Back on the Road

2018-09-10
Yellowstone (WY) and Helena, MO

While I will grumble about the long traffic jams caused by viewing wildlife, I understand that is what a lot of people are most interested in and that they haven't gotten far enough from their cars to be close to it so that this is what they get. Plus the large mammals are where you find them. And, in fact, I am not above the occasional car window shot when it presents itself.

I finished my tour of Yellowstone by doing a back country hike on the northern section of the loop road. The Garnet Hill Loop was about 8.5 miles at about 6000' elevation with maybe 700' of climb. I decided to take out my wildlife lens to see what I could find. It was around 10:30 by the time I got to the trail head, partly because it's two hours across the park and partly because of animal road blocks. That's a bit late to expect much, but I had little to lose.

This is bear country, and of course solo hiking is discouraged; there is safety in groups. I had hoped someone else would be taking the trail, but I didn't seen anyone until mile five and even they were going the other direction so I plodded on alone. They also say to make a lot of noise to keep from surprising a bear; talk loudly, sing, etc. especially on blind corners and rises. Since my singing can frighten small children, I of course went that route. For someone that never sings I was impressed that I was able to dig into my memory and come up with so many options.

Apparently I know about four songs. Old MacDonald came up first, followed by the Wheels on the Bus. Both of these were sung without the motions. Well, mostly. For some reason (don't ask me why) I know the lyrics to One Tin Soldier, and my favorite was Build Me Up Buttercup which I know thanks to the Corporate Cup back in the late 90's. So if there were bears that I didn't see, I suspect it's because they aren't fans of the Foundations.

The hike actually started out quite promising with a herd of Pronghorn Antelope having brunch. They didn't mind me, although they were checking out my backpack and trying to figure if they should get one like that to carry grass. At least that's what I would carry if I were an antelope.

About half a mile past them I encountered a bird circling. It wasn't circling me, but it was covering the area where I was about to walk. I tried not to read too much into this while actively scanning for snares and bird-dug pits.

I could have quit right then. 7.5 more miles of no wildlife. The actual hike was very nice; there was a stretch by the Yellowstone river, some nice forest and even a good ledge section. It wasn't breathtaking scenery, but a solid hike and very pleasant if I hadn't been lugging the heavy gear. This is one of those hikes you should do purely for the enjoyment of hiking. And singing of course.

I then drove to Helena Montana to spend the night. While on the road I received a request to add the states for folks not familiar with the location of National Parks. I really hadn't thought much about it, but of course why would most folks know this. So my apologies, and I have retroactively added the information to the subtitles. Feel free to request anything else; I may comply if it's easy enough. Remember, I am on vacation.

I try not to talk about food unless it's part of a larger point; you can safely assume that I eat something every day. However, I had Bullman's Wood Fired Pizza for dinner tonight which was the best bbq chicken pizza that I can recall. Perhaps it was because I hadn't dined out in quite a while (only the 3rd time this trip), but more likely it was just a really good pizza. Next time your out here give it a whirl and let me know what you think. They also have bottles of Belgian beer, with Gulden Draak being their house beer if you can believe it. I deferred tonight because I had to drive in a strange city.

Hiking distance: 8.5 miles