Day 12 Yellowstone Day 2

It was a very late night and after seeing plenty of Bison and realizing that without high powered binoculars odds were I was not seeing a wolf pack I said no to early morning drive to Lamar Valley. Instead great buffet for breakfast plenty of protein and off to try something really dumb.

Originally I was going to do the Chittenden Road to Mt Washburn hike but after finding out the night before that Glacier was going to be changed as far as Going to the Sun Road I needed something bigger. So the harder, steeper, Dunraven Pass to summit hike was ahead of me.  The up and back according to my tracker ended up being a perfect 7.0 miles with an elevation gain of 1,378 feet.  It took me 2 hours and 12 minutes total back and forth not counting the waiting around time.  It had some pretty cool views of Yellowstone from the top. It was by and far the hardest hike I have ever done. But I felt great at the end. And I was killed by any bears. So that was good.

After that everything else was cake. First off I hit the Canyon area. I have been there before in 2017 with the girls but I wanted to do the hike down to the Brink of the Falls so off I went on that one. Was really cool to be standing right above the lower falls. The upper falls trail is still closed and has been for some time I think.

Next up was Lookout Point. Which was pretty cool BUT what I didn’t know was that there was a lower vantage point. It was a steep crazy hike. But the view was great and very different. Plus I got to see this awesome dead tree. I mean even the trees that are long gone have amazing character in Yellowstone.

Grand View was next which does give good view of the canyon but not the falls.

The next quick turnout was Beryl Spring and it did live up to its color and had lots of activity.

Gibbon Falls was just a quick view from the side of the road but was pretty.

I then took the one way Firehole Canyon Road. It actually leads to a swimming hole where you can swim in the Firehole River. But let me tell you about those falls they were pretty neat looking for a small set.

I finally made it back to the Old Faithful Basin and my cabin area. I loaded up my gear just as Old Faithful started and I headed off to find the Solitary Geyser. My goal was to give it cheers. It was way back out of the way. This little endeavor led me to wander for about 4 to 5 miles around the Geyser Basins. I saw lots of activity but only Old Faithful was an eruption.

After finally making it back I headed over to dinner at Old Faithful Inn. Finding out i was a bit early well i had dessert first ... mmm mmm Huckleberry Ice Cream, double scoops!