Yellowstone's Wrangler Lake, Bog Creek, Joseph's Coat Springs, Broad Creek, Wapiti Lake, Hot Springs Basin, and Pelican Valley. Part One of Two.

[Bob]

Scat, no more bushwhacking? Guess I cant send you anymore routes......?!?

 

[scatman]

Scat, no more bushwhacking? Guess I cant send you anymore routes......?!?

Major bushwhacks @Bob, major ones. Try and keep them to two miles or less please.

 

[scatman]

As Casting Director, I prefer to use local talent as opposed to blockbuster big name knuckle draggers (not referring to Bob or Bobby, of course). It's much cheaper. Therefore, cast will be:

@scatman playing Scatman
@TractorDoc playing Tractor Doc
@CajunPoncho playing Patrick
and Cody playing Cody

We won't need to hire an acting coach, as I think most of the cast are probably already pretty good actors in their own right (probably from necessity given what they have to deal with on a daily basis just from their own foibles and personality traits etc.). The extra gentleman who so casually walked through the scene, never knowing how close he came to mayhem and disaster, will be played by the park super Cam Sholly (he wants to keep an eye on things).

Now for funding (it's going to take a lot of cash to keep the casting director from quitting, plus we need things like walkie-talkies and a camera or two, though I could use my old VHS camcorder if I can find it):

We will hire a Funding Director to set up things like a Gofundme and such and whatnot. I nominate @Nick, as he seems good at getting things going and then heading for the hills and disappearing (which is fine as long as he doesn't take the money and might actually be a good thing so no questions can be asked).

We'll need a Location Director, for which I nominate @Outdoor_Fool, who seems to know every possible setting in the Western U.S.

And of course we'll need a Directing Attorney, which would be best served by @Jackson.

Photography Directors would be @Titans and @Yvonne, who are good at making places look even better than they are. I would add @IntrepidXJ but he's probably out taking photos somewhere.

@Janice will be the Psychology Director, as she's good at making everyone feel happy, and @regehr will be Computer Director and in charge of anything digital. Lest he feel disappointed and passed over, @Udink will be Petroglyph/Geocaching Director in case we see anything of that nature. @gnwatts will be Director of Canoes and Hypothermia, just in case.

There are probably another 20 or 30 positions to fill, so we need a Fill These Positions Director, which would be @Bob, who has an infinite well to draw on for detecting BS and thereby preventing posers from coming on board just to post things on Grammy to be cool by association and not really contribute anything.

There's more, but I need to take this call from Bob R.

ETA We'll need a Kilt Director since kilts will be required to stay in the spirit of the thing.

Quite a set of characters that you're pulling into this production @Rockskipper. It could work, or it could be like juggling cats you know? We'll, like I said, I trust your judgement so proceed. Maybe a couple of cameos by Bob and Bobby? Please. I think you may have forgotten the stunt doubles?

 

[Rockskipper]

I already have a cameo arranged by Colin Mochrie. And juggling cats? Not sure about that, but I have the herding cats thing covered by a CATtle dog who's pretty good at it.

 

[scatman]

I already have a cameo arranged by Colin Mochrie. And juggling cats? Not sure about that, but I have the herding cats thing covered by a CATtle dog who's pretty good at it.

And the stunt doubles?

 

[Rockskipper]

No stunt doubles. But I can't believe I forgot the Mule Wrangler Director - we'll need a mule train for the heavy spoons and to pull the Casting Director's Airstream. And I guess we'll need an actual Director, now that I think of it.

 

[scatman]

No stunt doubles. But I can't believe I forgot the Mule Wrangler Director - we'll need a mule train for the heavy spoons and to pull the Casting Director's Airstream. And I guess we'll need an actual Director, now that I think of it.

I thought we'd agreed upon the Coen brothers to direct? Nice catch on the mules. I cannot be held responsible for any injuries or deaths due to the heavy spoons.

 

[TheMountainRabbit]

Looks like a great trip. Looking forward to part 2!

 

[TractorDoc]

Enjoying it so far... the idea of mentally scarring leaves me with a sense of foreboding.

Don't worry too much @Ugly . Our mental scars tend to dry up and flake off shortly after they form.

I need to get to Yellowstone for sure.

Yes you do!

Incredible! You had a fantastic set of trips in the park while you were here this year. Glad you broke this into two reports because I'm loving all the photos.

Thanks @Jackson! You really need to join us for one of these trips. I'll even pack you some extra snacks.

Great story and photos. Complete with face plants, muddy bogs and carcasses.

Face plants on our trips are optional but nearly always present. Bogs come with the territory. A trip report cannot be considered epic, however, if it does not contain at least one carcass. I think I read that somewhere in "Scatman's Guide to Yellowstone." Apparently the book may be getting made into a movie.

