Rewind...Day 4 Honeymoon

Headed to Tower campground, one of my favorites in Yellowstone. Nestled alongside a mountain stream in a high valley and subject to cool breezes, it was absolutely perfect.

Home sweet home complete with man made door mat.

We hard boiled some eggs for breakfast.

This is where you see a lot of buffalo in the park.

Werd up Buff Da Billz.

We got our first dose of many thermal features of the park on the way at Mud Geyser basin.

Mud Geyser

Sulfur smells dominated the air here. (Who farted?)

Dragon's Tongue Spring

A Small mud pot with microbes all around the rim.

This sign constantly reminded us what happened to poor little Timmy, and that being scalded to death like a few people are every year hurts.

Lots of pigments in the guys growing around the springs area.

The walks in Yellowstone are constantly being destroyed by thermal movements, but at least lumber isn't in short supply here.

We set up got ice and supplies for the day and then headed off for our next round of adventure. We decided to hike Mt Washburn from Dunraven Pass. We decided on this route because it seemed that the switchback offered would afford a good view as the climbing was steep and the land would drop below us. Also our original intention to get a little extra mileage out of this out and back, and at 3.1 miles would be our first good test of hiking at altitude. The trail from Dunraven pass was actually an old road grade that in places had progressed to more of a single track hike.

Right from the paring lot this hike reminds you that the grade will be constantly going up.

Up a small valley and Washburn is on the upper right.

Looking back down on where we hiked from steeper terrain.

The final 1/2 mile of trail traverses a very cool spine, somehow like 50 years ago they were able to pave sections of this road. Landslides forced them to make another road up the back of the mtn with a much friendlier grade, so this road is progressively falling off the mountainside.

The horse flies were absolutely awful until about 9500 ft where I was hoping they all asphyxiated and dropped dead. They were slow though so the competition between Abby and I to rack up the insect body count raged on till we were clear of the pesky little buggers.

As we hiked up through the high alpine meadows there were huge beautiful fields of flowers that seemed to stretch endlessly through the valley.

Lots of these yellow guys.

Some blue guys.

Lichens, symbiotic associations of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont), grow everywhere even at the top of the mtn these guys were doing just fine.

More flower power.

As we got higher, the occasional rock escarpments gave us breath taking views of the land below to our south, and leftover snow pack was fun to play around in. At the top we toured one of the only actively manned fire towers still in Yellowstone, noting several formation on maps there on our horizon and the big forest fire itself.

These two are for you Dave.

Yes we did take one without sunglasses (for the grandmothers) but we thought this one was cooler.

The southeast edge of the fire.

We learned the ranger lived up there none stop for 3.5 months of the year in between snows and was restocked every two weeks. His abode on top of the tower was packed with many comforts of home to keep him from getting lonely and the daily visitors I think helped cure that as well. Being the geek I was I asked him about some of the equipment he ran and got some good explanations about some of the things’ functions that remained mysterious to me. After a little convincing, which I don’t know how I did it, I was able to get Abby to concede to hike off the backside of the mtn to the road on the other side, with the prospect of hitch hiking back up to Dunraven Pass.

Last year was a record snow year so there was still a lot of snow. Notice the red color in this snow.

The color is caused by a red pigmented cyanobacteria that lives on receding Alpine snows and glaciers. Sometimes refered to as "watermelon snow"

The barron back slope.

Looking back up the ridge you can see the tower and a snow field.

If the forest is going to ever grow back here, it's taking its sweet merry time. There were no young saplings to be seen anywhere.

