My Adventures Thread

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preview of an upcoming write up.....

On August 1st (Wednesday) the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Touring Pro Division was in Big Sky, MT.

http://www.pbr.com/en/tpd/schedule/2...-division.aspx

My girlfriend scored us 2 tickets. Only 2,000 tickets were sold. The event sold out in less than 2 days.

Was my first time using the new Canon 510HS camera vs the now old / sold Canon SD1100 camera.
The battery died a lot quicker than I thought. I didn't have the 2nd / backup battery with me.

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mess with the bull

you get the horns


video taken on my girlfriends iPhone 4S

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I left Canyon Village, WY at 530am on August 8th with the goal of hiking to Union Falls and Ouzel Pool from the Cascade Creek trailhead.

Started driving south from Canyon Village to Flagg Ranch which is 60 miles, but it took 2 hours.
Flagg Ranch is 2.5 miles south of the Yellowstone National Park south entrance.

Bull elk walking down the road inside the park near Grant Village at 630am. (picture taken with Mark's camera)





Bull elk bugling, which they do during "rut" aka mating season. The elk was within a few feet of my jeep.
The bugle noise is deafening and can be heard for miles. (picture taken with Mark's camera)





The outside temperature was fluctuating between 32* & 40* from Canyon Village to Flagg Ranch.
Spent 15 minutes at Flagg buying supplies and were on our way again.

Left Flagg at 745am and started driving west on Grassy Lake Road for 12.5 miles on nothing but dirt.
Sorry no pictures of the scenic dirt road because we were in a hurry to get hiking. Maybe next time.....

Leaving the Cascade Creek trailhead at 830am.







Entering Yellowstone National Park a hundred yards or so into the trail.

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View of Cascade Creek .2 miles into the trail.





.2 miles down and 7.3 miles left to Union Falls.




Cascade Creek







Me, Peter and then Kevin crossing Cascade Creek over the log jam.
Gary and Mark decided unwisely to walk across the creek and got wet.

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1 mile down and 6.5 miles left to Union Falls.





Knew this was coming. Had read about it.

Changed from my hiking socks & hiking shoes to water shoes.

Me, Peter and then Kevin crossing Falls River. The river was approximately 150 feet wide, 45*, fast moving and between ankle to just above the knee deep.









Falls River

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1.1 miles down and 6.4 miles left to Union Falls.





What a lot of the trail looked like.





2.5 miles down and 5 miles left to Union Falls.
Kevin, Peter, Gary and then Mark at a creek crossing.





Gary and "bad balance" Mark.





3.5 miles down and 4.5 miles left to Union Falls.
Peter, Kevin, 2 random hikers heading the opposite direction, Gary and then Mark coming down "cardiac hill".
We found out how this half mile section of the trail got it's nickname "cardiac hill" at the 12.5 mile mark later in the day.....

[grundlepunch]

me

in all your pics it seems like you are bundled up where others are in sorts and t-shirts! haha

epic pics, i would love to head out west one day and hike/bike around that area

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4.5 miles down and 3.5 miles left to Union Falls.
Mark, Peter, Gary and then Kevin crossing Proposition Creek.









5.5 miles down and 2 miles left to Union Falls.
This was the first time in nearly 4.5 miles that we had verification of how far into the hike we were.





6 miles down and 1.5 miles left to Union Falls.
Crossing Mountain Ash Creek.

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6.5 miles down and 1 mile left to Union Falls.
Union Falls Ranger Station all boarded up.





7.25 miles down and .25 of a mile left to Union Falls!
horse hitching post and some horses





Union Falls after 7.5 miles of hiking, which we reached at 1230pm after 4 hours of hiking.

The second highest waterfall in Yellowstone National Park.
The highest backcountry waterfall in Yellowstone National Park.
250 feet high and 200 feet wide.

From the highest vantage point.







From another viewpoint.

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A hundred feet or so down the unofficial trail to the falls.





A hundred feet or so more down the trail to the falls.
I left my camera in my waterproof jacket on the trail to pick up on the way back.
1/3 or 1/4 of the way down because the spray was just too much.

in all your pics it seems like you are bundled up where others are in sorts and t-shirts! haha

epic pics, i would love to head out west one day and hike/bike around that area

Just for you
As close to the falls as you can get without dying. (picture taken with Mark's camera)







Another picture of the falls. (picture taken with Mark's camera)

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Union Falls and Me after 8 miles of hiking.

It took me 10 minutes or so to warm up and for the dizziness to stop. I was the only one in our group of 5 to hike down to the falls. It was definitely worth it for the view from the bottom, but the sound was deafening. The terrain was anything from ankle deep mud to wet logs and rocks to wet grass. The air temperature combined with the constant mist made it feel like 45* and I was in board shorts & water shoes. I also got a nice little slice on my right hand trying to keep my balance.

Not sure if I would go down there again if given the chance.









We then hiked a .25 of a mile back to the horse hitching post, which put the total at 8.25 miles for the day.

We then hiked the .25 of a mile to Ouzel Pool.

Ouzel Pool after 8.5 miles of hiking, which we reached at 200pm after 4 hours of hiking and 1 hour at Union Falls.

It is thermally heated. The temperature fluctuates between 85* & 90* year round.

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This happened.....





Hell yeah.....





"I'm taking my time to do this"





Getting a massage after carrying my pack for 8.5 miles. (picture taken with Mark's camera)

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10 miles down and 6 miles left to get back to the jeep.
Saw this dude on a horse near Mountain Ash Creek.





11 miles down and 5 miles left to get back to the jeep.
Got stuck behind a bunch of boy scouts. Notice the log, which a black bear had been looking for food in.





12 miles down and 4 miles left to get back to the jeep.
Boy scouts crossing Proposition Creek.





12.5 miles down and 3.5 miles left to get back to the jeep.
Boy scouts at a creek crossing.
This is also the point at which we all ran out of water. Everyone brought 64 ounces of fluids, which obviously wasn't enough.





15.5 miles down and 1 mile left to get back to the jeep!
Boy scouts crossing Falls River.





One last picture of Union Falls.





We started hiking from the Cascade Creek trailhead at 830am from my jeep and made it to Union Falls at 1230pm.

We left Ouzel Pool at 330pm and made it back to my jeep at the Cascade Creek trailhead at 800pm.

It took us 8.5 to 9 hours to hike the 16 miles.

Note to self..... always bring extra water not extra snack food.

[Buffalo Phil]

You look like an completely pissed off evil God from Greek Mythology.

"AND I SHALL DROWN YOU IN THE WATERs IN WHICH TO TREAD, FOR THIS IS MY SACRED HOUSE AND THOU SHALT FEEL MY WRATH".

[HeavyMetal]

doug, you should really considering getting some fresh air some time