you pass.
The trail is the old Freight Road. It is for hikers and bikers. I wandered at the speed of Beth (slow), and occasionally heard, “Ring, ring, “Passing on your left!”” There were plenty of folks riding bicycles, and some riding e-bikes, and some hikers. It wasn’t super crowded, but you weren’t likely to get lonely, either. Everybody was friendly. People who are out of their car, and moving about at their own speed seem so much happier than the typical Yellowstone visitor that is simply trying to herd their family from one big attraction to another.
At one point, a bit ahead, I saw Mom, Dad and a little boy (3-4?). The dad had a kind of large rock, and slammed it into the ground. I kind of wondered if they hadn’t spotted a snake that was now a blob, but as I got there, the little boy was slamming rocks into everything and anything. Dad was just participating in the little kid’s activity. (No snakes were involved.) The little guy had found an activity he could do, and do it he did! He also pulled out a wad of bison fur, and showed it to me. He had found it and his eyes lit up as he told me about it. “Some of the buffalo don’t have any fur.”
The campsite was right beside the lake. There were trees, which considering the trail, was a touch odd. They were tall, and it created nice shade. There were also all kinds of downed logs. I’d been to this site before, and remembered a food pole, which was absent this time. I looked around for it, and finally found the chains that held up the pole on two downed trees. I think the trees are vulnerable to the wind. It sure made me look carefully for widow makers when I set up my tent.
Yup, I took my tent this time. I was pretty nervous about getting up and down, but I had done it before, and my knee didn’t fall apart. This was going to be a real test. By mid-afternoon, after a nice little nap, I knew that my knee was going to be fine. And, I hadn’t taken a single Ibuprofen on this trip, or the last. That hadn’t happened in years. Sell that Ibuprofen stock!
The was the sunset view from inside my tent.
The view across the lake featured steam rising from the thermal features at Grand Prismatic. Sometimes there wasn’t much, and sometimes there was a lot. With my binoculars, I could see people on the observation platform. Without the binoculars, I would have never found it, but once I did, I could occasionally see some color without the binoculars.
I sat by the lake and drank my morning coffee, and watched people go by on foot, or on bikes, and watched ducks and birds, and occasionally, bison. The trail could be seen above the grass, on the right side of the picture.
I had a meal companion. He would look interestedly at me, but I told him, had had to find his own food. He seemed agreeable to that.
This was on my way back to the trailhead. I think it’s Midway Geyser Basin, but I forget. It’s one that I actually walked earlier this year. I like to walk the geyser basins early and late in the seasons, when it’s less crowded. I hadn’t been to this one for a number of years.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell where you’re going in Yellowstone. The bison rub off their winter fur (the stuff the little boy collected) on trees, stumps and in this case, a sign. Oops. It fell down. Well, it broke off and then fell down.
I’m not sure if this one’s out of order, or just from my second trip to this site. Mornings were incredibly peaceful, but then, I guess they usually are. No wind, no people, just some ducks and sandhill cranes.
This was one the way in to the same campsite. The first time I went in, the bison were right beside the parking lot and people were all over. It was a mess. On this trip in, the bison were in two big herds, a nice distance from the road.
My tent. I have had this tent for a loooooong time. I like it. I think it weighs about three pounds, with all the flap doodles. I’ve been in a lot of wind with it, and it’s fine. I’ve been in a lot of rain with it, and been fine. I get other tents, and now hammocks, and yet, here is my tent.
The trail wasn’t totally straight. You did have to know how to turn, if only a little.
Both times I was a Goose Lake, the Phlox were blooming. There were at least two kinds, and they both smelled heavenly.
You can kind of make out a split between the hikers… one guy is further back…? Two or three adult bison and a calf had just run between the two groups. They were way too close, but the really bad thing, to me, was that they thought it was funny, and amazing. That they had been so close to buffalo! I was busy watching the trees on both sides of the trail for more bison.
A man I just passed told me to watch the bull that was now behind me, and off the trail. I had been watching him for a few minutes. He seemed a safe distance off the trail, but he was riled up. He was watching the guy I had just spoken to. I was glad to get past all of the bison.
Zoomed in, this was the bull bison that one hiker had warned me about.
As I left the trailhead, and was headed on my way, there was a bison jam. During the jam, I got a picture of these people, seeing bison up close.
Geeze.
One my final handicapped hike, these flowers were starting. I never remember what they are. I don’t really like yellow, and so promptly forget what the yellow flowers are.
One more trip to Ice Lake!
I had brought my Haven Tent again, and got it al set up, and got in to take a nap, and, well, I hated it. I had put it up at a little park near my house, but the wind always whipped it around, and I’d never actually done more than gotten in it. I didn’t want to spend the night in it.
Hmmm.
I knew I had a tent in the car. You know, in case you need a tent. It’s good to have one.
