May 19-21
Oh the days are definitely still crazy in Yellowstone. Xanterra has all of us working crazy hours that I’m really not excited about. It’s about 55-60 hours a week of standing in an ice cream shop with half of the machines being broken, so customers aren’t really all that happy, but it’s not prime tourist season yet so it’s been pretty slow.
We are still doing a ton of hiking and the other night Matt, Jessica, Ingrid, and myself went to West Yellowstone for the night. This is kind of a drab down right outside the West Gate to Yellowstone in Montana. It seemed to have about a thousand hotels and gas stations and not much else, but we did manage to make it to a few stores before they all closed. I had to get some much needed supplied since pretty much everything that Xanterra and Yellowstone General Stores sells is about 3 times the price as at home (Gas is about $3.40).
Yesterday, Matt, Jessica, Tanner, and myself took it upon ourselves (since we got out of work early due to a broken ice cream machine) to do the Ice Lake/Wolf Lake loop hike. The bugs were crazy around the lake and (after a few wrong turns) we emerged on top of the hill above Ice Lake only to be blasted by a hail/snow storm that lasted for the next 25 minutes. Needless to say, none of us had any rain gear with us.
After a little more hill climbing and fording some rivers, we came to Lower Gibbon Falls. Set below regenerating Lodgepole Pine forests, this set of falls is big and loud. I swear it seemed to be at least 70-80 foot down. We continued to hike down to a meadow where we came across 3 elk, a swamp (I had tennis shoes on and not my Gore-Tex boots so my feet got wet), and 2 of the biggest bison I’ve ever seen in my life. Quickly after this the hike was over, but this wonderful 4.2-mile hike is definitely worth an afternoon, even with all the bugs!
Today (May 21), Matt, Jessica, and myself all had the day off together, so we took it as a great opportunity to do some hiking! We started out the day at Old Faithful visitor center to ask the ranger where to go and finally decided to hike the Slough (pronounced “slew”) Creek Trail through the Lamar Valley in the northeast part of the park. Our timing was not the greatest and the first 2 1/2 miles of the hike were spent on a road trying to get to the trailhead (due to wolf activity they’re trying to keep automobile traffic down in the area). After finally getting to the trailhead, we began a quick 500 foot climb to the top of the mountain (not sure exactly what it was called), but after this climb we descended down into the valley that has Slough Creek running through it.
It’s hard to see the creek while coming down through the woods, but after hitting the valley floor we were quickly in awe at the mountains surrounding us and the meadows and river valley that we would spend the next few hours hiking in. Continuing on the trail, we came across a huge bison sitting along the trail chewing on his cud in close proximity to the backcountry ranger cabins. We decided this was worth a picture because of the size of this monster.
We also came across a dead fox with a radio collar on it, but we didn’t know what to do about a carcass with a radio collar so we left it be for the backcountry rangers to find. We hiked a little past the 5 Km. sign and then, after looking through my field guide to find out what certain wildflowers and varmint were that we were seeing, took the hike back to the car. 12 miles after leaving the car, we were back…tired…but still doing extremely well after a wonderful day of hiking through Lamar Valley. I definitely recommend this hike to anyone looking for a nice 3-4 hour hike.
All in all, we saw tons of elk and bison, 4 black bear (a sow & 2 cubs and then an additional one just walking down the road), a pronghorn antelope, some ground squirrels, some sort of hawk catching some thermals on the mountains above Slough Creek, and people were watching the Lamar wolf dens, but we couldn’t see any of these. It was an awesome day, but I definitely am so tired and ready for bed.
It’s tough working 10-hour days and then hiking 3-4 miles every day and then, on my day off, doing a 12-mile hike…but living in Yellowstone you have to take advantage of the opportunities that surround you. You have to take advantage of all that you are offered because not many people can say that they have had the chance to live in the world’s first national park for 3 months. As always, keep me in your prayers and you’ll be in mine!
May 22-24, 2007
Well it’s been another few crazy days here! I finally started working at the Bakery, which has me getting up at 6 am and working 6:30 until 1 pm. It’s not a bad shift, although we’re really busy with all the tourists wanting some sort of breakfast. But I can’t complain. There is talk of me being able to take on a supervisor position. My supervisor is going to recommend to his boss that I become a supervisor because of my experience, hard work, and positive attitude. That would be great! It’d be a pay raise and some more responsibility.
