Winter at Yellowstone National Park

9 Jan - 21 Jan 2013

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One of the West Yellowstone painted bison

It sounds pretty crazy, but I’ve always wanted to go to Yellowstone National Park in the winter. There are no traffic jams, no crowds of tourists (well, except maybe around Old Faithful…) and the wildlife are easier to see. The idea is to spend a couple of nights in Gardiner, MT, and do  XC ski daytrips to the Tower Falls area and Mammoth. Then we’ll drive down to West Yellowstone and spend a week in the Worldmark resort. Ginny and Wally are supposed to join us. We’re hoping to do some local skiing and also take one or two snowcoach rides into the park.

The large snowcoach that carried us to Old Faithful

9 Jan, Wed – We left North Bend about 0845 in the rain with the temp around 40 deg. It was snowing pretty good in the Pass but stopped once we got into E WA. We saw some sun and blue skies near Spokane but ran back into rain in Idaho and Montana (and a little snow crossing Lookout Pass). We got gas in Coeur d’Alene at Costco (2.869) and topped up when we got to Missoula (around 1700 MST) also at Costco (2.939). We also checked Costco for items missing in Issaquah and found a big box of chemical handwarmers , but not the gloves G was looking for. We stayed at the Brooks Rd Super 8 and further economized by eating some microwaved food we had brought from home. The temperature was about 37 when we arrived and we’re expecting much colder weather on Thursday.

Notecard from West Yellowstone Mercantile

10 Jan, Thu – There was about an inch of snow on the ground and it was still snowing when we got up. The breakfast was surprisingly good, for a “continental breakfast”; C.J. had a couple of pre-made little cheese omelets. The roads in Missoula were sanded and wet and I-90 was mostly clear when we started off about 0810 but we ran into places where the left lane had a couple of inches or more. On the other hand, near Bozeman there was a bit of blue sky and very little snow on the hillsides. We stopped in Bozeman for gas at Costco, bought a rotisserie chicken and had lunch. We turned south into Paradise Valley at Livingston and the temperature got up to 38 and the snow pretty much disappeared. It looked like we wouldn’t be doing much skiing. We checked into the very nice Yellowstone Gateway Inn before 1400, unloaded the car and checked with the USFS ranger station about conditions in the park. They said there was always more snow as you got farther into the park, so we drove across the Yellowstone River, through the Roosevelt Arch and up to Mammoth. There really was more snow and the temperature dropped back to freezing and below [the last time we'd see temps above freezing for over a week!] as we drove past the empty campground, the local bison and elk, and all the visitor centers, stores and hotels. The road was gated just above the entrance to the upper terrace drive of Mammoth Hot Springs so we parked there. It looked like plenty of fluffy snow for skiing and the tracks were rapidly getting filled in by the new powder. Perfect! We skied clockwise around the 1.5 mi loop first climbing a long hill, then skiing down from level to level past the steaming hot springs. The snow was a little sticky but with some effort we got a decent glide. Weather was changeable with a short stretch when we were able to see blue sky. We headed back down to Mammoth around 1630 and I was surprised to find the Visitor Center still open. We got some information from the ranger about skiing near Tower and farther east. The forecast was calling for plummeting temps and a big dump of snow, but apparently storm forecasting is not yet an exact science around Yellowstone. We returned to our condo-like suite and C.J. did her culinary magic with the chicken and some veggies. Later we walked across the slippery parking lot to talk to Michael, the lodge owner and borrow a couple of DVDs. Our plans for Friday are “wait and see” – if there is not too much snow and the wind chill isn’t too bad, we’ll drive over to the Tower area.