It wasn’t very far… .
So I went and got it, brought it back, and set it up. Then, I took the mattress from the Haven (that’s part of what makes it lay flat, is a super thick, mattress) and put it in the tent. I hadn’t wanted to take down the Haven until I had a place to put the mattress, to protect it. Then, I took down the Haven Tent, and took it out to the car. Ah, that was nice exercise.
Then I went and sat by the lake for quite a while.
In the morning, there was a bit of fog on the lake. I had a nearby site two weekends before retiring, and on that occasion, I sat and drank coffee and drank coffee, and dreamed of what retirement was going to be like, and finally left around 10 am. This time, I thought about doing that, but decided I needed to go look for bears. So without eating, or ANY COFFEE, I packed and hiked out.
I drove to the gas station, and got a LOT of coffee, and went looking for bears. During the day, I saw 9. It wasn’t a great bear day, but it wasn’t a bad bear day, either. I ate with a friend I had worked with the year before, and got stuck for over an hour at a traffic jam caused by an accident.
I am now figuring out what hikes I want to do next… a little further, a couple of climbs, less people. Summer is here.
Mom and two cubs.
Trip number one, was to Ice Lake. I’d been to this site before, and really liked it. It’s only a short distance in. It has a bear box, and is at the shore of the lake. This is the very start of the trail.
Over the winter, if I can’t GO outside and play, I apparently buy. (You’d think I would know this, but the behavior really just hit me this winter. Maybe it was the knee, but I don’t think so.). This is a Haven Tent. It features a “flat lie.” The trees in Yellowstone are not at all helpful when trying to hang a hammock. They are either just-a-little-too-far-apart, or worse. The Haven Tent page talks about whoopie slings, so I used them to get the extra distance I needed. I didn’t particularly like that, but it’s supposed to work. I set up everything, and then went back to sit by the lake. Oh, the boisterous colored tarp, I love that. I’m not gonna win any awards for stealth camping.
The site has a little point of land that sticks out into the lake. I like to sit there and watch ducks and whatever else shows up. This was just to the right. There was still snow on the ground. I might have been a little anxious to get out.
When I bought the Haven Tent, it came with a matching blue tarp. I liked the bold one, and so now had the blue one left over. For crummy weather, I could put up that tarp! Over the winter, I had read some stuff about making your own whoopie slings and dog bones and ridge lines. Soooooo, I took up a new craft! I got some Lash It, and started splicing little things. It was fun. (The whoopie slings I showed above were NOT by me, and were of real Amsteel.) I now have all kinds of spliced “things.” I attached a whoopie sling on both ends of the tarp, and hooked it around trees, and sat under the tarp during some rain. It all worked splendidly. In fact, I was sitting there, drinking coffee, when a pine martin trotted up on a log, about a dozen feet away. I tried to put the lid on my coffee, and get out my phone to take a picture. It looked at me, moved forward, and then decided I might be a problem, and headed back the way it had come. I sort of regret trying to put the lid on the coffee, but then, I would have regretted spilling coffee all over everything, too. Having a martin come by was an excellent way to start the backpacking season.
It had already rained, and it was supposed to rain again. Hmmm. I didn’t like that idea much. I decided to be a wimp, and pack up all my toys and head home. I also decided it was a successful trip for my knee. It was strong. I was a wimp. But a dry wimp.
Trip 2 was to Goose Lake. That’s by Grand Prismatic. This hike is around 2 miles in. There are a few patches of trees that you go through, but mostly it’s in the open and there are huge meadow views. There are a couple of little lakes that you pass.
The trail is the old Freight Road. It is for hikers and bikers. I wandered at the speed of Beth (slow), and occasionally heard, “Ring, ring, “Passing on your left!”” There were plenty of folks riding bicycles, and some riding e-bikes, and some hikers. It wasn’t super crowded, but you weren’t likely to get lonely, either. Everybody was friendly. People who are out of their car, and moving about at their own speed seem so much happier than the typical Yellowstone visitor that is simply trying to herd their family from one big attraction to another.
At one point, a bit ahead, I saw Mom, Dad and a little boy (3-4?). The dad had a kind of large rock, and slammed it into the ground. I kind of wondered if they hadn’t spotted a snake that was now a blob, but as I got there, the little boy was slamming rocks into everything and anything. Dad was just participating in the little kid’s activity. (No snakes were involved.) The little guy had found an activity he could do, and do it he did! He also pulled out a wad of bison fur, and showed it to me. He had found it and his eyes lit up as he told me about it. “Some of the buffalo don’t have any fur.”
The campsite was right beside the lake. There were trees, which considering the trail, was a touch odd. They were tall, and it created nice shade. There were also all kinds of downed logs. I’d been to this site before, and remembered a food pole, which was absent this time. I looked around for it, and finally found the chains that held up the pole on two downed trees. I think the trees are vulnerable to the wind. It sure made me look carefully for widow makers when I set up my tent.