It was a little shorter to the parking area on this side of the mtn but the terrain was much different. Where there was high alpine forest on the other side this side had only high altitude meadows that stretched quite some distance. Some small groves of trees burnt out as a testament to the fires that swept through here some time ago. Here were pummeled by the sun’s full force in the open as well as winds whipping across the open ridgeline. We arrived at the parking area to find that we had another good mile to go before we hit the main road. This is where the fun began. Hitch hiking is hard, and we tried in vain for 45 min to get a ride as we walked down the improved gravel road. After the first few min I looked back to find Abby just stopping and smiling at cars as they went by and I had to explain the whole thumb thing to her. We tried hiking with her in front of me and back but it seemed people would have none of the two sketchy figures on the side of the road. After making it back to the road I prepared myself for what I thought would be the inevitable 6 mile hike by me to Dunraven Pass to get the Van. We found a pullout for a scenic overlook about ½ mile up the road and made on last ditch effort to get a ride. Finally! College girls and ecology grad students doing research at that, stopped to give us a ride and we couldn’t have been more thankful, as our dogs were barking by now. We had a brief "nature geek out session" in the 15 min drive back to the pass. Abby learned that her shoes did not fit well and that when you feel a hot spot you need to stop. Her reward for trudging through the heat and pain on her foot was a nice fat blister I feared would derail our plans for more day hikes and possibly the summit attempt on Grand Teton the following week. After we found our way to the car we drove to "THE GRAND CANYON" (of Yellowstone) to check out Yellowstone falls via the Uncle Tom Trail, with lots of steps and people freaking out about the heights everywhere.

An awkward pose on a busy platform.

Yellowstone Falls

And again from Artist Point. (we never seemed to hit any light right for the fals we hiked to)

70 down 500 to go.

Abby and I were tired but it was nice to see people that had gotten off a tour bus suffering for a change instead of us with close to 10 miles of hiking for the day. (which we found to be a lot if you hike this amount in sucession several days in a row) At Artist Point we got another good view of the falls and ran into our first tour bus crowd so this visit was brief and we were missing the slopes of a much less populated Mt.Washburn. We stopped at Upper falls picnic ground at the end of the day as the Sun was starting to go down to find it completely deserted…perfect. We took our solar shower and behind the latrine was a tree perfectly suited for a solar shower rinse. After our showers we decided we would treat ourselves so we went back to the canyon village and ordered some huge American Burgers with fries and indulged our appetites. Abby also got a 5 dollar shake much like the one from Pulp Fiction but I only got one sip of that thing before it was destroyed so all I can say is it was pretty good. We met a couple from western Mass at the bar and talked a bit. I did not envy their crowed hotel where they were staying all week and having to drive vast distances. We ended up missing the wolf ranger program at Tower that evening but the burgers were worth it and we own "In the Valley of the wolves" we purchased from PBS last year.

Happy Anniversary!

Wow I've been married and year and it's flown by. The wife and I celebrated our weekend at my old stomping grounds back in East TN mtns, accented by road rides with the parental units and mtn rides on some sick trails. My dad in his creative age has decided the vacant lot next to our house had enough room, and has accommodated it with some "house mtn bike trails" which we gladly helped pack down. It's pretty awesome to walk out the back door and ride 100 feet to single track. It wasn't a lot of distance but it definitely has some technically challenging terrain. If nothing else it's a great proving ground to go test out the limits of your equipment and riding style.

Recap on the past weeks happenings...

I ordered some stainless steel fenders with the hope that they would last longer than the two pairs of plastic guys that failed the fatigue of commuting test. The bling value is high but I've also learned that looking into them in the morning sun can be blinding.

Oddly enough the day before they arrived I found an almost complete set of drill bits on the side of the road and claimed my first real commuter prime' in quite some time.

A Colorado LIZZY visits and stirs up trouble in west Knoxville.

Tycho teaches Boogs about planetary motion and how to use G forces to do battle.

Oh...and our chickens started laying eggs the day after we returned from our honeymoon! We're looking forward to some consistent egg laying (size and periodicity of laying) in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for news on the Chandler farm egg bidness.

New Bling

Ok so I'm a complete Geek now, but I'm really stoked about a new phone I just got from Verizon that is quite tough. With my new every two this baby cost me 0 dollars, so the fact that it's free is even better. I took the liberty of testing one of its qualities for you tonight here...

http://www.casiogzone.com/boulder/

Dave Holmes mentioned this might be a really neat function especially on vibrate at a Margarita Party...this might be tested in the near future.

Also Zac Johnson since I missed my 5:15 bus, I hit 4000 miles on the commuter today. At first I was a bit miffed but I'm glad I got to ride home...twas nice today. Next year's goal is 4500-5000 which should be easy barring broken wrists, long Oceanic Cruises, and Honeymoons.

Day 3 Honeymoon

The start of the Lewis river and our trip North into Yellowstone, with a look back towards the Tetons.

On the way into Yellowstone we stopped at Lewis and Moose Falls.