On the 22nd, Matt, Ingrid, myself (and eventually Tanner) decided to hike the Delacy Creek Trail to Shoshone Lake. This is a nice 6-mile hike down through a lodgepole forest that eventually opens up onto a meadow with Delacy Creek winding its way down through until eventually pouring out into Shoshone Lake. The hike was fun…but was made harder by the fact that it had been snowing all day. We received 4 inches of snow that day and it was so freezing cold! We didn’t really get a chance to see a ton of wildlife on this hike (I think all we saw was a quail), but the scenery was great. It was made even better by the snow falling all around us.
I’m tired. That’s logging 22-miles worth of hiking and 20 hours of working over the past 3 days. I am so dead tired, but I must say that I find myself having way more energy than I have ever had. I’m just so awake and ready to face the world. I’ve definitely been getting in shape and find myself being able to do a lot of things that before would have caused me to tire out quickly. I really enjoy being able to get out. Fishing season opens on the 26th, so I cannot wait to get out with my friends!
More and more workers are arriving every single day. I met a kid who goes to Grove City College today and is working doing ministry in the national parks. He seems pretty cool. There are definitely a ton of Colombians working with us and I’ve managed to become pretty good friends with a group of them. We hang out pretty much every night and last night we went out really late and had a snowball fight on the continental divide. They don’t really get a chance to go out because none of them have cars here and they work all the time. They are so cool and they are teaching me some general Spanish so that I can get by with simple phrases.
It’s funny to watch all the drama playing itself out here. People hooking up everywhere, little relationships coming and going, etc. You all know how it goes. I’m trying to stay out of it, but I can’t lie. I’ve met some really awesome people and some people I really enjoy hanging out with.
My family comes out in the middle of June and I cannot wait to see them! I’ve seen so much stuff already that I cannot wait for them to see. It’s a totally different feel to live in the park than it is to just visit like we did 6 years ago. We get to see all the places the tourists never have a chance to see.
I’m in the process of filling out an application for volunteering with the National Park Service to do security and stuff around the geysers. That’d be really cool because eventually it’d be nice to work for them for a while.
I must say that coming out here was the best decision I ever made. It’s hard work but it is definitely paying off. I can’t imagine a better way to spend my summer or better people to be spending the next 3 months with.
I can receive calls and texts (no photo texts though) so I really would appreciate hearing from you all! It’s a 2-hour time difference (I’m 2 hours behind you all), so make sure you account for that!
I’m really sick of seeing bison, but the bison traffic jams are starting already (though the park service says the numbers are really low for this time of year). I’ve seen a ton of elk still every single day (yet another animal I’m sick of seeing). It’s my goal to see wolves, grizzly bears, and some moose (saw some 6 years ago, but I love seeing them so I want to see more). It’s awesome to see such huge animals just roaming free and living in their natural environment.
One thought that constantly bothers me, though, is the same idea I wrote my H.S. Senior Paper on. Tourists are loving the National Parks to death. Look to the right on this page and you see Morning Glory Pool. Brilliant colors…but barely noticeable anymore. Thanks to the millions of tourists that see this thermal feature every year and decide to throw a ‘lucky penny” or other garbage into it, the NPS has now issued a sign at the pool that says “Fading Glory”. The colors are no longer as strong, which is this way in many of the other pools all over the area.
Geysers have been stopped due to trash being thrown into the hole and many animals have been hit by cars speeding throughout the park, especially at night. I understand that people are enjoying the chance to see a vast “wilderness”, but with the millions of visitors that come every year, I believe Yellowstone is becoming a tourist trap. It’s no longer about preservation/conservation, but it’s about how people can make the most money. Everything here is extremely expensive and there are people everywhere. It’s good to see people enjoying the outdoors, but also sad to see what this landscape has become.
A question to ponder: Should the National Park Service put a cap on how many people are allowed in certain national parks throughout the year?
Once again, keep me in your prayers and you all shall be in mine. I love you all.
