For my last weekend’s activity in Yellowstone National Park, I climbed Electric Peak with Jillian and Kara. As the 6th highest peak in the park (at 10,969 ft and prominence of 3,389 ft), it was by far the most difficult hike/climb I’d attempted all summer and I didn’t even go to the absolute summit (though the other two girls did). It had become evident as the climb up the mountain progressed that I was not in any shape comparable to Jillian and Kara with one being a cross country runner and the other being a local and accustomed to the elevation. I got a headache and a little dizzy and stopped climbing about 50 feet from the summit. I figured climbing over loose rocks on a steep mountainside and not being steady on my feet was not a safe combination.
So, Kara and Jillian went on and I found a relatively flat spot, laid down, and slept! That nap was the quietest outdoors nap I have ever experienced. The mountain peak was absolutely silent apart from a few buzzing flies. There was hardly any wind which surprised me because when we climbed Mt. Holmes (which is almost as tall as Electric), we couldn’t really stand up straight because of the wind. What blew my mind is that we could see the Grand Tetons from the peak. Electric Peak is about 3 miles north of the park boundary and the Tetons are about 15 miles (That’s a very rough estimate) south of Yellowstone. This might give you an idea of how huge the Tetons are. It was an incredibly clear day when we first got up, but then storm clouds rolled in and we had to hustle down the mountain. We could also see the little town of Gardiner far below us and shiny specks that were cars driving through the valley. When the storm clouds rolled in, I think we would have been inside them if we had remained at the top of the mountain.
Our Electric hike was a two day ordeal. We hit the trail around 7 PM on Sunday night, Aug. 15, hiked about 2 miles down the trail and went another 2 miles off the main trail to our campsite. Faith, Jillian’s sister, spent the night with us, but decided not to do Electric as she had already climbed it a few years ago. She ended up doing a different hike that day. We packed up camp by 7 the next morning and began hiking soon after. Just after sunrise, we spotted two bull moose in the field below us! That brings my total moose count up to four with half of them not even seen within the park. Around 8, we reached the trail to get to the summit and Faith parted ways with Kara, Jillian and me. About a mile down the main trail, we hid our frame packs in the bushes and continued carrying our day packs. The trail was relatively flat for the first 7 miles or so until it reached the part where it climbs 3000 feet over 3 miles. To say the least, my Achilles tendons felt like they were going to snap on that ascent. I was by far the least physically capable of the three of us but Jillian and Kara were gracious enough to wait for me a lot of the time. So, we made it to the top (or mostly to the top for me), hung out for a bit, then started the descent which was almost as difficult as the ascent. We all made it down safely, minus one face plant by Kara (she was alright, though, just a bit dirty and scratched up) and were at our car by 6:20 PM. Our total mileage, counting the detour to our campsite, was about 24 miles. We could have omitted the camping and done it all in one day, but the camping part is so fun that we had to include it.
I’m really looking forward to coming back to Virginia and now that most of my friends have gone home, it’s gotten quite lonely. But, the herds are migrating now in preparation for winter (it seems early, I know) and that provides some entertainment. Today, a herd of bison has been hanging around in front of my dorm and they make much more noise than I ever expected. They grunt and groan constantly. They’re fun to watch, though, and to figure out the group’s social hierarchy. Sometimes a big male will suddenly start chasing a smaller male or female to keep it in line. The bison are surprisingly agile for such enormous creatures. I’ve seen a few herds of elk around, but none have come as close to the dorms as the bison have. While cleaning the cabins today, a mama black-tailed deer came strolling through with her two spotted fawns. They looked at me with some curiosity but continued on nonchalantly while munching on some grass. Of course, there are always the chipmunks and chattering ground squirrels that are everywhere. Marmots and pikas are a little less common to see, but not unheard of either. I haven’t seen a bear in the lake village for a long time now. Nobody that I know has ever seen a live mountain lion in the park. Jackalopes are the only animals that are legally hunted in the park. They’re so common, I’ve tripped on one late at night coming home from the pub!
shalom
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