Skiing around the Upper Terrace Drive at Mammoth Hot Springs

11 Jan, Fri – Well, there wasn’t too much snow at least. But the wind chill was beyond “too bad”. Around 1000 I got the doors on the car unfrozen and we drove through flurries and gusty NW wind (10 deg F, the high for the day) into the park. The Grand Loop Road to Tower Jct had blowing snow and some packed snow and ice but we were in no rush. We saw lots of bison but few other tourists. We stopped at a couple of pullouts and asked people with spotting scopes what they were looking for – wolves! The last reported sighting of a pack of nine was yesterday near Slough Creek. We were still considering skiing at Tower or maybe to the Petrified Tree and Lost Lake even though the temperature had dropped to 8, then it dropped to 6, then 2. We lost interest rapidly after stepping outside into the wind chill. From Tower we continued out as far as the Lamar Valley before turning back for lunch at the Petrified Tree trailhead parking lot. During our drive, we spotted a coyote running right down the road, and a couple of herds of elk. We didn’t see more than two vehicles parked at trailheads. Back at Mammoth, C.J. got a passport stamp in her journal at the visitor center and we headed back to the lodge. Back around 1400, C.J. started a pot of soup with the chicken bones she had browned last night. We spent the rest of the day (and night) holed up in our hotel suite reading and doing computer stuff. Before we went to bed I checked with Michael about check out time. He didn’t have a problem with us checking out at noon or even 1300 if we went out to ski on Saturday.

We saw this coyote later near the Fountain Paint Pots

12 Jan, Sat – I got up at 0700 thinking that if we were going anywhere, we should get an early start before the forecast wind picked up. As the sun came up we could see the peaks on the west side of the valley brighten up against a blue sky - looked good after two days of snow and gloom. We got going after 0900 with a slight setback when I found that one of the cans of pop had frozen and exploded behind the front seat. I was able to clean the frozen stuff off the seat, door and wherever it had landed. The temperature was -2 deg when we left and it kept going down as we climbed to Mammoth and beyond to the Blacktail Plateau and the trailhead for Petrified Tree and Lost Lake. Even though the sun was well up after 1000 the

C.J. in the Lost Lake valley

temperature was still 4 deg below zero. No one else was parked at the TH and the trail was untracked. C.J. was really cold, particularly her thumbs which were becoming numb. A second set of Hot Hands solved the problem and we continued to climb gently to the seasonal parking lot for Petrified Tree. The Lost Lake trail descended to a narrow, open valley. We had been following the tracks of a single coyote and they continued on the trail all the way to where we turned around halfway along the length of the lake. It was a nice glide once we reached the road at the petrified tree. At the  trailhead we saw a group of six or seven bison right across the road, the closest we had seen them. Since it was already 1145, we hurried back to Mammoth and Gardiner and loaded the car up. We were on our way north to Livingston by 1245. By now the sky had clouded up and we were having snow flurries again. The road was pretty clear with snow blowing across it until we got up closer to I-90 where we started to get a bit more snow on the road. Just out of Gardiner we passed a flock of young bighorn sheep right on the edge of the road. Heading to Bozeman we climbed over a pass in increasing snow. We stopped at Costco for gas (2.939), rotisserie chicken, avocados and some bananas. The drive through Bozeman was slow with every traffic light turning red for us. On Rte 191 we drove out of the high plains and through Gallatin Gateway into the mountains. The snow got worse and the temp started to drop again. We ran into some slow vehicles but it wasn’t too bad and we reached West Yellowstone around 1645. The temperature had dropped below zero as the sun set. We checked in and lugged all our stuff up to the second floor 2-bedroom unit. Ginny and Wally arrived around 1930, and we had dinner after 2000.

C.J. at the Lost Lake Trailhead - the brown lumps behind her are bison.

