Alone in Yellowstone’s backcountry

I often seem to have a migraine on the days I need to log on to Recreation.Gov to panic book a backpacking trip as thousands of other outdoor enthusiasts try to do exactly the same thing. Perhaps it’s the anticipatory stress. Anyway, I had a cracker on the day Yellowstone bookings opened (way back in San Diego). All the Lamar Valley itineraries were booked up which was a shame as I’d heard it was amazing but somewhat of a relief as I’d also read it is amazing due to the plentiful bear and wolf sightings. I opted instead for a point to point hike from the southern boundary of the park up to the Heart Lake trailhead. Once again I got a wonky itinerary with the hopes that cancellations would open up better camping options nearer the time.

*Enjoying the boardwalks by Old Faithful before our backpacking trip*

Sure enough they did! And by the time we pulled up to the Yellowstone ranger station for the obligatory viewing of the bear safety video we had a nice little three nighter on the books. At this point I looked at the elevation profile and realised that we’d be doing the trail backwards and travelling uphill the whole way. Never mind - our knees and cardiovascular systems would thank us in the long run. On Recreation.Gov you take what you can get!

We got an early start the next morning as we parked at the end point and prepared to hitchhike down to the start of our hike. We figured it’s always better to hitchhike at the beginning when we’re less tired and, crucially, have had a recent shower. We got so lucky as a woman and her daughter turned around to pick us up after only a couple of minutes standing at the roadside. We had a nice chat on the journey down (which was a lot longer than I expected) and she dropped us off right where we needed to be. A good first hitchhiking experience for me!

Setting out, our first task was to cross the mighty Snake River. Thankfully at this time of year it’s a calf-height trickle and was blissfully cooling as we waded across the wide expanse of water.

*This long crossing can be treacherous earlier in the season*

We then set off through a shady wooded area strewn with berries. Delicious but we were on constant lookout for bears. The wood quickly gave way to a gorgeous meadowy expanse. It felt like a different era as we walked through the waist high grasses with crickets, butterflies and other insects spiralling up into the air as we passed. Mosquitos and biting flies were part of the mix and we quickly donned our mosquito headnets. They might look a bit silly but I’ll take that any day over having insects landing on my face every five seconds.

*These tiny berries are grouse whortleberries. They have a herbal berry taste - like a backcountry cocktail. One of my favourites!*

Walking back through the forest snacking on berries we came across a surprise treat - a small patch of chanterelle mushrooms growing just off the trail. They’re easy to identify if you know what you’re looking for with one of the most surprising features being an aroma of apricots. We picked one and looked forward to chopping it up to add a bit of freshness to that evening’s freeze dried meal. Coupled with all the berries the backcountry really was providing in the culinary department.

The main reason behind choosing this backpacking trip (other than it being available and taking what you can get in places like this where everything is top class) is that I’d read that there was a place where a thermal river enters the cold Snake River and creates a natural wilderness hot tub.

*Follow this hot stream down to the Snake River and you’re in for a treat*

It took us a while to find following some pretty vague directions Amy had dug up online. We arrived as another couple were just packing up. It felt like they were on an early date that wasn’t going too well with the girl trying to explain to the guy that if his friends were being assholes and he didn’t say anything then he was maybe a bit of a jerk too. He really wasn’t getting it and kept rolling his eyes at us as if to say “what a pain she is”. We were 100% on her side though. They soon headed out and we decided we’d stay in the hot spring until the next group of people arrived so that we could all get a rare chance to enjoy a private soak.

*Finding the perfect mix of hot and cold water*

The Snake River was fast flowing and very chilly whereas the thermal river flowing into it was fast flowing and very hot. The idea was that you would find the perfect spot for you with just the right amount of hot and cold mixing. It was such a surreal and beautiful experience. It felt like sitting in a very pleasant fire as the warm water flickered along our bodies mixed with the tendrils of cold from the Snake. I’ve seen water moving before obviously but never truly felt it in that way with all the currents and eddies.

*Struggling to leave. The thermal river is on the left of this shot and I’m sat in the Snake*

The setting was also stunning - no roads, no crowds, just us and the vast Yellowstone wilderness. Those other people we were waiting for never came and we really struggled to leave the place, soaking in the warm water for an hour. Eventually we told ourselves we’d come back and managed to drag ourselves away as we really wanted to get to our campsite before it got dark.

*Hiking through more meadows to get to our campsite*

We had been told by the ranger on collecting our permit that the location of our first night’s campsite had changed recently. Truth be told it was a little spooky! We’d become very used to the way most other National Parks do backcountry camping - i.e you arrive and choose your tent site and expect to share your little patch of wilderness (including the food prep area) with a few other groups. Not Yellowstone. You’re totally alone. The next closest backcountry site was a good half a mile away and the site felt very wild, probably because it was so new.

