Archive for the 'YTX' Category

Hello!

I spoke with Nick and Marissa at length on Friday afternoon and their Yellowstone Teton Explorer 2 trip sounds awesome! They have a really supportive, enthusiastic and cohesive group that gets along really well and they even love to sing on the trail! They just came out of their second backcountry two days ago in the Gallatins and they couldn’t say enough about how beautiful and epic the five days were up there. They had panoramic views along the trail which improved each day as they progressed slightly further from the trailhead in a large loop hike. Nick spoke quite a bit about a 2-mile uphill stretch on the fourth day of their backcountry where the group was definitely challenged as they made their way up to Shelf Lake. The students crushed it and were incredibly supportive of one another on the way up. The group decided that if you had any energy left after keeping up with the hiking pace, then you should give whatever you had left to encourage others. I thought that was pretty cool and the leaders said it was the moment on the trip when everyone really rallied together to succeed as a group. Marissa was able to send me some really great pictures yesterday from a public library in Jackson so below you’ll find the best one of the whole group and the rest we’ll upload on our SmugMug site in a couple weeks. Starting today, YTX 2 will spend a couple days with guides from Exum learning how to rock climb and then four days of kayaking school with Jackson Hole Kayak before heading back home!

-Conor

Hello!

I chatted with Nick and Marissa yesterday and their Yellowstone Teton Explorer 2 trip sounds incredible! The group just finished up with their first backcountry trip and were in West Yellowstone getting mail and about to grab showers before starting their next backcountry section today. After arriving in Jackson, the group had an awesome day hike up to Riddle Lake where they had fantastic views and also saw two “monstrous” elks. On Tuesday, the group put on their big packs and began their three-night backcountry around Old Faithful. Highlights included pita pizzas at Mallard Lake, everyone testing the frigid waters at Fairy Falls, befriending Jerry the Bison one night at camp and also seeing a mother gray wolf and her four cubs early one morning in Imperial Meadows. YTX woke up early yesterday so they’d have plenty of time to grocery shop and shower in the afternoon and because they did, they saw the sun rise over Biscuit Basin on the hike out which was “really cool”. A lot of the snow has melted in the last few weeks so the group is planning to do their scheduled backcountry trip up in the Gallatins which everyone is really pumped to start since they’ll be one of the first groups to head up there this summer after the rangers scouted it. The leaders said the group is getting along really well and they definitely provide comedic relief to one another when out on the trail or in camp so it sounds like a fun-loving group of kids. I’ll check in with Nick and Marissa again after they hike out next Tuesday before they start rock climbing and kayaking and I’ll try get a group picture by then too!

-Conor

Hello!

I spoke with Nick and Marissa on Friday afternoon and they couldn’t be better! They have a really, really great group and everyone gets along! They had just finished up their second backcountry trip when we talked and the group was on their way to Jackson to shower and camp for the night. Their original second backcountry had too much snow so they instead hiked around Hellroaring Creek and Yellowstone River in the northwest section of the park which Nick described as “absolutely gorgeous”. The group hiked down into a valley and then trekked along Hellroaring Creek which they said was more like a river with all of the snow melt this year. They camped out alongside the stream and made Asian-inspired egg roll wraps with peppers, onions and a great sauce for dinner one night. The groups also had a really awesome spot to cook dinner and have dessert circle at the confluence of the two roaring streams one night, which Nick said was one of his Top 5 Campsites of all time so it had to be pretty good.  The second section the group hiked had spectacular wildflowers. On Friday morning the group woke up early and saw eight pronghorns along the trail as well as the sunrise against Mount Washburn as they hiked out. The leaders told me the group has improved tremendously in terms of their hiking abilities these first two weeks and that everyone is really pumped for rock climbing today and tomorrow then kayaking school for the rest of the week! Here are a couple photos that Marissa was able to send me!

-Conor

Hey!

I spoke with Marissa and Nick on Friday morning and their Yellowstone Teton Explorer 1 trip is going really well! They had just emerged from their first backcountry trek which was a big loop around the Old Faithful area. After arriving in Jackson and doing a day hike, the group put on their big packs and hiked up to Mallard Lake, where they enjoyed a stir fry dinner next to the alpine lake tucked into the forest. During the next couple days the group added some more miles to their boots as they eventually hiked to Firehole Falls, which the students loved. On Friday the group hiked out along a ridgeline to Biscuit Basin and walked along a boardwalk checking out the geysers along the way and later seeing Old Faithful erupt. This weekend the group heads towards West Yellowstone for a couple days of rest, a mail stop and some showers. The group’s second planned backcountry will likely be altered because of snow but Yellowstone’s awesome rangers will give YTX a great, safe hike to do in a different section of the Park. Nick mentioned that the mosquitoes have been particularly bad but on the flipside the weather has been “ridiculously good!” Check back next Saturday for another update!

-Conor