13 Jan, Sun – We got up after 0700 but didn’t have breakfast until 0830 or so. Around 1000 we went out for a walk around town. It was still negative 14 but there was no wind and the sunshine helped alleviate the cold somewhat. The streets of West Yellowstone are plowed but not scraped clean, more like packed down so that snowmobiles and snowcoaches can use the streets. We stopped first at the Grizzly and Wolf  Discovery Center just to see if we were missing something because it was a weekend day. The daily schedule seems to indicate that one day is much the same as another. We walked past the Imax theater and along Yellowstone Ave (leads to the entrance station) and stopped to chat with the girls in Free Heel about skiing. Their story was that we needed to have our skis hot waxed to improve our glide in really cold snow. We said we would try out our skis today and bring them in if we had poor glide. We walked up Boundary St to the trailhead for the Riverside ski trail, then across on Madison past the two supermarkets. Down at the end of Dunraven St we could see the old Union Pacific Dining Hall building so we walked past it, followed a snowmobile track past the Police Station and then down Grizzly Ave (bronze moose photo). We talked with a couple of skiers who were heading for Rendezvous and they told us that they had skied the Riverside Trail and it was good, especially the Upstream Loop. Back at the condo we hung for a while, had lunch then dressed for the weather and got our skis out of the car. We carried to the Imax parking lot and then skied across the RV park, Yell. Ave and along Boundary to the TH. The trail was well beaten; there may even have been snowmobile use. After the first few turns the trail became a loooong straightaway which continued for about a mile. At the junction we went right on the clockwise direction of the Upstream Loop. Very quickly the trail dropped down to just above the Madison River. There was a good view north to the Gallatin Mountains and east to Mt Jackson (?). The trail, now a nice singletrack continued along the river for most of a mile then turned and climbed only to drop back to the level of the bench. Then there was a steep climb requiring side stepping. Back on the high bench we quickly returned to the beginning of the loop, the Downsteam Loop and a trail to the main Park road. We skied out the long straight mile a little faster than we had skied in (30 min) even though the trail had been improved by only one pair of skiers. We skied all the way back to the condo and put the skis back in the car. After getting our other gear organized, we went down to the swimming pool to soak in the huge, hot spa for a while and take one short swim. We thought that Ginny and Wally were resting in their room after their long drive the previous day but they had been out on the beginning of the Riverside Trail and playing with Ginny’s new snowshoes. Later Ginny made some asparagus snacks and we got the internet working for everyone. C.J. had browned the bones from last night’s chicken and started a soup for dinner. After dinner we watched “Brave” on DVD and opened our bags of Christmas gifts.

C.J. on the Riverside Ski Trail

14 Jan, Mon – After breakfast we all walked the few blocks into town – pretty chilly with the temperature at about -5 deg F. We visited three companies that provide snowcoach transportation to Old Faithful and for skiing. I continued on to check with Radio Shack about the lack of service in Montana. [Later I looked up Virgin Mobile online and saw that it really is true that there is no service in MT.] I walked back down the main street looking into the shop windows (of those shops still open). Lunch was leftover soup. Around 1400 C.J. and I went over to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center ($19 for two days) and watched the bears and wolves both from outside in the zero-degree and windy cold and from warming huts or cabin. We also spent some time in the warm exhibit building. The two wolf packs were separated by a cabin and we waited there for the 1500 feeding. Unfortunately, the river pack wolves did not take the bait designed to keep them locked up for a few minutes while a keeper hid food in their enclosure. We did get to see them gnawing at yesterday’s elk carcass, however. Wally and Ginny showed up at feeding time and stayed on to visit the exhibits as we headed home in blowing snow and cold. C.J. decided to cook the ham we had brought with us so she put it in around 1545. We spent the rest of the day/night reading (I think).

Grizzlies won't hibernate if there is food available (GDC)

15 Jan, Tue – After a big, late breakfast of scrambled eggs with ham, cheese and veggies,  C.J. and I went to catch the 1045 feeding at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. It was a bust again as the two alpha wolves kept the other wolf out of the holding pen. Wally showed up about then and we watched the two bear cubs, Grant and Roosevelt, play with Coram, an older bear. Back at the condo C.J. began working on the editing and I decided to go out and ski around locally. The temperature was up above zero and it was snowing lightly as I headed around the back of WM and then a short ways down the South Plateau snowmobile trail (no snowmobiles). I then took off west into the deep powder paralleling the south fence of the RV park until I reached the Rendezvous groomed trail system. After skiing to an intersection to see where I had come out, I retraced my tracks then followed the road around the RV park to the Rendezvous trail gateway and warming hut. No one was around so I returned to WM along the snow-covered streets (easier for snowcoach and snowmobile access) with a stop at a drive-up/ski-up ATM.  C.J. and I returned to GWDC in time for the 1500 feeding and this time the High Country wolf pack cooperated and the keepers were able to bring an elk carcass (a bit of meat on an otherwise stripped rib cage) into the enclosure and hide some hunks of meat and bone here and there. One keeper also spilled some huckleberry scent in a spot in the snow. When they were released, the alpha male got to eat what he wanted off the frozen carcass, one wolf snatched a hunk of meat from up in a tree and the omega wolf rolled in the scented snow. Ravens showed up and found bits and pieces for themselves and waited for the wolves to leave the carcass. It was worth waiting for. Meanwhile G&W went out to go skiing at Rendezvous. We had a second round of ham for dinner.

