Training Log Archive: maprunner

Got up fairly early in order to get in one more ski before we had to head home. Went to Blacktail Plateau trail for the first time (on skis; we drove here last fall). Nice groomed trail on a side road, perfect for our final ski. My body was tired from such a long week, so I couldn't handle anything technical. Temps in the single digits today, but the sun was out so we warmed up quickly.

Interested to see how skittish the elk were today. Usually they just ignore the humans. We saw a herd two hills away, and they moved away as soon as they saw us (we were the first skiers on this trail today). Later, we understood why they were skittish when we heard some wolves howling, fairly close by. Very cool to hear them.

This is a beautiful trail, with a different view around each curve of the road. Loved it.

Further up the trail, we saw fresh wolf tracks. Seems like it turned off the road as it heard us approach. Looked every where to try to see it, but of course we had no luck. I'm sure it was just off the road, watching us :)

Perfect ending to the trip. Flew home Bozeman-Denver-KC. Back in our comfortable TempurPedic bed by midnight. Ahhhh.

Ski drop up at Bunsen Peak/Sheepeater trail. We had thought about skiing this trail in the past, but it usually was bitter cold with howling winds. Today was sunny, low wind and mid 20s. Beautiful.

First part of the trail is groomed, so it was very easy. Spectacular scenery of open plains and majestic mountain ranges. After we turned from the Bunsen Peak trail onto the Sheepeater trail, the trail was no longer groomed and went cross country. Very nice mix of scenery, perfect snow conditions (we were the first ones to ski this section of the trail today). A few technical sections, but overall a very nice trail.

At the end, we skied back towards Sheepeater Cliff, which is large basalt columns, very reminiscent of Iceland.

Headed back along the road towards the pickup point at Indian Creek campground. Suddenly we saw two bull bison headed towards us, right down the middle of the road. We stepped as far to the side as we could, and waited to see what they would do. They just kept on walking right down the middle of the road, didn't care about us at all. Passed within 10 feet of us. Not so scary this time, since they seemed to be on a mission to get somewhere. Beautiful to see them so close. They are very healthy this year, thanks to the mild winter.

I sat in the warming hut for a bit while Mike skied around Indian Creek. Joined him for 10 minutes or so before our pickup arrived.

Before dinner, we walked around the upper terraces a bit, but it was getting cold,so we didn't stay out very long. Decided to drive back towards Lamar again. Saw four bull elk by the side of the road, but nothing else. Turned around when it got too dark to see any more.

Headed out to my favorite trail, Baronette. Nice forest, prime moose territory, although we didn't even see any tracks this year. All my recent skiing had improved my technique. I did better on this trail than I had in the past. Still had to side step up a few short steep stream crossings, but it wasn't so bad. Nice ski.

Headed back on the main road towards Mammoth, when we saw a strange thing running in the road. Got closer and found it was a badger! Unusual sighting; funny to see it puff up and hiss at the car :)

Went to Tower and tried to visit with my co-worker's friend who is a ranger there. Turns out he was off duty today; we left him a note.

Second ski of the day was an easy one on the groomed trails up to Tower Falls.

Saw two bull elk close by the road on the way back to Mammoth. They are pretty cool.

Had to do a short ski today, since we were heading back to Mammoth in the afternoon. Plus my legs needed a rest; quads were really tired from yesterday. Adjusted my F405 to "auto pause" for the rest of the trip, so times represent actual time moving.

Started the day by watching Old Faithful erupt. Then headed down the trail through the geyser basin, past Morning Glory pool. Very strange to see so little snow here. Last few times we've been here, there has been 4-6 feet of snow. Maybe 2 feet this time. Lack of snow means the animals can find other places to eat and hang out, so they're not as visible this year. Usually there are lots of bison in the geyser basin. Of course, there was lots of tracks, so I knew they were there at some time, just not when I was up (see Mike's log for early morning ski reports; I sleep in :))

Went to Biscuit Basin, took off our skis and walked around. Then headed back towards Old Faithful along the Daisy trail. Be careful what you ask for: we finally met up with some bison.