*A very lightly used campsite with views of the Snake River*

The mosquitos were being a pain and we spent the evening eating our dinner and lighting bundles of pine needles to create fragrant smoke that really did repel the mozzies. That night we slept with the top off our tent and gazed up at the stars as we fell asleep. It was a blissfully quiet night although I’d be lying if I said we weren’t just a bit freaked out to be all alone in grizzly country.

*The milky way over Yellowstone. Amy took this on her phone. One of my favourite things this year has been seeing the milky way!*

The next day’s hiking began with another scenic ford of the Snake River (twice for Amy as I left my watch at the campsite so she went back to get it for me - what a hero). I’ve got better at river crossings over the year but I’m still quite slow.

*She went to save my watch even though it ticks incessantly all night long*

It was, predictably, another scorcher of a day but the hiking was incredible, through more beautiful open meadows cut through with winding streams. We had a great time watching a couple of sandhill cranes doing a courtship dance high in the air as they sang their distinctive tune.

It was early (around 5pm) when we arrived at our next campsite. It was marginally less creepy than the first one and looked more well lived in. I threw our rope over the bear pole and got our food hung and we set up our tent before heading down to the nearby lake for a dip.

*Testing out the bear hang - I couldn’t reach it…*

Bad idea! The ground around the lake was soft and sandy, I think it might even have been quicksand! We started to sink into it and worried that if we got in the lake we’d never get back out so we canned the swimming idea and just grabbed some very cloudy water to filter instead. On our way back to the campsite we’re pretty sure we heard another bear huff at us from the trees - there was something back there in the woods for sure. We carried on back at a decent pace and tried to put it out of our minds for the evening!

*Quicksand has been less of a problem in my life than 90s kids TV suggested - this was my first encounter with it*

In Yellowstone, for conservation management reasons they rotate which campsites can have fires and we got lucky with this site and were able to build a fire. Amy had a blast (and a good lung workout) getting it started and we kept our little blaze fed all evening which kept the mosquitos at bay.

Note the bear spray to the right - it was always within grabbing distance on this trip

Unfortunately on dousing the fire we discovered that some previous backpackers had left two bags of oatmeal in the fire pit I’m not sure if they’d tried to burn them but it hadn’t been successful. Why would you do that?! If a bear finds them they’d be beyond psyched (they were sugary flavoured oatmeal packets); would learn to associate that campsite with food and ultimately could kill/injure another backpacker or, more likely, be killed themselves for becoming a nuisance. None of this would affect the people who’d originally left the packets there so it feels like very selfish behaviour.

That, coupled with the campsite feeling very animal-y made for a pretty rough night’s sleep. Early in the evening we could hear something down by the lake. Whatever it was was turning over rocks and then pouncing into the water - presumably to get whatever had been hiding under the rock. We didn’t dare go and look as it was dusky and prime bear activity time but we both agreed that it possibly sounded like a small cat (maybe a bobcat) as the splashes seemed gentler than something a grizzly bear would make. Then all through the night something was rustling around our tent site. It was bigger than a squirrel but smaller than a bear. Lying in the dark separated from the outside world by a thin layer of mesh and nylon though it’s really hard to convince yourself that it’s safe enough to go to sleep.

This probably all sounds like we weren’t having a good time - which couldn’t be further from the truth. It was a bit of a shock how scary it was out there and we had to deal with that but it lent the trip a memorable quality. I’d love to go back and backpack the Lamar Valley (the place where we saw the wolves) but probably in a bigger group so if this blog hasn’t totally put you off and you like the sound of it let me know! It definitely isn’t for everyone but it was a cool experience.

*An unrelated photo from earlier in the day!*

The next morning dawned and we had survived the night! Neither of us were particularly well rested and we took our time getting packed up - lamenting that we’d have to carry two waterlogged, half burnt bags of instant oatmeal with us for the rest of the trip. No way were we carrying on the cycle and leaving them for the next person to worry about though.

As luck would have it just as we were leaving a ranger arrived on horseback. She checked our permit and we breathed a sigh of relief that we had been taking the bear safety seriously when she went to check our food prep area. She was happy to take the oatmeal bags off our hands too which we were very grateful for.

Being a Yellowstone Ranger on horseback seems like a dream job. Her horse was amazing too

Amy and her horse had such a connection! The horse was named Pigpen and Amy had a really nice time petting him and feeding him handfuls of grass - we were sad to leave.

The AllTrails reviews said that this was the best section of trail in the hike. So we were really looking forward to the day. And were then disappointed as it didn’t live up to the hype. I think it might have been that there had been a clumsy reroute of the trail following some floods. So now it cuts through a fairly dull new growth lodgepole pine forest and bypasses a beautiful lake (which we did double back to get a look at).