Leopold, the omega wolf, rolling in scented snow

16 Jan, Wed – We all got up early (0630) so we could meet the snowcoach just outside the WM lobby at

Ravens often gather near wolf-killed elk

0800. After stopping at the Comfort Inn and at the Buffalo Bus Tours HQ to pay we headed through the entrance station and into Yellowstone National Park. At a max speed of 25 mph we had plenty of time to look out the large (but foggy) windows at the scenery. The first stop was along the Madison River where several trumpeter swans were feeding and a young elk was checking out the browsing at the edge of the river. We stopped several more times for groups of bison and elk in meadows not too far from the road. We made a pit stop at Madison Jct where there were the last modern restrooms until we reached Old Faithful. There was also a small warming hut where drinks and snacks were sold (mostly, I assume, for the many snowmobilers who were riding in the cold). We moved along skipping the Firehole Canyon Drive and stopping at Midway Geyser Basin where we walked a loop on some very slippery boardwalk sections. Brad, our guide, had lots of information to share with us over the bus sound system. At Upper Geyser Basin/Old Faithful, we had two hours in which we were able to catch two

Old Faithful erupting

Old Faithful eruptions, eat lunch (in the sun (max temp today 22*, probably less at OF) on the benches around the geyser), and walk the trail and boardwalk around Geyser Hill (1.3 mi). Somewhat after the set time of 1400, we started our return trip. We had a couple of close encounters with bison on the road, but the worst was on the way back when a herd of 20 or more blocked the road going in the same direction we were traveling. We stopped for a guided walk around the Fountain Paint Pots boardwalk loop and for a view of Firehole Falls on the Firehole Cyn Drive. We stopped for another short restroom break at Madison and then headed down the road to West Yellowstone. Brad spotted a bobcat; C.J. caught a glimpse of its rear end disappearing into the woods. We saw several individual coyotes, some near bison, and some elk near the road. It was getting on toward dark around 1700 when we pulled into “West” (what Brad said the locals call West Yellowstone, previously known as Riverside, Yellowstone and Boundary) and got dropped off at WM. Ginny had prepared a beef stew last night so dinner was pretty easy and quick, good, too. Later I edited some of the March magazine and we all watched “Yellowstone: Symphony of Fire and Water”, a DVD Ginny had bought at OF.

The tracks on our group snowcoach

Wally and our private snowcoach (snowvan?)

