Here Comes the Sun

Thermal Feature on Mary Mountain Trail, 6/29/16.

I survived Mary Mountain, and I can now say that I have hiked 22 miles in one day. We were all  grumpy and ready to kill each other by the end of it, but I definitely feel accomplished. And I surprisingly was barely even sore after. It was a cool hike, but I would not recommend it to anyone. It's not worth that many miles, especially since the scenery is nothing spectacular.

I laid low after Mary Mountain, but got right back to hiking a couple days later. On Sunday, I hiked Uncle Tom's Trail, which is just a bunch of stairs leading into the Canyon. It was gorgeous, but 305 stairs is definitely a challenge. Right as we got close to the top, it started hailing like crazy. We took shelter under some trees and waited out the storm. It was incredible to watch, but the pea-sized hailstones hurt like crazy. As soon as it slowed down, we power walked to the car and drove to Artist Point rather than taking the trail there.

Lower Falls from Uncle Tom's Trail, 7/2/16. 

For the 4th, I went with a group of people to Livingston. We camped at this awesome campground called Pine Creek. I forgot how much I love camping. Even though I froze during the night, I woke up feeling well-rested and peaceful. That morning, we explored Livingston before going to Bozeman. We went to music stores, thrift stores, and a second-hand sporting goods store in Bozeman where I got my first pair of Tevas since I was 10 and decided I was too cool for them.

Fourth of July Sunset in Livingston, 7/4/16. 

After Bozeman, we drove back to Canyon. We decided that we would do a sunrise hike the next morning, so naturally, 7 of us slept in one room so we'd be sure we all got up. I slept horribly, and probably only got about an hour total because I kept waking up. At 3:15, we all woke up and got ready to go. We drove towards Old Faithful to Purple Mountain. It's a super easy 3 mile trail that leads up to a pretty good overlook at the top of the mountain. About 2 miles in, we were able to turn off our headlamps. We should have left earlier to actually see the full sunrise since we got there at 5:42, exactly when the sun was supposed to rise. It was still striking to see the sun light up the incredible valley and geyser basin down below.

Sunrise from Purple Mountain, 7/6/16. 

We came back and napped, then decided to go to the Lake to hang out. We hiked the Pelican Creek Trail, and actually managed to see a pelican! It was windy so the water was choppy, and it looked so stark with the expanse of the lake leading out to huge mountains on the other side. I brought a book, but I ended up just sitting with my toes in the sand, marveling at the beauty surrounding me.

Creeping on Friends at Lake Yellowstone, 7/6/16. 

Tonight, a group of us girls are going to Mount Washburn to sit in the wildflowers and relax. I've never seen so many flowers in my life, especially since it's been raining in the afternoons here the past week, and everything looks even more green than before.

Work has been getting busier, but things have been running fairly smoothly. I'm still working mostly mornings, so I have time to hike in the evenings which I absolutely love.

-Morgan