But this time, it wasn't just a quick ski right by the herd. One bison had moved onto the trail, and others were following her. We got caught between her and the rest. You're supposed to stay 25 meters away, and not force the animals to spend energy. She stopped just off the trail, too close for us to ski by. So we decided to head off trail, and ski a wide berth around her. We got half way, and then she turned and started coming towards us. Scary moment. We didn't know which way to go, and the snow (off trail) was deep and we can't out-ski a bison. We decided to head back to the trail.

Then we had a stand off. Bison turned towards us, stared at us. We stared back. What was she going to do next? We decided to step off the trail, in case she wanted to come back down the trail. We stepped behind a tree, and that seemed to be the solution. Once we were out of sight, the bison walked across the trail, a few feet in front of us, and headed back towards the main herd. We quickly skied up the trail before she changed her mind and came charging back.

We were probably not at much risk, but it was scary because it was an unpredictable situation, and we were between her the main herd. Hope we don't get this close again.

Made it back to Old Faithful just in time to watch it erupt again. Then took the snow coach back to Mammoth. Bald eagle and dipper sightings along the way. Also spent some time watching a coyote trying to carry an elk bone away from a wolf kill.

Plan was for a long ski today. Temps in high teens to start, warmed up to mid 20's.

Took the ski drop up to Divide Pass. Started up the path towards the Divide (as in continental divide) but it soon became too steep for our descending abilities. So we turned around, and took the turn onto the Spring Creek trail.

This trail was marked as easiest with a few stretches of intermediate level. Some parts were very challenging for my "advanced beginner" ability. Got scared a few times, fell a few times, cursed a few times. Went slow a lot, and even took off my skis for one particularly technical section. Later realized that I should have eaten sooner than I did. Once I rested and ate a lot of food, I managed better and my attitude improved.

This trail joins up with the groomed trail to Lone Star geyser. It was a relief (for me) to reach the turn off. Skied into Lone Star, only to find we were all alone (last time we skied here, straight from the Old Faithful Lodge, there were lots of people here). Took off skies, sat down to rest, just as the geyser went off! Perfect timing!

Gentle, groomed, mostly down hill ski back to the lodge. I adjusted the time in this log, to account for the rest and stop times. Snow was good, trails were in good shape. A couple from Helena MT was dropped off with us this morning, and we saw them several times on the ski. Lots of animal tracks, but no actual viewings today.

Very tired at the end, mostly from being out in the cold for 6 hours. Happy to have finished; not sure I'll do the Spring Creek section again, unless I'm much fitter or skilled. Although it was a very beautiful canyon.

Started the day by taking the snow coach to Old Faithful at 7:30 am. After lunch, I took a much needed nap while Mike skied. Once I was refreshed, we went out for a short easy ski towards Mallard Lake. Just right. Time includes all stops. We determined long ago that I manage best if I make sure to stop and take a drink every 15 minutes. Plus I usually need to rest on uphills, and we often stop to look at the view or wildlife.

Heading to Yellowstone for a week. 6:30 am flight; who's idea was that ????
No TVs, no cell phones, no wifi, no computers, no AP updates.

Got up at 4 am for our fight. Smooth travel day. Made it to Mammoth Hot Springs by noon. Amazing weather; mid 20's and very little snow. Turns out it's been a mild winter; one-third less snow than average. We were a bit concerned about skiing opportunities, but were told that there was more snow on the trails.

Decided to drive out through the Lamar Valley towards Cooke City. Great wildlife viewing day, even though a lot of it was during mid-day when the animals are usually resting. Easy to find the wolves, since there is always a crowd of "professional" wolf watchers hanging around with their radar detectors and spotting scopes. Saw one wolf walking along, and five wolves just resting in the sun. Besides the wolves, saw countless bison, elk and deer. Plus 4 big horn sheep hanging in the sun, and miraculously, a moose! Only the second time we've seen a moose in Yellowstone, and very rare winter sighting. Mike is bored with moose (after living in Sweden) but I've only seen a handful in my life, so they're still a novelty to me.

Finished with a walk around the lower terraces. Dinner and hotel in Gardiner tonight, since the Mammoth hotel was full.