Tops off on Top

Saturday after work, a few of us drove to Lamar to hike the Lamar River Trail. The trail is supposed to be a great place to see wildlife, so I had high expectations that weren't disappointed. There were the usual bison and ground squirrels, but we also saw a pronghorn, a coyote, and what was either a fox or a coyote (it was too hidden in the sagebrush to tell).

Rachel approaching a pronghorn. 7/23/16.

We hiked 3 miles in to where the trail meets Cache Creek. We had every intention of swimming, but as soon as we got to the creek, the wind picked up and a huge storm started blowing in. We sat by the creek and ate dinner, then decided to head back to the car early. Once we got back to the valley, the sun started setting. The storm produced maybe the best sunset I've ever seen.

Sunset 7/23/26.

The next afternoon, we went to Grand Prismatic. There is a trail that overlooks the spring, but it's being renovated (most likely they're building a boardwalk). Even from ground level, it's gorgeous. The colors aren't as striking, but it's still cool to see such vibrant hues coming from a steaming pool.

Grand Prismatic Spring. 7/24/16.

After Grand Prismatic, we drove to the Firehole River to the employee hot tub. In reality, it's just an eddy in the river that a bubbling spring pours hot water into. The temperature varies greatly from freezing cold to boiling hot. We were told by others to sit on rocks and to wear water shoes. The warning was important, because the ground is actually boiling. Huge, hot bubbles pop right under the surface of the sand. Even with the precautions, I managed to get burned a couple times. It was pretty cool to be basically sitting in a volcano; it's the first time it really hit me that I'm living on an active hotspot.

On Tuesday morning, I hiked Avalanche again. Since I didn't summit the first time I did it, and a group of my friends hadn't done it yet, I decided to again hike the trail built by a man-man that climbs 2,000 feet in 2 miles. We made it to the top and stayed there for almost an hour. All of us girls decided that the top of a peak was a great place to take our tops off, and we got a couple awesome pictures of us looking out at the mountains. I hope that posting this picture doesn't come back to bite me, but it was such a freeing experience, so I figured, why not. I'll post it small so as not to offend.

Topless on top of Avalanche. 7/26/16.

That night, a couple of us hiked 4 miles into Grebe Lake to camp there for the night. On the hike in, we came across a family of swans. It was the parents and two little fuzzy babies. The male got a little flustered, but they didn't seem to mind too much that we were only about 15 feet away from them.

Our site was between the lake and the river that feeds it. The river is absolutely covered in lily pads. We turned in pretty early since there wasn't a lot to do once it got dark. I slept pretty well despite being cold, but the other two slept horribly. They let me sleep in a little, then we broke down camp and hiked back to the car.

Right after we got back to Canyon, we left for the lake. We rented a motorboat, and spent an hour and a half out on the lake fishing and relaxing. It was incredible being in the middle of one of the largest high-elevation lake in the world. We could see exactly where we had been on Avalanche the day before, which made me feel even more accomplished having hiked up there twice.

Avalanche Peak from Lake Yellowstone. 7/27/16.

Next weekend, I am going with a big group to do the Bechler River Trail. It's 30 miles, and it's supposed to be one of the most amazing backcountry trips in the park. It's going to be incredibly challenging to carry a pack that far since I haven't backpacked much, but I'm really excited. It seems like the perfect last adventure here in the park. My last day of work is the 7th, and I'm leaving that night for Bozeman. I can't believe how fast the summer has gone. I don't want it to end at all, but I know it's almost over, so now all I can do is figure out how to enjoy every last second of it.

-Morgan