I'll start working on my Oscar's speech immediately. Should I wear a kilt to the ceremony?

If you cannot find an Oscar worthy kilt, may I suggest something along these lines? I could get creative and cut your head from one of my photos and paste it over the face of the spoon suit. . . but I'm too lazy.



I'm going to need a little more time to catch up on the rest of these responses and the scenarios (shenanigans?) suggested within them.

 

[Jackson]

Thanks @Jackson! You really need to join us for one of these trips. I'll even pack you some extra snacks.

Let me know what's on tap for next year!

 

[TractorDoc]

Great report Dave! You really need to write a book you know. Maybe after you get a few more Yellowstone trips under your belt, you'll have enough material to fill a good sized book. I can see it now - Yellowstone Tales on the best seller list. I know I'd purchase a copy - maybe even two. Of course, a signed copy would be treasured for the rest of my life. I could keep it between my Scatman bottle opener and my ceramic grizzly bear, bookended by two old Howard Eaton Trail Markers of course.

I like the book idea Hugh, but I'm afraid you and I might be the only people interested in reading it. Maybe one or two others here on the forum might peruse its contents, but then I'd have to figure out what to do with several hundred extra copies. You can only give so many away to friends and family before they start to get annoyed with you.

You might mention the water from both Sour and Bog Creeks, as far as drinking from them was concerned.

The water from Sour and Bog Creeks definitely had a tang to it. At one point I think I described the flavor from Bog Creek as "liquid bacon." I like bacon, but I do not like drinking a cold version of it. I'm just glad that none of us succumbed to the potential Arsenic content. At least not yet.

Carcasses are a plus though, and not setting up in the food prep/eating area is in there somewhere. If you take the derivative of the square of the distance between the elk carcass and the official, established fire pit, you'll see I set up in the precise correct location on night number two. Grizzlies would be confused by the scent of the carcass and the previous campers food scents being equidistant from my tent. It's similar to an eye of a hurricane you see. No Scatman scent in the eye of the scents so to speak.

The beauty of camping at 4B1/Joseph's Coat was that no one had been there before us for month's if the reservation system was any indication. We'd be the only people in a long time leaving food odors, so I thought the fire pit was a safer bet than the carcass. Here I did not realize you were trying to confuse the bears. . . I thought the lingering scent of Scatman's musk was always meant to be an attractant.

Your shot of Wrangler Lake on our second morning is a keeper. It almost makes me want to spend another night at the lake.

Wrangler Lake was a nice campsite. I'd prefer a more accessible body of water to splash around in; I suppose there is always Sour Creek if one was desperate.

The bison blocking our path to our Sour Creek approach meant business. Normally, as you know, I just wave them off, but just as the one we ran across in Hayden Valley with @wsp_scott last year, this one deserved our respect, and thus a wide berth.

The Wrangler Lake Bison did keep a close eye on us. #RespectTheBison.

That might have been my last major bushwhack. Time will tell I guess.

If I were a gambling man I'd wager that you have one or two good bushwacks left in you Hugh. We still have to reach a couple of those areas we did not make it to this year. I'd say we go after them next year but. . . well, you know.

I sure would like to see Dewdrop Lake before I die though. Maybe next time? It seems as though it is slipping from my reach for some reason.

Dewdrop Lake is no longer penciled in on my to do list. . . it has been added with permanent marker. I'm counting on you to lead us there, but only partly because no one else is crazy enough to try the journey.

I think that Patrick is protecting you guys from the ghosts of downfall present, past and future.

I'd like to say that Patrick was getting out of his comfort zone in his moment of valor at Bog Creek. . . but that was just Patrick being Patrick. Coincidentally he is my neighbor and I see him doing that pose in his backyard all the time.

I was this close to giving in to the heavy spoon on that climb I'll tell you.

That heavy spoon has been to many places that most people will never get to see. I certainly hope that it has earned a place of honor in the Scat household's utensil drawer.

The pictures of Patrick dealing with his burrito just make me laugh out loud.

You should stop by our place for supper one day Hugh. There is always the potential for a burrito moment when Patrick is in attendance. . . and not just with burritos. All forms of cuisine are equally vulnerable to his imagination.

You know the ground comes up fast, especially if you are carrying a heavy spoon.

So you are saying it was the weight of the spoon that caused you to succumb to gravity? I thought maybe the long handle got tangled in your feet and caused you to trip on occasion.

Jospeh's Coat Springs was as spectacular as I remembered it. I really enjoyed the campsite that is close to the thermal area. It was the first time I had stayed there. I actually thought the whole Broad Creek area was worth our time, not just the part that flows through Joseph's Coat.

Completely Agree. I'm feeling a return trip is brewing on the horizon.

