Beartooth Pass & Yellowstone NP, 5/06

[kcowyo]

I had a three day weekend over Memorial Day weekend so I took the opportunity to ramble through NW Wyoming. I visited Cody, the Sunlight Basin north of Cody and drove over Beartooth Pass on the WY & Montana state line. I also went through Yellowstone NP and back out to Cody, then home to Lander.

It was a solo trip, looping through some of my most favorite country, not only in WY, but in the western US. The rawboned, rugged wilderness of the Absaroka Range and the Beartooth Mountains is impossible to describe. Charles Kuralt called it the most scenic drive in America, so who am I to argue? It's like stepping back in time every time I drive through. I spent several summers in the early 90's working on a ranch outside of Cody and I've made numerous trips into Yellowstone. But it's new everytime.

The first day was spent in Sunlight Basin along Sunlight Creek. It started raining and turned to falling snow after lunch. Found a great spot for lunch and wound up camping there for the night. Too wet to make a fire, so I settled in to the camper with a book, the heater and some Canadian corn squeezin's. The next morning the clouds had cleared out and I headed north towards Beartooth Pass.

Some pics from Sunlight Basin, north of Cody, off of Chief Joseph's Scenic Highway -

 

[kcowyo]

I had planned to go over the newly opened Beartooth Pass, into Red Lodge Montana, for gas and then back over the Beartooths and find a campsite for that night. However, once at the top of the Beartooths I was in a complete whiteout. The snow was whiping and blowing around and it was still deep,deep.

I made a sandwich and watched a few snowmobilers for awhile and a kite-snowboarder before deciding to go back down towards Cooke City, MT. I was bummed to make the trip up only to find zero visibilty, but to paraphrase Mark Twain, the coldest months of May I've ever experienced were in NW Wyoming.

Pics from the Beartooth and Cooke City area -

 

[kcowyo]

I wound up staying in Yellowstone instead of Cooke City on Sunday evening. I was able to get a campsite in my favorite YNP campground, Slough Creek. Slough Creek is pretty remote within the park. The scenery and creek are OK, but the campground has so much sentimental history with me. I've camped over 20 times here, including the first couple of days of my honeymoon.

I keep coming back because of its proximity to Lamar Valley, which in 1995, was the best place to see the newly released wolves. Now the wolves are everywhere and the crowds that flocked to Lamar Valley have gone back to Old Faithful and Mammoth, so its usually a quiet hidden retreat.

Saw lots of snow in the park, near the east entrance and Cody. This drive from YNP, out the east entrance to Cody was called by Theodore Roosevelt, the most scenic 50 miles in America. As with Kuralt, who's going to argue with Mr. Big Stick? It certainly rivals the Million Dollar Highway in CO, the road over Three Sisters in OR, and the drive through the Cascades in WA.

I did see some wildlife in the park. The best was seeing a Momma Grizz and her two cubs. I was only a few miles from the east entrance, preparing to leave the park, taking pics of watefalls and runoff. I heard a cub whining and looked up the hill further and saw them. The Momma had crossed a small, dry gulley and the two cubs were trying to get across. She went back to help them and shot me a look. I bid a hasty retreat, content with a few pics and a sighting that no one else had seen.

After that I rolled along the Northfork of the Shoshone River, into Cody and back home. It was a fun 3 day weekend in my favorite corner of Wyoming.

Some pics from the park -

 

[DirtyDog]

WOW it's really beautiful in that neck of the woods! I'm going to have to try to get up there. I just got back from an aborted vacation in Montana. I became very ill and we had to come back early. I'm regaining my strength again and plan on setting out on a month long trip in just over a week. Red Lodge was on my list of destinations. I'll have to get a map of the area and see what I can fit into my route.

Thanks for the great report!

 

[kcowyo]

Sorry to hear you're under the weather, but glad to hear you're feeling better and ready to hit the road.

Montana is a really special place. You may not want to hear this since you had to cancel most of your trip, but I'm hoping to head out Tues or Wed for a trip up to Glacier NP and back down through Idaho.

I'm probably going to be out for about 3 weeks myself. Does it sound we're going to cross paths at all?

- K.C.

 

[DirtyDog]

I'm leaving on the 7th and will be in SW Montana for about 4 days before heading to South Dakota. Will you be in the area then?

 

[kcowyo]

If I get out of here by Wednesday, 8/1, I'll probably be near Glacier NP by the 7th. Just depends when I can get out of town.

I'm sure I'd recognize your rig if I saw it, especially with the bikes on the back. I'll be in SW Montana for a few days, Big Sky, Ennis, Dillon and on to Missoula. Maybe our paths will cross....?

 

[DirtyDog]

I don't have my schedule nailed down exactly yet. I'll keep an eye out for you though. It would be fun to run across some fellow travelers out on the road.

 

[DirtyDog]

What are the odds, but K.C. and I actually ran into each other on the road. Great to talk to you K.C.!

 

[kcowyo]

Hadn't checked this thread in a while, but yeah, how random was that? Meeting up on the road in Idaho, and I was only in Idaho for a few hours before turning north and going back into Montana. It was great to meet you too, Aaron!

 

[Ted]

Yellowstone question

Hi Kcowyo,

We are planning our first trip to Yellowstone. Originally planned to go the last two weeks of May to beat the summer crowds. We noticed not many of the campgrounds are open by at that time. Also noticed the photos from your trip at a similar time of year show a lot of snow.

We are now considering rescheduling to the first two weeks of June. From your experience there, will we still find spaces in the campgrounds or will the summer crowds be overtaking the park by then?

Thanks,
Ted

 

[kcowyo]

Generally they get the last roads in the park open by Memorial Day weekend. It's never crowded then but it is always cold and there is still a ton of snow on the ground. We go every Memorial Day weekend and as soon as we get there, it's so cold I wonder why keep doing it...?

Early June isn't too bad, you usually beat the families coming in. July & August are the most crowded months in the park. If you know the dates and where you want to stay, you can reserve a space in a campground now just by calling the park. I would think in early June you won't have trouble finding a campsite, but it may not be in your first choice for a campground.