Yellowstone trip

Rockywolf

Rockywolf

Joined
Oct 16, 2005
Messages
7,499
A buddy and I are planning a trip for this September, right after Labor Day. Any advice, gear suggestions, tips, tricks, etc., are greatly appreciated. We are going to drive out, stay one or two nights at one of the campgrounds, then hike into the backcountry. We are researching and reading right now, then will be testing existing gear here and purchasing some new stuff as needed. We have both camped a bunch, but this is a trip we've dreamed about, so want to go in smarter, not just gear-centric.

Thanks for your time!
 
Went last year... It surprised me that Yellowstone does not want you to use bear canisters in the backcountry. They wanted us to hang our food. Exact opposite of Grand Tetons :confused:
 
hammoks are the only way to sleep in the outdoors imo, what kind of knife are you taking with you?
 
PGeo00 said:
Went last year... It surprised me that Yellowstone does not want you to use bear canisters in the backcountry. They wanted us to hang our food. Exact opposite of Grand Tetons :confused:
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Yeah, it is odd. No firearms in the backcountry either, only bear spray.

Rumbrave said:
hammoks are the only way to sleep in the outdoors imo, what kind of knife are you taking with you?
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Not sure yet, probably a couple. Any suggestions?
 
Do lots of backpacking before your jaunt, with the gear you intend to carry. You'll have a lot more fun if you're in shape.Check out Colin Fletcher's The Complete Walker.
 
Rumbrave said:
hammoks are the only way to sleep in the outdoors imo, what kind of knife are you taking with you?
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i'd like to see how that works out for those that camp above tree line :)


Rockywolf said:
Yeah, it is odd. No firearms in the backcountry either, only bear spray.
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was there a scientific study done as to the effectiveness of bear spray vs. the typical handgun calibers? i don't want to put mtwarden on the spot but he stated recently on another thread that his sidearm is primarily for people and his primary defense against bears is...bear spray. just curious if there's any scientific study to back it up, either way.

edit: found his post.

mtwarden said:
I get to patrol area that has a pretty healthy grizzly population (Beartooth Wliderness- adjacent to Yellowstone) and it amazes me the number of folks carrying sidearms and NOT carry spray. I was patrolling there last summer and happened on three fellas from Utah (all packing hog legs), one was an elderly gentlemen about 75-80 years old. He noticed that in addition to my duty sidearm, I had bear spray at the ready. He asked me which one I would reach for in a grizzly encounter, knowing that I would say my .40, when I told him my bear spray- he was rather shocked. I explained how effective a deterrent it was and how ineffective a deterrent a sidearm is with a grizzly. Also how much lighter spray was (~ 15 oz vs 3+ lbs for a loaded sidearm) He solemnly looked at the two younger fellas with him and said "next time it's spray boys" :D
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i would personally avoid jellystone altogeather... go to a wilderness area... the absorka beartooths are close bye, or maybe consider the crazy mountains...
jellystone and the surrounding area have become nothing more than commercialized tourist traps..

avoid the crowds and go to a true wilderness area... and, it dosent cost you anything to get in...;)
carry a gun, do what ever you want, bearspray is nice to have as well... more effective really... and you also want have to deal with any frekin' park rangers... in the wilderness your on your own... i just hate NP's... but atleast they keep the tourist away from the real wilderness areas...
just my 2 cents worth... a 'local'...:)

btw; you can carry a gun into jellystone if you want... no one is going to search your car...
 
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I went two summers ago with the folks, so sadly it was not the backpacking trip that I would have liked. While it may be a bit over-touristy for my taste, stray even slightly from the road and adjoining boardwalks and you will find yourself with vastly less company. Even as a tourist, Old Faithful is repulsively touristy. It's not particularly impressive either and the swarms of people make it a waste of time. Among the geysers that I did get to see, Great Fountain and Lone Star are very worthy of visits.

I'm not sure if Grand Prismatic Spring will have the rainbow hues that late in the season, but it is wild. Do a lot of looking around dawn, when it's cold and the steam rolling off of thermal features is dramatic.

It may be easy for bearhunter to say that you should just not go, but I am unaware of anywhere with comparable features. It's so distinctly alien from anything I've seen before and is worth putting up with toursists to see. Also, don't get hung up looking at Elk and Bison when you first get there. You will be bored of them by the time you leave.
 
Ferrousknight said:
Also, don't get hung up looking at Elk and Bison when you first get there. You will be bored of them by the time you leave.
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He's right about that. There are so many. But then, when have excessive amounts of Bison been a problem in your daily life? The elk too are everywhere. I don't know your style Rocky so I'll just give some advice as I would to a friend. You can get cell phone reception at and surrounding old faithful if you would like to call home. They have restaurants there that have standard American fair at inflated prices. You'll pay more, but if you don't mind paying $10 for a burger and fries, it's an option. Do bring a spotting scope if you want to see wolves. You will see them lined on a hill just beside a road which is popular for viewing wolves. While your at it, a couple of folding chairs would be nice. They'll come in handy for viewing geysers too. Old faithful is faithful, but the rest of the geysers are flaky bastards that say they're going to erupt at 2:00pm but don't until 4:00pm. Think about taking the U.S. and state highways. You'll see more of the country that way. Bring firewood in for your one or two nights at a campground. Avoid the town of West Yellowstone. It's not a charming small town. The food is worse than what you find near Old Faithful. Jackson is a great town. I could vacation there without ever seeing Yellowstone and still enjoy it. But at ninety miles south of Yellowstone you probably won't visit. Have fun and enjoy your trip.
 
