The Conqueror Challenge: Yellowstone

Steph, Mark, and I signed up for The Conqueror Challenge, and need to get 75 miles in Yellowstone this summer. We figured three trips to the park should do it. Mark and I spent a few summers quite a few years ago exploring a ton of the park, and we loved it every time we went. The past few years we've just been busy with other things, so we figured that signing up for something would get us back there. So glad we did! 

We left our house at 4:00 in the morning on a Friday, and entered the park before 6:00. I love being there early, because all the fog and mist is still on the water. So pretty! We went in the west entrance and just started at the beginning, doing all the trails and viewpoints as we went. We covered the majority of the grand loop and down by the lake in the two days we were there. I loved it so much!

West Entrance Road:

Two Ribbons Hike:

We pass this little hike every time we go in the park, and always just skip it. We always say we'll do it on the way out, but then never do. We didn't skip it this time. It's just a short board walk trail down to the  Madison River. Since we did it first thing in the morning, the mist was still on the river. Very pretty!

Two Ribbons

Mount Haynes Viewpoint:

The misty Madison River

Mount Haynes

Harlequin Lake:

This is another trail we always skip. I'm so glad we didn't skip it this time. I loved it! The trail up to the lake was really cool, and the lake was amazing. It was totally covered with lily pads.

Harlequin Lake

Mark at the lake.

The trail through the trees was really cool.

The Grand Loop Road:

Terrace Spring/Penny Pond:

This was just a short Boardwalk that shows Terrace Spring bubbling up and going into Penny Pond.

The flowers in the park were amazing the weekend we were there!

Terrace Spring and Penny Pond

Gibbon Falls:

We stopped to see Gibbon Falls.

Gibbon Falls

Monument Geyser Basin:

This hike isn't very populated, because it's quite a climb up to the basin. We had the whole trail and basin to ourselves.

This is part of the basin. There were some cool cones that had formed over the years. The views from the top were great!

Artist Paint Pots:

I am fascinated by the things at Yellowstone. The geysers and paint pots are so strange!

Sound on!

Sound on for the bubbling mud!

Norris Geyser Basin:

We walked along the three miles of boardwalk around the Norris Geyser Basin. Again, just fascinating!

Norris Geyser Basin

This one was sending spray up so high that it was misting us on the boardwalk.

The color and depth of the pools amazes me every time I see them.

This was a cool one!

Such a pretty color!

South Canyon Loop:

One of our longer hikes for the weekend was the South Canyon Loop. It's one of my favorite ones in the park. It's a 7 mile loop that takes you along the very powerful Yellowstone River, then along the whole rim of the south canyon. We eventually left the rim, and circled back to the car via Lily Pad Lake, Clear Lake, and a cool basin area. I feel like you get it all in this hike; the river, the canyon, the forest, a basin area, two awesome mountain lakes, and some gorgeous meadows at the end.

The Yellowstone River

The upper falls

The lower falls

This whole canyon is amazing!

Lily Pad Lake
Mark and I did this loop with Bailey years ago and we loved this lake. We were excited to take Steph on this hike.

The lily pads were blooming!

Clear Lake
When we were walking along the rim, it got pretty hot. I had every intention of swimming in this lake to cool off, but then a storm started rolling in. The clouds covered the sun, and everything cooled right off. No need for a swim this time.

We crossed these gorgeous meadows that were filled with purple and yellow wildflowers. So pretty!

😍😍😍

Mud Volcano:

We did a little one mile loop that I honestly thought might be dumb. It ended up being really cool! Not only were the mud volcanos really cool, but we got delayed on the trail when two bison walked right in front of us. We had to slowly back away until the ranger cleared us to pass. Even then, I kept my bear spray out and ready (which is why I don't have any pictures). Those things are massive!

This one was super cool!

This mud volcano was fun to watch.

East Entrance Road:

Now we were entering the section by Yellowstone Lake, which is a part of the park that Mark and I had never been to before. This was all new territory and I was excited to explore it all!

Pelican Creek Nature Trail:

This was a fun little loop that took you through the tress to the lake. We walked along the shore of the lake for awhile, before the trail took us back through the trees to our cars.

Yellowstone Lake

Storm Point Loop:

It was getting late, and a storm was overhead, so this was going to be our last hike of the day. It was the perfect way to end our day. It ended up being one of my favorites! The trail through the trees was great, and the views of the lake were amazing. The fact that we had a storm roll in to make the sky look amazing at Storm Point was a huge bonus. 