Dave, I'm going to fast until you put up Part II to this trip, so don't let me lose too much weight

I am working on it. I'm not very tech smart so it is taking some time to transfer picture files from my cell phone.

As Casting Director, I prefer to use local talent as opposed to blockbuster big name knuckle draggers (not referring to Bob or Bobby, of course). It's much cheaper. Therefore, cast will be:

@scatman playing Scatman
@TractorDoc playing Tractor Doc
@CajunPoncho playing Patrick
and Cody playing Cody

We won't need to hire an acting coach, as I think most of the cast are probably already pretty good actors in their own right (probably from necessity given what they have to deal with on a daily basis just from their own foibles and personality traits etc.). The extra gentleman who so casually walked through the scene, never knowing how close he came to mayhem and disaster, will be played by the park super Cam Sholly (he wants to keep an eye on things).

Now for funding (it's going to take a lot of cash to keep the casting director from quitting, plus we need things like walkie-talkies and a camera or two, though I could use my old VHS camcorder if I can find it):

We will hire a Funding Director to set up things like a Gofundme and such and whatnot. I nominate @Nick, as he seems good at getting things going and then heading for the hills and disappearing (which is fine as long as he doesn't take the money and might actually be a good thing so no questions can be asked).

We'll need a Location Director, for which I nominate @Outdoor_Fool, who seems to know every possible setting in the Western U.S.

And of course we'll need a Directing Attorney, which would be best served by @Jackson.

Photography Directors would be @Titans and @Yvonne, who are good at making places look even better than they are. I would add @IntrepidXJ but he's probably out taking photos somewhere.

@Janice will be the Psychology Director, as she's good at making everyone feel happy, and @regehr will be Computer Director and in charge of anything digital. Lest he feel disappointed and passed over, @Udink will be Petroglyph/Geocaching Director in case we see anything of that nature. @gnwatts will be Director of Canoes and Hypothermia, just in case.

There are probably another 20 or 30 positions to fill, so we need a Fill These Positions Director, which would be @Bob, who has an infinite well to draw on for detecting BS and thereby preventing posers from coming on board just to post things on Grammy to be cool by association and not really contribute anything.

There's more, but I need to take this call from Bob R.

ETA We'll need a Kilt Director since kilts will be required to stay in the spirit of the thing.

Bravo @Rockskipper , Bravo.

 

[wsp_scott]

Looks like a good start to a memorable trip. Looking at the map and reading between the lines, I hope you headed towards Fairyland after this part. From what I've read, it would fit with your foreshadowing "mentally scarred but alive".

 

[scatman]

Looks like a good start to a memorable trip. Looking at the map and reading between the lines, I hope you headed towards Fairyland after this part. From what I've read, it would fit with your foreshadowing "mentally scarred but alive".

Fairyland would have been a reprieve from the previous day of having to drink Sour Creek and Bog Creek water all day.

 

[scatman]

So you are saying it was the weight of the spoon that caused you to succumb to gravity? I thought maybe the long handle got tangled in your feet and caused you to trip on occasion.

So you're thinking the spoon tripped my up, as opposed to it intentionally shifting around in my pack to throw off my center of gravity at crucial times?

Heavy spoons are pure evil! Stephen King needs to write a book about one. @Rockskipper, you may need to come up with the cover art for this one. Oh, and a title. I should probably check the utensil drawer and make sure it's still in there. It could be walking the house at night plotting its next evil deed.

 

[Rockskipper]

(Something whacked me over the head while I was doing this - something heavy and made of metal...)

 

[scatman]

View attachment 116097

(Something whacked me over the head while I was doing this - something heavy and made of metal...)

Brilliant! Though creepy may be too tame.

 

[Outdoor_Fool]

The Cam Sholly reference is comedy gold! Awesome work @Rockskipper !!!

 

[TractorDoc]

I'm thinking @scatman needs a new Avatar. It is not the best quality but scaled down it should look ok.

 

[Janice]

The Cam Sholly reference is comedy gold! Awesome work @Rockskipper !!!

I had to look that one up. (I don't watch much TV and thought it was some reference most people would know about.) Thank goodness for Google!

 

[Rockskipper]

The back cover will have quotes:

Movie coming Soon! (Will be Longer than the Book)

Had trouble with the spoon, it kept undulating and shrieking, then my system crashed. —Cover Artist

The word creepy may be too tame. —Scatman

That's the only word that would fit. —Cover Artist

I think there may be some symbolism here, though I haven't figured it out yet. —Dr. Beth, Cody Regional Mental Health

Did you notice the eyes? Bigfoot! —Action Jackson (famous ranger who claimed to see Bigfoot)

Lawsuit pending. —Oneida Flatwear