The PortaJahns: August 2009

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Yellowstone Backcountry Pictures & video

Bear tracks on the path to our campsite

antelope's 'restroom'... Bear track on our path to our campsite

Yellowstone Backcountry

Yes, I'm S-L-O-W in getting out the info on this blog, but it's getting there! So, after a night at the campground to break us in at camping, we drove on into Yellowstone and to the Ranger Station to watch their 'Backcountry Rules and How to Avoid Bears' video...that really wasn't the title of the video, but it did the job :) We coordinated a campsite with the Park Ranger lady with our requirements of it being within a short hike (at most half day) to our car and be able to have a fire...since we don't own a camp stove. Afterward, we drove around for about 2-3 hours, just admiring the park before we drove up to the trailhead of our campsite.

So, the site, 1A1 in the north east corner, just a bit beyond the Mammoth Springs area, off the Blacktail Trail, was our site which was two miles off the road. Although the hike of 2 miles seemed short, it was actually quite a bit challenging...carrying the backpacks, 'gentle' rolling hills that weren't so gentle, and hiking at an above 7000 ft altitude...I think the fact we were both out of shape also contributed to the challenge!

The land we walked through was so beautiful....the sprawling fields, the lush grass....oh how I miss grass!..., the small river winding through the country. We kept our eyes open for any bear, and made sure that just before a blind turn we made noises to not surprise one and cause it to attack us. Nope, no bear. Just numbers of prairie dogs, some kind of antelope, bison poop and tracks, a coyote, different species of birds, and a few bear tracks.

Once we reached the campsite we had only 2 hours or so before the sun would be setting and it would be din-din time for bear and all other wildlife. Jesse was a dear in setting up the tent as well as building our fire. I prepared supper which consisted of left-overs we brought on the trip and some eggs and bacon. What was a bit challenging was setting up this camp b/c the Park gave us directions on where and how far away to put each part of our camp...and the place where our site was left us little freedom to choose spots for the fire, the tent, the bear pole, the 'toilet' aka hole in the ground, and such. Our tent was set up below the fire alongside this babbling brook that ran out of the woods into the field. The fire was center of camp; our 'toilet' was at the other far edge away from the water; and the bear pole, which was already built by the park, was far away from the fire and our camp and at the edge of the woods.

After supper we quickly cleaned up and put the food away, washing the dishes in the stream and heating stream water to disinfect the dishes. We grabbed what we would need for the night, including flashlight, a knife, and bear spray, and hung up everything on the bear pole. We bundled up as the temperatures were changing from the comfortable high '70s in the day to mid to low '40s. Yes, anything that wasn't bundled up or in the sleeping bag pretty much froze during the night. And yes, we were on edge throughout most the night, waiting to hear bear activity through our camp or coming into our tent. We definitely heard sounds, but mainly due to the babbling brook just behind our tent. So, between the imaginative mind and the hard ground (despite a sleeping mat), I didn't get much sleep...I don't think Jesse did either.

But we survived the 1st night! We popped out of our tent to a beautiful morning and no trace of animal movement except maybe a deer. Another yummy breakfast of eggs and bacon with some milk. As we were cleaning up and getting read for the day, I noticed that we were being watched by a deer up in the woods. She was hiding by sitting behind a fallen log up in the woods. I actually don't know how I saw here, but it was rather funny being watched by wildlife!

We would enjoy a hike back out to the car and then travel further on east to hike more through a more mountainous section of the park.

We weren't sure if we wanted to stay another night, but the fact that it was free to camp and that there were no rooms available, we decided we would tough out another night. So, after our strenuous hike we got back in the car to drive back to our campsite. Along the way we did manage to see a young black bear playing and grabbing attention from park-goers along the edge of the road. We didn't get a good photo or video as it looks like a little black blob. Anyway, we got back to our trailhead, hiked back to camp, cooked up supper, cleaned up camp, and went to bed about 8:00 p.m. The sunlight there in Yellowstone didn't completely go away until a bit after 9:00 p.m., so I raced to get to sleep before 9:00 so I wasn't quite so nervous trying to go to sleep in complete darkness.

The second night was a better night of rest, at least for me but I think so for Jesse as well. We had our showers, mine was a wipe-down with body wipes, and Jesse was a cold, invigorating splashing in the creek which resulted in Jesse being dubbed "Nature Boy". Overall it was a fun experience to backcountry camp, but for both Jesse and I, two nights are enough for our pleasure! So, we happily packed up camp and hiked back to the car to look forward to more fun in the Park and the remaining nights in a real bed!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Road Trip to Yellowstone, our 2009 Vacation!

How exciting! It was such a thrill to finally take 10 days of leave (Jesse's that is) and go on our own vacation...just the two of us.

We thought of Yellowstone because of our friends, Nelson and Michelle Chapman, who had planned to come to the States from Korea for school and family visiting and at the beginning of their trip to the States wanted to do their own vacation. And as Jesse and I had not been to Yellowstone Park and we live on the western US, we decided to drive up about 18 hours to the park and spend time there on our own for about 5 days and then meet up with Nelson and Michelle for the remainder of the trip.

(Driving through the west side of the Painted Desert)

So, as this drive up was to be about 18 hours, we decided to split the trip over two days worth of driving...up through Arizona, into Utah, weaving into and out of Wyoming and ultimately reaching the Park on the south entrance just north of Jackson Hole, WY.

As I've taken many photos and videos, I plan on splitting the days into several blogs. The drive up was actually quite fun: watching all of the beautiful scenery, listening to lots of ipod programs with Jesse, seeing a LOT of quirky stuff, and spending quality time with Jesse. Thank the Lord that we did not have any car problems! The first night we stayed in Salt Lake City...since we arrived later than planned, we went straight to the hotel and crashed. The next day we got up and headed on after breakfast and drove about another 8 hours into the Tetons

where we were to stay at a campground and camp out in our tent.

That was quite fun as it gave me more practice in sleeping in a tent and it prepared us for keeping our campsite 'bear-proof'!

And thankfully it had a bath building down the path so that we actually got warm showers the night before we would enter Yellowstone to do 3 days/2 nights worth of backcountry camping. After we set up our tent, we got supper going and then enjoyed some S'mores and a game of 'Pirates' Cove'.

Additionally, we met a new friend named Bill who was in the campsite next to us and he was in the middle of quite a long road trip that would last for 2 weeks.

Thankfully no bears entered our tent and after a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, and toast, we packed up and headed out to Yellowstone!

Yes, the drive the whole time was amazing and the weather was perfect, even when some storms crossed the landscape, the clouds and lightning, sunsets, 'dustdevils', and so forth were just glorious!