This is also the trail where the lastest bison trampling took place, so we proceeded with a lot of caution.

The trail through the trees.

The flowers in the park were amazing, but on this trail in particular, they were incredible!

Storm Point!

We seriously walked through fields and fields of flowers. It was like something you would see in a movie or on a postcard.

The shore of Yellowstone Lake.

We found a great place overlooking the lake to have dinner, and spend the night. We slept in our cars for the night, and were treated to a great thunder storm.

We woke up early the next morning, and when Mark looked down at the lake and the road, he saw two cars stopped, and then saw a bear cross the road. By the time Steph and I got over there, it was already in the trees.

Avalanche Peak:

When I looked at the elevation of this hike, I was a little worried that Steph and Mark would want to kill me. They were both coming off of Beaverhead (a very hard 50k) the weekend before. To get to Avalanche Peak, you climb over 2000 feet in a short distance (about 2.5 miles to the top). We knew we would not be back to this part of the park in a long time, so we decided to go for it. So so so glad we did! It was quite a climb, but the views from the top were worth it. Once we were up past the tree line, we could see mountain range after mountain range. We could even see the Tetons in the distance. It overlooked all of Yellowstone Lake as well. One of our favorites of the whole weekend!

Climbing the scree field after we got past the tree line.

This was the high point of the hike, but we kept going a little further, and there were even better views off the other side.

such a cool trail!

Steph-Tricia

It was really windy at the top. People had build these fun wind breaks.

Pictures don't do it justice. These views were amazing!

Here's a little video from the high point.

On our way back down.

Starting back through the trees.

We were on our way to our next spot, and all of a sudden the traffic was backed up. Mark drove on the shoulder for a second, so I could see what was holding us up. There were two bison walking right down the middle of the lane, just like they were cars, with a big line of cars behind them. It was like they were leading a parade. So funny! They eventually went off to the side, and we could drive by them. I rolled my window down to take a picture, and I was close enough that I could just about have reached my arm out to pet it. Man, they are huge and intimidating. It blows my mind how close some of the tourists think they can get to them. 

This is one of the guys walking down the middle of the lane.

Elephant Back Mountain:

Our next hike was a loop up Elephant Back Mountain. It gave you a good view of the lake below. It was pretty, but not necessarily a hike I would repeat.

Steph-Tricia-Mark

Natural Bridge:

This was a fun one! It takes you to a cool bridge formation, and makes a loop, so you go right over the bridge.

There's the bridge!

Me and Steph on the bridge!

Me and Mark on the bridge. I love these pictures, because it looks like we're up in the clouds.

West Thumb Geyser Basin:

This was probably my favorite geyser basin, because it's right along the lake shore. Some of the geysers are actually in the lake. This section of the lake shoreline is gorgeous too! I just wanted to get in the water!

I love the color!

I love this picture. The blue pool with the lake right behind it looked so cool!

One of the geysers in the lake.

Duck Lake:

Duck Lake is only a half mile walk from the West Thumb Geyser Basin. So just a mile total, and we had this great lake all to ourselves! It had a long sandy beach, and was so pretty! We took off our shoes and walked out in it. I actually took a swim! I don't know how the other two resisted. The water temperature was perfect, and it was just too tempting! 😂

Duck Lake

The perfect mountain lake to swim in!

Biscuit Basin/Mystic Falls:

We were running out of time, because we still had a couple hour drive home, so we had to decide on what to do to finish out our trip. We skipped the Old Faithful area and decided on Mystic Falls instead. This is a hike that none of us had done before. The falls were incredible!

You have to go through the Biscuit Basin to get to the Mystic Falls trail. This is a super cool Basin!

So clear and deep!

Mystic Falls
The pictures don't so it justice!

There are hot springs that flow right into the river at the base of the waterfall. So you can sit in hot pools while you feel the waterfall spraying on you. So cool!

😁😁😁

I'm so glad we signed up for this challenge. It's exactly what we needed to get us back to the park. We had such a great weekend! We covered 39 miles, and did almost everything on the Grand Loop and around the lake. We're already planning our next couple trips. We have a longer hike planned for one of the trips, and we plan to finish up the Grand Loop, plus do one of the other loops before the summer ends.