ONE BAD DECISION, ONE GOOD
I managed to get up at 6:30 and on the trail by
8:45, which is, sadly, pretty good for me.
I hiked through the meadow to rejoin the trail where I’d found it the
previous evening. From there I followed
it north along a bench. Most of the
hiking was through meadows with occasional scattered
trees. The trail faded away at times,
but it was always easy to regain it. It
was mostly easy walking, except for one short but steep gully. This stretch features good views to the west,
but the Tetons were only barely visible due to the smoke.
I contoured around a minor drainage and spotted a
run of waterfalls on the stream draining Tri County Lake. The route from there was through an
outrageous wildflower garden. The trail
disappeared, but it was obvious where I needed to go. The only difficulty was avoiding stepping on
the wildflowers.
I curved around the base of some cliffs and entered
the basin containing Tri County Lake. I
arrived at a lovely view of the lake surrounded by cliffs. I stopped there, as I didn’t see a need to
walk down to the water.
After a long break I backtracked and then followed a
beaten path parallel to a small stream that starts just below the Continental
Divide. After a break to filter water I returned to the trail and followed it out of the
drainage and up to the crest of the ridge.
From there, views opened up to the east and
southeast, over the Yellowstone River to Younts Peak and Thunder Mountain.
I headed northwest from there, climbing through open
meadows along the Continental Divide. I
passed over an unnamed summit, but I left the divide in search of a view of Tri
County Lake from above. A few minutes
later I found a spectacular view of the lake surrounded by cliffs. The view close to the lake had been nice, but
this vantage point was far more scenic.
I hiked north from there, descending into a gap and
then climbing to another summit. I
descended again, and reached a pair of small tarns in an open landscape with great views to the north and
east. I had lunch there and contemplated
my route. My goal was to reach
Yellowstone Point, which features a vast view of Yellowstone Meadows and the
Thorofare region. I had attempted to
bushwhack to Yellowstone Point from below in 2022. That had been a partial success. I reached a spot well below Yellowstone Point
that provided a similar view. For some
reason though, I still wanted to finish it.
I left the Continental Divide and continued north
into the headwaters of Senecio Creek. The
walking was mostly easy as I descended gradually along the east side of the
creek. Then the creek abruptly turned west,
while I continued north. That took me
into the beginning of a vast stretch of burned forest. I contended with a lot of deadfall
in this stretch. I found an elk trail,
which led me north down to a small lake.
I originally thought that I would camp near that lake and hike out to
Yellowstone Point from there. However,
the surroundings were uninspiring. The
lake is surrounded by severely burned forest, and it isn’t scenic. I may have settled for it anyway, except that
it was horribly buggy. I thought that
there would be a great view from the top of the cliffs to the east though. Although it was only a short distance away,
getting there required negotiating a horrific maze of deadfall. By the time I reached the cliff I was having
second thoughts about my camping plan.
The view WAS great though. I gazed out across the upper portion of
Yellowstone Meadows towards Hawks Rest. It
was a little hazy from the smoke, but it was still a great view. Most intriguing was a narrow causeway of a
ridge with sheer cliffs extending due to the east. Why hadn’t I gone out there? I even had the spot marked on my map.
I considered continuing north towards Yellowstone
Point, but all I could see was a big mess of fallen trees. Yellowstone Point was over a mile away. It was already late afternoon, and getting
there might take hours. I needed to
rethink my plan.
I considered camping at the top of the cliff, but
there was no water. The small lake had
water, but it did not have any other apparent redeeming qualities. The distance between the two places was
short, but most of it was a maze of deadfall.
The trees that were still standing were all dead, and it was a windy
afternoon. Camping anywhere in that area
would have been hazardous.
I considered the big picture. I was planning to head back south the next
day. So maybe I should just get a head
start on that? I thought that I could
find a decent place to camp in the headwaters of Senecio Creek.
Did I ever!
Hiking back up along Senecio Creek I spotted an agitated bull elk on the
hillside above. Apparently
he was standing guard, and he did his job well.
He barked at me repeatedly to warn the rest of the herd about my
presence. I saw a few more elk on the
hillside, but I suspect that there were many more.
I took a slightly different route back to avoid some
deadfall, staying on the west side of the creek. At one point I looked the east, and I
wondered if there was a possible campsite on the crest of the ridge above the creek.
If so, it would have a great view over the Yellowstone River. I crossed the creek and walked up there. 5 minutes later, I found an amazing spot with
an incredible view. The smoke had begun
to fill the Yellowstone River valley, but it was still a great spot. There wasn’t an established campsite, but
there was a good spot for the tent among some small fir trees.
I set up there, did some
laundry, and had dinner. The smoke,
wind, and mosquitoes all increased as the evening progressed. The bugs eventually chased me to the
tent. It was a restless night, as the
wind howled continuously. I slept on and
off. Hours later, I woke and heard a
snort outside the tent. I peaked out and saw several elk a short distance away. They bolted when I turned my headlamp on.
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