Thorofare Trip Day 3

 An early rise had us on the trail just after 7. 45 minutes and 2 miles later, we were off trail, trying to find the game trail that had been suggested to us as a way to go.

 I can now definitively say that I do NOT like bushwhacking. Not a bit. We were trying to get up to the top of Trident, but weather and '88 tree region conspired against us. I can't say I wasn't grateful. I was bruised, scratched, tired, and sore. And so ready to just soak my feet in the creek. Not what we had hoped but I was okay with it. Even grateful.

An unknown plant

That's where we came from

Heidi had just said, "I don't want any pictures." So, I, of course, did this.

A boudoir picture. Just because

First day pic of the scratches. The bruises came in later

Everybody loves to end the day with Farkle!

Thorofare Trip Day 2

View from the tent

 We were up and at 'em, hitting the trail right around 8:30. It was cold, as you may be able to tell by our attire.

 Lots of breaks for flower pics. And time for some zen Yellowstone River settin' at lunch.

Elephant's Head! My first time seeing it.

We're going up WHERE?

 Unfortunately, when we stopped for lunch, it started raining. And kept raining. The last... three... miles. Which wouldn't  have been so bad if my feet weren't so damn delicate. After one mile of wet socks, the blisters were starting....

But we did make it to the Thorofare Ranger Station. The INM amphibian crew was already there but welcomed us with open arms -- Tyson, Mary, Alissa, and Amy. 

We spent the afternoon getting ready for our early morning on Sunday. I even worked in a little Side Crow!

Another little yoga session, some Euchre with the amphibian folks, and it was a full day!

Gorgeous sunset

Thorofare Trip Day 1

It was unfortunately a night of little sleep, but I had loaded up Heidi's car the night before and was able to be at her place by 6am. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed; at least in pictures.

Very little traffic but lots of animals. Just past Canyon, there was a little black bear digging just off the road. Not even a bear jam yet! Heidi didn't even blink. But when we got to the end of Hayden, we had to pull over. Pelicans, blue herons, and little floating ducks made for a good reason to stop.

We got to Bridge Bay by 7:30 and then hung around. And hung around... Apparently we were supposed to call not only the person who schedules the boats, but the driver as well! It was okay, we amused ourselves.

 And then, we were off! A short hour and 15 minute trip across a fairly smooth lake later we were unloading ourselves at Terrace Point and helping to load up Julianne and Diane who had been kayaking and doing campsite checks.

Yes, I had to try Tree on the boat (see my trip from August 2013)

And talked Heidi into doing it too.

First stream crossing

I love the river!

Lunch at the Cabin Creek Cabin

Pausing for a mid-afternoon break

 We made it to the campsite right around 7ish. 8 miles for the day. My feet were already starting to hurt. But I knocked it out of the park and got the carabiner/rope over the Bear Pole on the 8th or 9th try. Yay me!

 Then we settled in for a 15 minute session of my surprise, Yoga! Started boiling up some water for dinner. Jane had her Jet Boil going. Jeff started his up, but had brought a homemade wind guard. Somehow, it created enough heat that his stove, with the small propane tank attached, caught fire. That got put out, but Heidi kept hearing noise. I wasn't close by and didn't hear anything, but they finally figured out that the little camping tank was leaking! So it got chucked far into the field, well away from us and the fire. Luckily, Heidi had packed in a small Nalgene of Whiskey Manhattans so we could settle down a little.

 And Heidi made the first radio check-in of the trip.

 And she broke out her surprise, S'mores! We had already visited the creek and filtered water, so we were able to sit down and enjoy the graham, marshmallows, and chili (!) chocolate until the sun went down.