Part Two: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

A bulk elk decided to check out our little gathering about saving the grizzly bears at the Canyon Lodge Amphitheatre on Monday evening. I think he also sniffed out the catered dinner, courtesy of Canyon Lodge where we stayed for two nights. Yeah, Sierra Club trips aren't all about munching on granola bars or picking at trail mix!


Here's a shot of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Inspiration Point just before we began our five-mile hike along the North Rim for views of lower and upper Yellowstone Falls.


While hiking an easy two miles to the 300-foot descent down to Grandview Point, the increasingly symphonic sound of the river gushing through the gorge and crashing down 300 feet of volanic rock whetted our appetites for what would no doubt be a spectacular view. We weren't counting on the rainbow, though! Here's my favorite shot of lower Yellowstone Falls. You can click on the photo to make it larger, too.

And here are some of my new Sierra Club friends at the Grandview Point. I'm the one in the front with the Dogtown t-shirt (that's Dogtown in West Marin near Point Reyes National Seashore, for those who want to know). As I made the steep 300-foot ascent back to the rim, some guy, noting my t-shirt, said, "'Dogtown' - that's what you'll feel like once you finish this climb!" I laughed, little knowing that I would indeed feel like I was in Dogtown a mere two days later when I came down with a sudden fever at the Old Faithful Inn. But that's another story.


I was really inspired by the older women on this trip. You can see some of them in the shot - women in their late 60's and early 70's who mostly kept up with the youngest of us. I hope to be emulating that 20 or 30 years from now myself! Sadly, however, one of our younger companions fell and sprained her elbow, so she was in a sling and some pain for the rest of the trip. To her credit, she never once complained.

Meanwhile, most of us carried on hiking for another mile or so before making another steep descent down to the mouth of the falls. At this point, we gained some views of upper Yellowstone Falls - not as dramatic as the lower falls, but still beautiful (and loud) from a distance. If you look closely, you can see the red speck of our enormous Utah Trailways bus on the north rim in the distance.



And here, dramatically, is the mouth of the falls. Yellowstone River is a beautiful emerald green flow until it comes crashing over 300 feet of volcanic rock in a churning white fury. You wouldn't want to be haphazardly canoeing upstream at this point.


And here's a view of the gorge facing towards Inspiration Point from the top of the falls.