17 Jan, Thu – The See-Yellowstone.com shuttle picked up Wally, C.J. and me (Ginny decided that the daylong trip was too much) at 0945. The snowcoach was one of those with two skis on the front (like the old Bombadiers) rather than the 4-Track-Drive we had ridden in on Wed. We went directly to Firehole Lake Drive with only a couple of stops, one for eagles and another for a bison jam. The drive was ski-tracked at the south end but not at the north (at least the track at the north entrance looked more like a bison trail than a ski track, but on reflection, may have been a human herd of skiers and snowshoers...). The trail went gently uphill and in 0.5 mi came to the first hot springs and some patches of bare pavement warmed by subterranean heat sources. We carried our skis over those and continued on another half mile to a larger geothermal area which ended at White Dome Geyser. The tracks ended as well and we were forced to break trail for at least another half mile to the hot lake where we ran into a mixed group of skiers and snowshoers who had come in from the north (Phew! Thank goodness!) It was still more than 0.5 mi to the road and the tracks were as mixed as the group, snowshoes obscuring the ski tracks.[Total distance was about 3.4 mi.] When we emerged from the Firehole Lake Drive at the parking lot for the Fountain Paint Pots, we spotted a coyote that came up the road toward us and passed us just feet away. After refueling ourselves with ham and cheese sandwiches, Wayne, our driver, said he had heard that there were some fresh wolf tracks just north a mile or so at the second turnout. We went there and saw the tracks. We also saw another snowcoach parked a quarter mile ahead near the sign for the Mary Mountain trail. Pulling closer we saw why snowcoaches were gathering – there were two wolves in the meadow! They were not very close but were definitely wolves. So we finally got to see wolves in Yellowstone even if they were not where we had expected to see them. Moving on, we drove to the start of the Firehole Canyon Drive and put our skis back on hoping for a mellow downhill run. Really, it was mostly downhill but there were a couple of stretches that went gently uphill. We stopped for photos at the falls again and at some particularly good examples of snowshoe hare tracks. At the entrance (well, exit during winter afternoons) of the Drive we met our snowcoach. By then it was 1515 and we were ready to head back to “West” without another stop to ski. We got back just at 1600 with a couple of wildlife stops. C.J. finished her scarlet runner bean and ham soup for dinner. Then we caught up on our photos, the editing and whatever else needed to be done, like a load of laundry. Wally and Ginny leave Friday but Wally wants to take his bears over to a hill within the Rendezvous Ski Trail System to get photos of them sledding before he and Ginny leave at noon or so.

Wally and C.J. at Firehole Lake Geyser Basin

18 Jan, Fri – After a great blueberry pancake and bacon breakfast we took all the stuffed bears (and gorilla and moose) out into the snow. Ginny tied them on to their plastic sled and Wally hauled them along the still snow-covered streets to the Grizzly Discovery Center. The critters got to ride the sled down a snowpile, then we took some group photos, one for a magazine article that C.J. is writing for March. Back at the condo, we had the rest of Ginny’s beef soup/stew for lunch. Ginny and Wally loaded her Forester to the gills and they took off for Elko, NV, about 430 miles (according to Google Maps). I tried starting the Outback and ran it until the engine warmed up. No squealing sounds from the belts this time, unlike at Gardiner. But it had warmed up here from the negative 30 deg at night during the earlier part of the week. It was barely below freezing at all. And with the sunshine, the sub-freezing, but positive, temperatures during the day feel positively balmy. After seeing Ginny and Wally off C.J. and I took a window-shopping tour through town stopping in several gift/souvenir shops. C.J. got some scrapbooking material in one shop and a postcard and an “Advice from a Geyser” notecard from the mercantile. The wind had picked up from the SW and it was chilly on our faces as we walked back to WM but we stopped to take photos of some of the famous painted bison and some other local landmarks. Then we settled in for a relaxing afternoon catching up on our photo labeling and journal writing.

Wally, Ginny, C.J. and G and some of the family bears

C.J. on the Beaver Creek Trail, GTNP

19 Jan, Sat - Since we were pretty well packed up we were out by 0915 and on the road in -6 deg temperatures. [We saw temps as high as 27 as we went over Teton Pass and then it was back to single digits in Jackson Hole.] I had to scrape the accumulated ice off the windshield before we left. Once out of West Yellowstone, the roads were mostly bare and dry. We drove through the snowmobile country around Island Park, ID,  and turned onto a secondary road at Ashton where the backside of the Tetons began to be clear on the eastern horizon. We stopped in Driggs for a snow sculpture contest display then passed through Victor and started up to 8400 ft Teton Pass. We were surprised to see all the pullouts and parking lots filled with cars; apparently there are a lot of back country skiers in the area.Around noon we passed through Wilson and then Jackson (where a mini-zamboni was grooming the tiny ice rink in the town square - the one with the antler arches). Heading north we passed the herds of elk in the elk refuge and stopped at the Grand Teton National Park Discovery and Visitor Center for information on ski trail conditions. There had not been fresh snow for a week so most of the trails were well stomped down. We decided to try the Beaver Creek/Taggart Lake trail at the end of the plowed road leading to Jenny Lake. There were a bunch of hard