Lewis Falls

Apparently Some Harley Riders "ain't too bright" This dude was getting refreshing water just below the falls and aherd of Elk on the river above. Can anyone say cha cha cha?

Arrived late by Yellowstone standards, as we were to find out (11 AM). Bay Bridge was a crammed site and many of the sites were in an open field where they were very exposed. And someone must have told all the rednecks there was free beer here too, because they were here in droves.I might have to put a higher res for this one. Conversion van camping at it's finest. Remove leather chairs from back and put around camp fire. According to these people they're water proof too so it's an added bonus.

This site would prove to be my least favorite for the trip. After settling into camp we saw a ton of smoke on the northern horizon. After driving north a few minutes we were in the thick of it and IT was a massive fire.
Coolest part about fires this big is they are in a sense creators of new fires. The smoke billowing up actually forms cumulonimbus clouds, and in turn static imbalance in the atmosphere. Since the clouds don't build up a lot of moisture they don't rain a whole lot and have a ton of lightning. This is how a large percentage of the park burned in 1988 as we learned in the Grant visitor center.

Where's smoke...

Our first Bison didn't seem to care there was a huge fire nearby.



We found out later that this fire was actually “under control” and was a control burn south of the real fire, which was 20 times its size. The flames were burning the upper canopy and lapping hundreds of feet into the air, a truly amazing site of nature’s raw power. This effectively ended our plans for backpacking in the Northeastern part of the park in the Pelican Wilderness...since it was on fire.

When we left this day the fire was 8000 acres. We hiked the storm point trail, which provided good vistas of Yellowstone Lake from a nice rock outcropping in the middle of the 4-mile loop.Storm Point

The fire forming clouds from the point.

Us On it.


Mosquitoes coming back from the loop were horrendously huge (think terodactyls). Asked a couple of Japanese tourists if they would like me to take a photo for them and got the reply “absolutely No thank you” with a smile and slight bow.

Lots of fuel on the ground. I wished it would burn the mosquitoes.

Storm Point Flowers.

We returned to eat lunch at Pelican Creek and proceeded to watch a tanker helicopter fill up and strategically place water and retardant around the control back burn.
The Pilots would suck up water from Pelican Creek and head out to dump over the fire with guidance from ground and air crews in Cessnas.

Another View of the massive tanker.

After an entertaining lunch we headed to the West Entrance of the park and found ourselves in the mountains again. I hiked up briefly and checked out this Howitzer Cannon they probably use to shoot down avalanches in the winter from the pass area. There were boxes of rounds sitting nearby! But I think they were duds?...I hope.

The Cannon!

After looking at the Man toys in the Western passes we headed back East stopping along the way to gaze in wonder at the beauty of the burnt forests and lake views from some small day hike trails.

A view of the lake.


Another...with the 1988 fire damage, most areas had some regrowth but the higher alpine areas are slower to recover.

On our way back to the campground we hiked the Elephant back loop with another high vantage point overlooking the lake and beautiful alpine forest trails.Some neat footbridges for the wetter seasons.

When attacked by a bear it is important to maintain your ground and composure. Let them know you're quick on the draw with your six shooting hand on your mace.

Finally if they don't believe, let them have it and be fierce...your life depends on it. If the bear is hungry or extra mad, you'll probably die anyways, but better to go out like a champ.

Elephant Back view. The only Hotel in Yellowstone down on the lower right corner.


Squirrel distributing new trees and snacking.

Following about 10-12 miles of hiking and lots of driving around the fire, we made a good-sized pot of spaghetti and went to bed on full tummies after a first full day of activity in the Park.

15 seconds of Fame

My 15 seconds of fame for K town...


http://smarttrips.knoxtrans.org/quarter.htm

I'm usually not too big on broadcasting my own achievements, but I have to say I'm proud to be mentioned in the alternative transportation scene in Knoxville. I was also pleased to find I have converted 2 people to at least ride to the bus in Farragut, one of which bought a new ride from CBC and the other from the Bike Zoo...so getting converts and helping the local shops is always a plus. This kind of stuff makes me feel a real hope for getting people on bikes and out of cars commuting alone. While vanquishing cars from the roads is an unrealistic and utopian idea, getting as many cyclists out there as possible can only help matters in giving us equal rights to what is ours. I feel this year I have made a difference and I hope that my influence on the local scene will continue to grow.


My socks get more space than me.

=)