My Adventures Thread

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Horses allowed but not bikes? i find that curious

stupid mechanized wilderness laws

horses are dangerous

so are bison and thermal areas

http://www.kbzk.com/news/one-killed-...n-yellowstone/

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I had the day off on August 15th and decided to pick some things up at Walmart. The closest one to Canyon Village, WY is in Cody, WY which is almost 100 miles away.
The equivalent of driving from Hartford to Boston.

Cody, WY is named after Buffalo Bill Cody.
The Buffalo Bills NFL team is named after him.
He was awarded the Medal of Honor.
He started "Buffalo Bill's Wild West" show which is the basis for the modern day rodeo.

Stopped briefly at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center since I get in for free because I work for Yellowstone National Park.

It has 5 museums.
Plains Indians
Western Art
Yellowstone
Buffalo Bill
and Buffalo Phil's favorite "Firearms"

Didn't snap any pictures inside because I didn't want to ruin it for my girlfriend when I take her there.









I had some free time after the historical center closed and decided to find and take a trail I spotted on the other side of the Shoshone River when driving into town.

Started driving down Park County road "2ABW".

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sign reads "this road does not meet public standards - proceed at your own risk" - Park County
cattle guard in the foreground





Shoshone Canyon





Shoshone River with the Cody Rodeo Stadium in the background.
The rodeo is held every night from June 1st to August 31st.





Shoshone Canyon getting closer. Another cattle guard.
sign reads "private property no trespassing private property from here to next cattleguard violators prosecuted" - Trail Creek Ranch

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The next cattle guard.
sign reads "travel beyond this point not recommended"





Great view of the Shoshone Canyon and Shoshone River around the next bend.





sign reads "this access road does not meet public road standards proceed at your own risk" - US Department of the Interior Bureau of Reclamation





Some of the drop offs into the canyon and into the river looked gnarly.

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Getting close to the end of the road.





"Road Closed" after 5 miles on dirt. Had to turn around and go back the way I came. I didn't see any other vehicles after 10 miles of driving.





ugh.....
Notice the date. Nearly 5 years ago.





Big ass pipe.





View on the way out.....
The sky isn't 100% clear because of wildfires in the distance.

[DizzDizz]

Dude that place looks beautiful. I would love to live there. Your very lucky.

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I left Canyon Village, WY around 330pm on August 26th (Sunday) with the goal of hiking the Solfatara Creek Trail.

The Solfatara trailhead is 13 miles west of Canyon Village in the Norris Campground.
Left my girlfriend's jeep where the Solfatara trail ends which is 19 miles northwest of Canyon Village or 6 miles north of Norris Campground.

The hike is 6.5 miles long. Left around 430pm.





There are a few wildfires going on in the area.





Some signs near the trailhead.

"Warning Bear Frequenting Area. Removal of this sign may result in INJURY to others and is punishable by law. There is no guarantee of your safety while hiking or camping in bear country."



This one is pretty self explanatory. (taken with g/f's iphone)





.5 of a mile into the trail.
3 miles to White Rock Springs.
6 miles to the end of the trail.

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We were able to see this sign from the Solfatara trail and decided to check it out.







1 mile into the trail. A little creek crossing.
notice the bear spray and bug spray on the outside of my backpack





Solfatara Creek





Crossed a few boardwalks that went over marshland near the creek.

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Fresh bison shiat and me.





2 miles into the trail at a creek crossing.
Judging by the nails and boarding used..... the trail used to be a wagon route back in the day.





2.5 miles into the trail it opened up into a large meadow.
Storm clouds overhead as well.





3 miles into the trail we spotted a bison in the meadow on my 30X zoom binoculars that my 12X zoom camera could not catch.





At the end of the meadow the trail was barely visible.

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4 miles into the trail crossing a creek or thermal area or both?







4.5 miles into the trail. White Rock Springs.







5 miles into the trail my girlfriend spotted this elk.
I was too busy trying to get a great shot instead of just snapping some pictures and of course it ran away.
One crappy shot.

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From the 5 mile mark to the 6 mile mark the trail turned into a bunch of steep climbs and sloping descends along the powerline.





5.5 miles into the trail we took this right fork for a .25 of a mile to a view of Electric Peak. It was pretty cloudy and smoky though.







5.75 miles into the trail and the sun started to get low.





One last shot of Electric Peak in the distance with clouds and smoke around it.

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6 miles into the trail.





Thermal area a .25 of a mile off the trail.





6.25 miles into the trail.





One last creek or thermal crossing or both?

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My girlfriends jeep through the trees and the end of the trail!







We started hiking from the Solfatara Creek trailhead at 430pm and made it back to my girlfriend's Jeep at 730pm.

It took us just under 3 hours to hike the 6.5 mile Solfatara Creek Trail.





Bison on an evening stroll less than 1 mile after leaving the trail.







Another bison on an evening stroll less than 1 mile after picking up my Jeep from the Norris Campground. (taken with g/f's iphone)

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I left Canyon Village, WY around 345pm on August 30th (Thursday) with the goal of hiking from the Yellowstone River Picnic Area trailhead to the Specimen Ridge trailhead.

Both trailheads are 20 miles northeast of Canyon Village on the Northeast Entrance Road.

The hike is 3.5 miles long. Left around 430pm.


Bernie and Amy starting the trail.
2 miles to the Specimen Ridge trail intersection.





.5 of a mile into the trail. First views of the river.







Looking down river & Looking up river.

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Big ass bug. These things were all over the trail and they were huge.





1 mile into the trail.
Looking up river & Looking down river.







1.5 miles into the trail.
Mount Washburn and the Cygnet Fire in the distance.