Day 52

First light found us on the trail. let us conquer this mountain.
The trail was just how I like it straight up, no need for time-wasting switch backs.

Our legs burned, our chests heaved & we couldn't figure out if we were hot or cold. I was either frozen by the mountainous wind or burned alive by my own heat.

By noon we had made it to what we thought was the summit...nope. Still had another 1,500 feet and three mountains over..maybe this wasn't my type of trail.
However, in retrospect I will agree the trail took us through nature as I have never seen her.

7/8 up to the recently spotted lookout tower (the real summit) Shane I heard some screeching down the slope. Sounded like a baby being... well attacked. Now fully alert we scanned the hillside. Ahh hah, It was bear cubs playing! There is the mom too! We zoomed in with our cameras, too grainy.

Well, do we say that was cool or do we go check these elusive creatures out?
Shane was cool watching from where we were. You want to climb all the way down there & climb all the way back? All to mess with a protective Momma bear.

"Uhh yes!"

I rationalized that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity & what was a little more exercise. I had my whole life to sit down.

Made my way down. checked the wind & adjusted my route so I stayed well down it. I crawled to a rocky outcrop about a 100 yards away & was instantly terrified. She was soo big! The little guys were my size.

Satisfied with the pictures I was able to finagle, I sprinted back around & up the slope. Well at least most of the way.
The elevation prolonged my expected exit strategy by about 5 minutes. She didn't notice me though, swooo.

Reunited with Shane I regained my composure. We resumed our uphill battle.

But the trail got the second to last laugh though. We had once more ridge to go...ahhhh!
However, the grade had tamed.
With a little more heaving & hawing we were at the lookout. It was packed.

We ate what food we had left (one slice of salami) & snapped a few pictures.

Now when we planned this adventure we were instructed that we would end here at Washburn; where we would have to climb down (the opposite flank) where we would find the inner-Yellowstone highway.

While up high we scouted the quickest way....it didn't look quick at all.

Three bloody miles. We debated doing the downhill trot to expedite the process, Shane had a headache though so that was a no go.

Somehow we made it there. Now to hitch a ride back to the car. Yes thats right Hitch-Hike. We were just doing what the lady in the back country office told us to do.

It was fun for like 10 minutes...Shane would do a little hulu dance & I would sing "Ride to the Canyon area,,,PuuuLeasSE!" We stood out on the road for an hour looking like idiots.

Finally, a young woman named Laura stopped for us. Saweet!

She dropped us off as close as she could which was about 3 miles from our car. We rubber tramped it about 3/4 of the way, the last bit we rode cush in the back of of an RV driven by some people whose names I already forgot.

It was now 4, but we were at the car. All the food to be found was demolished in 3 minutes flat.

Nutritionally equalized we decided we had to go see the infomous paint pots & finally Old Faithful.

Mostly a good idea. except there was mad construction & Shane was cranky.

We checked out the aforementioned attractions silently.

There was no laughter to be heard.That is unless you count incessant giggling form annoying French family that sat behind us as we waited for old faithful to do its thing.

Leaving the Old Faithful area was a nightmare, all 50,000 of us left on the same one-lane road. It took us two hours to go 40 miles.

Made it as far a Bozeman, Montana. Found a KOA campground. paid our fees, pitched the tents & took a long awaited shower.