Yup, I took my tent this time. I was pretty nervous about getting up and down, but I had done it before, and my knee didn’t fall apart. This was going to be a real test. By mid-afternoon, after a nice little nap, I knew that my knee was going to be fine. And, I hadn’t taken a single Ibuprofen on this trip, or the last. That hadn’t happened in years. Sell that Ibuprofen stock!
The was the sunset view from inside my tent.
The view across the lake featured steam rising from the thermal features at Grand Prismatic. Sometimes there wasn’t much, and sometimes there was a lot. With my binoculars, I could see people on the observation platform. Without the binoculars, I would have never found it, but once I did, I could occasionally see some color without the binoculars.
I sat by the lake and drank my morning coffee, and watched people go by on foot, or on bikes, and watched ducks and birds, and occasionally, bison. The trail could be seen above the grass, on the right side of the picture.
I had a meal companion. He would look interestedly at me, but I told him, had had to find his own food. He seemed agreeable to that.
This was on my way back to the trailhead. I think it’s Midway Geyser Basin, but I forget. It’s one that I actually walked earlier this year. I like to walk the geyser basins early and late in the seasons, when it’s less crowded. I hadn’t been to this one for a number of years.
Sometimes it’s hard to tell where you’re going in Yellowstone. The bison rub off their winter fur (the stuff the little boy collected) on trees, stumps and in this case, a sign. Oops. It fell down. Well, it broke off and then fell down.
I’m not sure if this one’s out of order, or just from my second trip to this site. Mornings were incredibly peaceful, but then, I guess they usually are. No wind, no people, just some ducks and sandhill cranes.
This was one the way in to the same campsite. The first time I went in, the bison were right beside the parking lot and people were all over. It was a mess. On this trip in, the bison were in two big herds, a nice distance from the road.
My tent. I have had this tent for a loooooong time. I like it. I think it weighs about three pounds, with all the flap doodles. I’ve been in a lot of wind with it, and it’s fine. I’ve been in a lot of rain with it, and been fine. I get other tents, and now hammocks, and yet, here is my tent.
The trail wasn’t totally straight. You did have to know how to turn, if only a little.
Both times I was a Goose Lake, the Phlox were blooming. There were at least two kinds, and they both smelled heavenly.
You can kind of make out a split between the hikers… one guy is further back…? Two or three adult bison and a calf had just run between the two groups. They were way too close, but the really bad thing, to me, was that they thought it was funny, and amazing. That they had been so close to buffalo! I was busy watching the trees on both sides of the trail for more bison.
A man I just passed told me to watch the bull that was now behind me, and off the trail. I had been watching him for a few minutes. He seemed a safe distance off the trail, but he was riled up. He was watching the guy I had just spoken to. I was glad to get past all of the bison.
Zoomed in, this was the bull bison that one hiker had warned me about.
As I left the trailhead, and was headed on my way, there was a bison jam. During the jam, I got a picture of these people, seeing bison up close.
Geeze.
One my final handicapped hike, these flowers were starting. I never remember what they are. I don’t really like yellow, and so promptly forget what the yellow flowers are.
One more trip to Ice Lake!
I had brought my Haven Tent again, and got it al set up, and got in to take a nap, and, well, I hated it. I had put it up at a little park near my house, but the wind always whipped it around, and I’d never actually done more than gotten in it. I didn’t want to spend the night in it.
Hmmm.
I knew I had a tent in the car. You know, in case you need a tent. It’s good to have one.
It wasn’t very far… .
So I went and got it, brought it back, and set it up. Then, I took the mattress from the Haven (that’s part of what makes it lay flat, is a super thick, mattress) and put it in the tent. I hadn’t wanted to take down the Haven until I had a place to put the mattress, to protect it. Then, I took down the Haven Tent, and took it out to the car. Ah, that was nice exercise.
Then I went and sat by the lake for quite a while.
In the morning, there was a bit of fog on the lake. I had a nearby site two weekends before retiring, and on that occasion, I sat and drank coffee and drank coffee, and dreamed of what retirement was going to be like, and finally left around 10 am. This time, I thought about doing that, but decided I needed to go look for bears. So without eating, or ANY COFFEE, I packed and hiked out.
I drove to the gas station, and got a LOT of coffee, and went looking for bears. During the day, I saw 9. It wasn’t a great bear day, but it wasn’t a bad bear day, either. I ate with a friend I had worked with the year before, and got stuck for over an hour at a traffic jam caused by an accident.
I am now figuring out what hikes I want to do next… a little further, a couple of climbs, less people. Summer is here.
Mom and two cubs.
Attachments
Last edited:
