Y2Y Update #1 from Walkin' Jim Stoltz

Y2Y 1997 Update #1

July 5 - I'm on my way again! This time it's from the Yellowstone country to the Yukon. It seems so far away, so remote, so unknown. Yet the journey itself will be symbolic of the land and the wild lives that are all linked through those unknown miles. " Yellowstone to the Yukon"; it has a fine ring to it.

It also has promise for preservation of the last wild places. This year I will walk from Yellowstone to Alberta. It seemed fitting to begin this first leg of the journey with a night camped inside Yellowstone Park. My wife, Leslie, and friend, Don Hart, started with me, walking up Daly Creek in the very northwest corner of Yellowstone National Park. The pack felt good, the trail was flat, the company first class, and the flowers were a spectacle like none other! Starting late morning, we soon stopped to have lunch. Then it was a short hike to the designated campsite. Don had taken care of the logistics of reserving and picking up the permit for the backcountry camping system in Yellowstone National Park. Inside park boundaries, very specific camp spots are assigned each night.

We made camp and after doing camp "chores" we each took some personal time to relax in our own way. It was delightful. This was topped off with a dinner feast. Crawling into the tent felt like coming home, so many nights I have spent in that little shelter.

July 6 - Light rain last night. Just enough to wet everything down and give each flower a glistening of drops that sparkled in the morning sun. As we broke camp, Robin Patton, another friend, caught up with us. We headed up the canyon and climbed to the Gallatin Crest. The views unfolded and occasionally we would pass a petrified stump or a large piece of petrified wood like a freshly fallen branch.

We passed through many large patches of last winter's snow. What was bare ground burst forth with Indian Paintbrush, Glacier Lilies, Shooting Stars and Spring Beauties. After passing a cow moose in a high open meadow, we continued north on this ridge of color.

The clouds began to threaten as we neared Ramshorn Peak, so we left the crest, taking a lower, less exposed route. Good choice! Several squalls passed with thunder, lightning and some driving rain. The trail became a sea of mud. We hiked on, sometimes holding out in a dry spot during the hardest of rain. We passed Ramshorn Lake and beneath Fortress Mountain. This mountain is an amazing conglomerate of sheer cliffs, convoluted fins of volcanic rock and pockets of caves and ledges. A band of bighorn sheep made their way through those exposed heights and appeared to use the caves in bad weather.

We set up camp in another storm, but were rewarded with a rainbow over Fortress Mountain and a delightful sunset.

July 7 - A crisp, clear mountain morning greeted us. We slipped and slid our way back up to the Gallatin Crest. Our day of ridge walking was fabulous. We were surrounded with clear views of all the surrounding ranges even as far south as the Grand Tetons. A hundred elk grazed far below us in Onion Basin and we followed grizzly bear tracks for a few miles along the narrow crest.

Days like today ring in the heart like a song, uplifting and inspiring. Just north of Eaglehead Mountain, and after an exhilarating glissade, we stopped for lunch and were surprised by two other friends, Nicki Peters and Pat Kimmel, who were out day hiking. We all walked the last couple miles to Windy Pass together, wandering across the broad, open ridge and through oceans of wildflowers.

At Windy Pass I bid farewell to Leslie and the others as they headed down to the trailhead and back home. Saying goodbye to Leslie was hard, even though I'd be seeing her in a week. Nicki had asked me if I got sad when saying goodbye and I'd said "No", but it felt different this time. I was alone now and I sat by my pack feeling empty and lonely. These are very different feelings for me in the backcountry. I pondered my emotions. After dinner, the rhythm began to flow. I felt more myself and realized the trip had begun.

July 8 - Another glorious day on the crest. After an early start, I didn't see another person all day. This is one of my favorite ridge walks I've done. Endless views as most of it is above treeline. The snow proved tricky in a couple places, but it is good to see it hanging in there. It adds so much to the beauty of the high country and provides continuous moisture while it lasts. Another large heard of elk appeared and I passed quite close to a handsome fox.

It was a long day and ended with a serious climb, but had me camped right on the crest again in a wooded saddle with a bank of snow for my water source. It was a good spot to be.

July 10 - I awoke to a light rain pattering on my tent fly. It was jus enough to encourage me to roll over and go back to sleep. Not for long! The sprinkles ceased and I was up and moving after a quick breakfast and pack-up. The first mountain I climbed brought the day into view. Dark clouds shrouded the Madison Range to the west, the Absaroka Range to the southeast and distant skies to the north. I was blessed with a window of sunshine and another wonderful day on the Gallatin Crest. No trails here, but a great route up one peak, over a ridge, topping another peak and on and on and on... A few light sprinkles caught me, but always they were brief and the sun would reappear. Thunder was always in the distance, so even on the exposed sections I never felt threatened by the chance of lightning. The clouds did amazing things, both above me and below me. The cliffs dropped off one side of the ridge and I occasionally walked by weathered patches of high elevation , stunted trees that survive these severe conditions.

I eventually had to drop below the cliffs, but followed them at their base through the forest on a series of game trails. Eventually, I came upon a human made trail, heavily eroded by ATV traffic. Here, I started down Bear Canyon. This area was abused and I felt disgusted, but more annoyed today by the hoards of mosquitoes. They fed well as I swatted my way through the 4 miles of non-stop attack. Camp offered both a bath in the stream and a good dinner. Rain came pouring down. My spot was a good shelter in the trees to sit and eat and watch the day close in dry comfort.

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