Food was expensive and not that good. There is one fancy restaurant there which was nice for a change. It was at the Travertines. Go see them and bring plenty of water and sunscreen as there is not much shade there. But as we said, there is no place on the planet with such features. :)

What gear are you planning on bringing so far? That might assist in suggestions.
 
DrivebyTrucker said:
He's right about that. There are so many. But then, when have excessive amounts of Bison been a problem in your daily life? The elk too are everywhere. I don't know your style Rocky so I'll just give some advice as I would to a friend. You can get cell phone reception at and surrounding old faithful if you would like to call home. They have restaurants there that have standard American fair at inflated prices. You'll pay more, but if you don't mind paying $10 for a burger and fries, it's an option. Do bring a spotting scope if you want to see wolves. You will see them lined on a hill just beside a road which is popular for viewing wolves. While your at it, a couple of folding chairs would be nice. They'll come in handy for viewing geysers too. Old faithful is faithful, but the rest of the geysers are flaky bastards that say they're going to erupt at 2:00pm but don't until 4:00pm. Think about taking the U.S. and state highways. You'll see more of the country that way. Bring firewood in for your one or two nights at a campground. Avoid the town of West Yellowstone. It's not a charming small town. The food is worse than what you find near Old Faithful. Jackson is a great town. I could vacation there without ever seeing Yellowstone and still enjoy it. But at ninety miles south of Yellowstone you probably won't visit. Have fun and enjoy your trip.
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We are both pretty laid back. We plan to hike, take a lot of pics, and bum around. No specific agenda to do daily. What we don't want is to hang around the RV campsites (blech).

Tixx said:
Food was expensive and not that good. There is one fancy restaurant there which was nice for a change. It was at the Travertines. Go see them and bring plenty of water and sunscreen as there is not much shade there. But as we said, there is no place on the planet with such features. :)

What gear are you planning on bringing so far? That might assist in suggestions.
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We will have the usual: sleeping bags, pads, tents, a couple of knives each, jetboil or other stoves, cameras, freeze dried foods, PSKs, boots, and fleece layers.
 
another thing, whether you go to jellystone or the surrounding areas, be prepared for freezing weather and snow ANYTIME of the year...
it snows randomly year round out here;)
 
Tripod and a nice camera for documenting vids, that way one guy does not have to man it all the time. How else can everyone live vicariously???
 
bearhunter said:
another thing, whether you go to jellystone or the surrounding areas, be prepared for freezing weather and snow ANYTIME of the year...
it snows randomly year round out here;)
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Yup. I've been reading that. Thanks. That adds a bit of flavor to it, right?

Brad "the butcher";10564803 said:
Tripod and a nice camera for documenting vids, that way one guy does not have to man it all the time. How else can everyone live vicariously???
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Will do!
 
I went to YNP right after Labor Day several years ago. I've been there maybe 20 times. I was surprised at the large number of people -- even at that time of year. You can't beat YNP for seeing wildlife and geysers, but other than that I'd agree with the others that a wilderness or semi-wilderness trip would be more fun.

Although you CAN (legally) carry firearms in the Park, that doesn't mean you won't get dirty looks and maybe snide comments if anyone sees them. Bear spray is encouraged. Be sure you get a copy of the backcountry camping regs BEFORE you leave home. Food storage is one area you'll want to be familiar with. The bear-proof containers wouldn't hold a decent lunch; let alone several days food --- okay I'm exaggerating a bit.

Weather might be in the 20s 30s 40s 50s or warmer/colder than that. We got snowed on twice; once heavily.

Don't mean to be discouraging --- If you haven't been you should go. I've just always felt that YNP management would be much happier if they could close the Park to all human activity.
 
another thing; folks are telling you to bring spotting scopes ,bi-nocs, etc...
man im telling you, i live here... i live off the grid 'in the wild'... if you want to experiance nature and the 'wild'... leave your spotting scope at home...
use your legs... get off of your (this is not meant as an attack against you, just an attack against the a-typical tourist) fat ass and explore the backcountry...

but, i still think that you should consider a wilderness area instead of jellystone... granted, sure there are many places within the 'park' that could be considered wilderness...

but, there are ways to avoid it all;)

im simply just trying to help...:)
 
Larry in Bend said:
I went to YNP right after Labor Day several years ago. I've been there maybe 20 times. I was surprised at the large number of people -- even at that time of year. You can't beat YNP for seeing wildlife and geysers, but other than that I'd agree with the others that a wilderness or semi-wilderness trip would be more fun.

Although you CAN (legally) carry firearms in the Park, that doesn't mean you won't get dirty looks and maybe snide comments if anyone sees them. Bear spray is encouraged. Be sure you get a copy of the backcountry camping regs BEFORE you leave home. Food storage is one area you'll want to be familiar with. The bear-proof containers wouldn't hold a decent lunch; let alone several days food --- okay I'm exaggerating a bit.
Weather might be in the 20s 30s 40s 50s or warmer/colder than that. We got snowed on twice; once heavily.

who cares if you get "dirty looks"? those that do care are sheep IMO...
thats the problem with our society these days... worrying about what other people think... well i can tell you, us folks from/in montana could care...less...!:)
its just the tourist that care... and if they do, they should go back to suburbia to their little castles or asia and stay there, while we life free...;)
just my 2 cents...
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After reading more, and hearing about how popular YNP is, we are considering Glacier instead.
 
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