*The trail used to go past this beautiful lake but has been diverted around*

By the time we arrived at Heart Lake we were both pretty beat so we were delighted to find that a. it was the prettiest campsite we’d stayed at so far on the trip, with soaring mountain views on one side and a lake shore on the other and b. there was another campsite just over the river from us. Hidden by the trees and the roar of the water but still comfortingly close.

We threw up the tent for a quick lie down and spent the afternoon relaxing. We again tried to take a dip in the lake but it was disturbingly silty and Amy got a leech on her leg! So we backed out of that one sharpish and settled for sitting in the freezing stream water to get our cold fix and to ease the itching of our accumulated mosquito bites. It was bliss.

Later on we walked further down the campsite to put our tent in the sleeping area (you shouldn’t sleep near where you hang your food in grizzly bear country) and we discovered the final delight of this campsite - a toilet! It was surrounded by wildflowers and had a beautiful mountain view. It was such a luxury to not have to dig a hole.

*Backcountry loo with a view. There was a total lack of privacy but a total lack of other people too so it worked out.*

We had a much more relaxed night knowing we were so close to other people (and thankfully no animals were scratching around us this time) and woke up feeling refreshed and ready for the hike out. It was due to be a long day with a lot of uphill so we drank a lot of water and replenished our supplies as we’d been told the river we were camping on was the cleanest water source around the lake. I’m so glad we did that!

*Three loons on Heart Lake. They have a lovely haunting call that sounds almost wolf-like*

The walk round the lake was lovely and we could see a geyser steaming in the distance. We made the decision to continue round the trail to the ranger station in the hopes of catching Pigpen the horse again rather than taking the 2 mile off trail out and back to the geyser. And we did make it to see Pigpen! We chatted to the ranger and her colleague for a while before setting out on our way.

We had seen on the map that we’d be hiking along a river for a large part of today so we were looking forward to a cooling dip once we hit it and to filter some water and keep well hydrated. As it turns out - the name “Witch Creek” should have tipped us off. We arrived at the riverside and I dipped our collection bag in only to find that the water was really hot! Another thermal feature! It was really cool to see and in cold weather would be absolute bliss as it was the temperature of a hot bath. But really wasn’t what we were looking for at that point in time.

We were so grateful that we’d chugged a lot of water and filled up all our bottles before leaving the campsite and felt confident that we’d easily make it back to the car where some cold gatorade was waiting in our fridge so we set off again and enjoyed watching the hot river making its way through the landscape looking so much like a normal river.

It wasn’t long before our next surprise of the day - a big thermal pool just feet off the trail! The water in these pools starts its life as rainfall in the park which seeps down through the bedrock and becomes heated by the massive Yellowstone caldera. It then rises up through faults in the rocks to create the thermal features the park is famous for.

This one was totally unexpected for us and we were mesmerised by the bubbles rising up and the colourful micro-organisms surrounding the pool with rings of orange, yellow, blue and green. I have to say I also loved the lack of boardwalks, signage and crowds of tourists. It was a peaceful and wild pool - just as it should be. I do see why people occasionally lose themselves and jump into these things, the urge to touch it was high!

We reigned ourselves in though and left with all layers of our epidermis intact. Carrying on we came across more pools - I think these ones must have been even hotter. They were steaming and bubbling and the water was a clear light blue with none of the orange or yellow micro-organisms. Very different looking!

*Forbidden hot tubs - these ones really did look dangerous!*

We continued following Witch Creek up the hillside until beautiful views of Heart Lake below opened up and we stopped for a scenic lunch break.

Eventually we came across what I think was maybe the source of all these thermal pools (and Witch Creek). It was a steaming hot, sulpher-y basin emitting steam and bubbles of boiling hot water at the top of the hill we were climbing.

*Steaming hot thermal area high above Heart Lake*

At this point though we started to get some really uneasy bear-y feelings! Over the year we’ve accumulated knowledge of the kinds of signs to look at for that can indicate recent bear activity. Things like overturned rocks, poop, tracks etc. This was a new one for us though - a freshly scratched tree trunk still dripping sap from its bark. Amy even had a taste of it! And nestled in the sticky sap there were some bear hairs! They clearly belonged to a grizzly as you could see the lighter tip and based on how far up the tree he’d reached, it wasn’t a small one.

*Grizzly fur is dark with a lighter tip - just like the hair I’m holding here!*

I don’t have any photos of the rest of the hike! It made those last couple of miles fly by though as we picked up the pace. It was a lovely forested hike with tonnes of signs of bears and we were pretty happy to return to Big Buddy! Even happier that our fridge had remained functional whilst we were away and that we could enjoy a cold drink.

We beelined straight to the nearest restaurant and enjoyed a burger followed by an enormous ice cream (apparently they give a free extra scoop to backpackers!)

Running with the wolf pack