Hiking to upper and lower falls

Trip Start Aug 30, 2008
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Trip End Sep 13, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Wyoming,
Sunday, August 31, 2008

We slept in today until 9 am. It was a much needed rest. The view from our room was awesome. The Gardiner River and surrounding mountains were beautiful. It was a wonderful sight to wake up to. We drove into Mammoth Hot Springs stopping at the stone gateway to Yellowstone at the north entrance. This monument to our first national park was built in 1872 by the Roosevelt administration. We met up with our friends from Ohio and had lunch at the Mammoth Hot Springs Lodge. We had a long day ahead of us so we parted ways with our friends but we will all be staying at Grant Village Lodge in the southern part of Yellowstone. Our first hike was the Yellowstone River Picnic Area Trail (for such a fantastic trail it should have a more glamorous name like maybe Awesome Trail!). The hike was 3 miles round trip. There was a slight hill to reach the ridge line and it was smooth sailing (or hiking) from that point. We views were just incredible! As we walked along the ridge line below us at the bottom of the cliffs the Yellowstone River was flowing rapidly. There were steam vents along the cliff sides. Many years ago when Yellowstone was a huge volcano it erupted causing such force that the entire top of the volcano was blown away. When this happened the area where the volcano sunk and became what is called a caldera. Under ground the "piping" from the volcano still exists and is very powerful. Over the years geysers, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents have evolved and keep evolving to this day. Every time there is an earthquake the geothermal features of Yellowstone are changed. Original Entrance into Yellowstone
Original Entrance into Yellowstone
 Some geysers become dormant and others become active. As we drive through Yellowstone we can see steam rising throughout the park. So back to our hike...at the end of the trail it opened to the most beautiful valley that I have ever seen. The Yellowstone River cut through this valley many years ago leaving some of the most wonderful landscape in the park. We could not tarry too long here as a storm was brewing and heading our way. The wind had picked up and the temperature had dropped. We started driving south via the Dunraven Pass (elevation  8859 ft). We stopped at the Canyon Area of Yellowstone. We drove to the overlook for the Upper Falls where the Yellowstone River drops 109 feet. It was an incredible sight to be standing so close to these falls and watching the water plunge those 109 feet. We then hiked down Uncle Tom's Trail which was a strenuous hike for us flat landers. The elevation here was 7734 feet and we climbed down 325 stairs which is ¾ of the way down the canyon to see a close up view of the Lower Falls. These falls drop 308 feet which is twice the height of the Niagra Falls in New York. What a beautiful view! The climb up those 325 stairs was not so much fun! We made several stops. We made one last stop at Artist's Point which gave us an all encompassing view of the Lower Falls and the fantastic Yellowstone Canyon. It started to rain heavier so we started down to our room at Grant Village. Along the way we had the opportunity to see several bison most just taking their time walking in the road (one would think they own the place!) They seem like very docile animals but there are more people gored by bison than bears in Yellowstone. We got to our hotel room and we are ready for some rest and relaxation.
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