Looking down the Canyon from one of the falls overlooks.
At the end of the walk there was a bridge that went over the Yellowstone River. This view is looking up the river.
The 'island' in the middle of the river is called a 'hoodoo'. I'll have to talk to Carolyn for more explanation.
View looking down river from the bridge.
Well, I guess we like getting up early. This morning we needed to be at Canyon Village to take a ranger hike on the south rim of the "Grand Canyon" of the Yellowstone. This hike started at 9AM. That doesn't sound so bad except that this is Yellowstone. One must travel rather slowly and avoid the animals such as Bison, Deer, Bear, Moose and the like. Now remember we're still in Mammoth Hot Springs so we have quite a drive ahead of us. We decide we have to have the car packed and be checked out by 6AM. OK, we didn't get out until 6:15.
We started this hike/walk with the ranger, there were maybe 40 people and she was reviewing things we had heard on many other of our walks, we cut out. We decided to go to Inspiration Point and Fred and * would walk the '3' mile trail to the bridge. Carolyn was going to do what was comfortable for her. The walk Fred & I decided to take would allow us to see both falls and give us a good '6' mile walk. It was considered an "easy" hike. I continue to believe that the people out here don't understand what 'flat' or 'steep' means.
We get started and Fred & I tend to walk a bit faster than Carolyn. It's not a problem, we eventually catch up with each other and on this occasion, we met at the first parking lot. There happened to be a trail map posted and when Fred & I reviewed it, it appeared to go across the road at 2 different points. Carolyn caught up and decided to turn back; she would wait at the car and read her new, fantastic book.
Fred and I see this path across the street and take off. It didn't seem to be going in the right direction initially but appeared to turn in the direction we wanted to go up a ways. We kept going, we ended up in a camping area. Area "P" to be precise. We found some people in the parking lot and they kindly shared their map. We went back the way we came and on the way there was a sign, 1/2 mile to the over look that we had just left. Glad we like to walk.
It was truly a beautiful walk. Fred found another extra 'walk' for us; it would take us to the top of one of the falls. So we start down. One switchback, then another, then we see people sitting on the provided benches at the corners of the switchbacks, trying to recover. There were 12 in all. It was a 600 foot drop in 3/8 mile. The views were wonderful; however, we needed to get back up to complete our hike to the bridge & back to the Inspiration Point. On the way up, I told Fred, we were going to pace ourselves. We started out slow but steady. One man passed us but by the time we were at the 9th or 10th turn, he was stopping and by we went. We made it to our destination without a stop or a heart attach ... yes, I'm proud.
It really was a memorable walk, albeit a little long. My knees aren't nearly as bad as when we did the Grinnell Glacier walk, even though they might be a little swollen today.
We started this hike/walk with the ranger, there were maybe 40 people and she was reviewing things we had heard on many other of our walks, we cut out. We decided to go to Inspiration Point and Fred and * would walk the '3' mile trail to the bridge. Carolyn was going to do what was comfortable for her. The walk Fred & I decided to take would allow us to see both falls and give us a good '6' mile walk. It was considered an "easy" hike. I continue to believe that the people out here don't understand what 'flat' or 'steep' means.
We get started and Fred & I tend to walk a bit faster than Carolyn. It's not a problem, we eventually catch up with each other and on this occasion, we met at the first parking lot. There happened to be a trail map posted and when Fred & I reviewed it, it appeared to go across the road at 2 different points. Carolyn caught up and decided to turn back; she would wait at the car and read her new, fantastic book.
Fred and I see this path across the street and take off. It didn't seem to be going in the right direction initially but appeared to turn in the direction we wanted to go up a ways. We kept going, we ended up in a camping area. Area "P" to be precise. We found some people in the parking lot and they kindly shared their map. We went back the way we came and on the way there was a sign, 1/2 mile to the over look that we had just left. Glad we like to walk.
It was truly a beautiful walk. Fred found another extra 'walk' for us; it would take us to the top of one of the falls. So we start down. One switchback, then another, then we see people sitting on the provided benches at the corners of the switchbacks, trying to recover. There were 12 in all. It was a 600 foot drop in 3/8 mile. The views were wonderful; however, we needed to get back up to complete our hike to the bridge & back to the Inspiration Point. On the way up, I told Fred, we were going to pace ourselves. We started out slow but steady. One man passed us but by the time we were at the 9th or 10th turn, he was stopping and by we went. We made it to our destination without a stop or a heart attach ... yes, I'm proud.
It really was a memorable walk, albeit a little long. My knees aren't nearly as bad as when we did the Grinnell Glacier walk, even though they might be a little swollen today.
1 comment:
I wish we were there. I remember wheezing on the way back myself. You and Fred look healthy and happy. The West seems to agree with you.
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