View of the Teton Range (Grand, Owen, Teewinot)
 from our lunch stop

packed trails so we kind of randomly chose one that seemed to be going in the right direction and followed it until it started getting so steep that our skis would not climb the slope. At that point we backtracked a short distance and found a single, drifted-in track that contoured the slope. When it crossed a small creek on a footbridge we knew we were on the summer hiking trail. Shortly afterwards we came to a marked trail junction and we headed uphill again on a hard-packed trail. Since it was almost 1400 we needed to stop for lunch so we sidestepped up a slope to where we could see the mountains, probably the Grand and Teewinot and had some cheese and crackers and hot cider. Going down on the slippery trail was somewhat challenging, especially the steeper places and where it was sidehill traversing on the lateral moraine. As we got closer to the trailhead we started getting passed by other skiers and we noticed they were all backcountry skiers with downhill gear. We saw no skiers with nordic gear. No wonder we couldn't go up the trail - we didn't have skins as they did. We got back to the car about 1545 and headed for Nick's cabin in Wilson using the GPS to navigate the back roads.The cabin, part of Anchor Ranch is located across Fish Creek a couple of miles north of Wilson. Nick prepared a great pasta dinner with ground elk and C.J. put together another delicious salad.After dinner C.J. and Nick discussed some magazine issues then we busied ourselves with various tech projects. Bedtime came early (about 2130) due to our somewhat strenuous ski tour. It was another clear night and the stars and moon were bright on the snow.

Self-portrait w/G's hat blocking a view of the Tetons

20 Jan, Sun - We got up at 0730 and fixed an oatmeal breakfast and then packed up the stuff we had brought inside (some of it just to keep it from freezing - like the water bottles) and by 0915 we were on our way. To continue the concept of a loop trip we headed south to Hoback Jct and down the Snake River Canyon to Alpine and the Palisades Reservoir (frozen). We climbed back up from Swan Valley and stopped for gas (2.969) at Fred Meyer in Idaho Falls (called by some "Idiot Flats") where C.J. discovered that she did not have her iPhone. I tried calling her number with my phone (which, now that we were out of Montana, actually had service) but we heard no ringing in the car. I guess it was left at Nick's along with C.J.'s blue fleece jacket. [A call to Nick once we were home confirmed that guess.] The temperature warmed up from the 6 deg this morning to a high of 22 deg in the mid-afternoon on the Snake River Plain. We had earlier stopped for lunch at Costco in Pocatello. We stopped again around 1700 in Boise for gas at Costco (2.869) after our low gas light came on. Shortly afterwards we made our annual visit to Sierra Trading Post where C.J. found a pair of her size Teva sneakers in the kids section. I scored a half-priced turtleneck. By 1830 we were checking in to Motel 6 in Ontario ("It was a three-state day") where we made a dinner from all the leftovers we were carrying. Ontario was cold (6 deg when we arrived) and had snow and ice left on the ground from the last storm around Christmastime, according to the motel manager who was having second thoughts about having moved to Ontario from Kent, WA).

21 Jan, Mon - We got up in the dark at 0700 local (MST) time and got going pretty quickly after a breakfast of microwaved oatmeal and a muffin. It was -7 deg F when we got up and it wasn't much warmer as we packed up the car and headed north on I-84. Temperatures warmed up into the single digits as we climbed the Blue Mountains in sunshine. Descending "Cabbage Hill" (?) to the flats near Pendleton we ran into a bank of freezing fog that continued all the way to just before Snoqualmie Pass. We stopped for gas at the Union Gap Costco and had a huge burger at Miners Restaurant nearby. Driving through the Yakima Canyon, we spotted a herd of deer (mountain sheep?) high on the hillside above the Yakima River. Due to the freezing temperatures and fog, all the bushes and trees were coated in rime ice. The big Ponderosa pines were particularly impressive with their long needles all frosted. We ran into sunshine and temperatures spiked to over 40 as we neared North Bend, first time we had seen temps above freezing in more than a week and a half. However, off to the west we could see another fog bank moving our way. We were home by 1510 and a half hour later we were in a cold fog again - but that had been enough time to unpack the car and get the house warmed up. C.J. and I both agree that this had been one of our best trips!