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Stone Cold

Despite a great tragedy in Jason’s family, Jason and I made a planned trip to Yellowstone National Park with my family work out. Although there were some schedule hiccups, weather glitches, foot wrenches, and strain-induced illnesses, I’m glad we chose to make this outing happen regardless of the circumstances. The experience was perfectly contrasting; cruising around Yellowstone in winter felt as alien as hanging with my family felt familiar.

Due to all the runoff from thermal features, the Madison River doesn't freeze so wildlife congregates along its path in the winter. That was where we found these bald eagles.
Due to all the runoff from thermal features, the Madison River doesn’t freeze so wildlife congregates along its path in the winter. That was where we found these bald eagles.

Jason and I reserved a posh condo in West Yellowstone months ago for the purpose of exploring Yellowstone National Park during its most inhospitable season. We invited the hardiest of my family to join us. Via a self-selecting method, the “hardiest” ended up being my parents, sister, brother-in-law, and two nephews. The whole group, except for my parents, spent a day snowmobiling through the park; my parents opted to take a milder snowcoach.

This coyote was waiting to be served a dozy-bird breakfast burrito.
This coyote was waiting to be served a dozy-bird breakfast burrito.
Our many-layers look was stylishly completed by coveralls.
Our many-layers look was stylishly completed by coveralls.

When we headed out the morning of our snowmobile reservation, the temperature was -39 degrees F. Yes, you read that right, as in almost 40 degrees below zero. We had to wait for about an hour at the snowmobile center for the temperature to rise to about-20. Evidently, if you go snowmobiling in weather below -20 it’s a lot like an ice cream truck came into town and you’re the popsicles.

Kristen and I rented telephoto lenses so we could give wildlife a zoom.
Kristen and I rented telephoto lenses so we could give wildlife a zoom.

That a.m.’s -39 was about 30 degrees colder than I have ever been in my life. What did it feel like? It felt crunchy. Everything crackled from car doors to backpacks. Touching metal felt a lot like stabbing yourself in the hand. Sound seemed slow and muted. Oddly, other than a few weird things like that, -39 didn’t feel much different than 0. When you’re unthinkably cold, what’s 40 degrees less?

I had to remind myself that I was still on planet Earth when this scene came into view.
I had to remind myself that I was still on planet Earth when this scene came into view.
Yellowstone's bacterial mats seemed even more striking when surrounded by a blanched palette.
Yellowstone’s bacterial mats seemed even more striking when surrounded by a blanched palette.

When temperatures finally hit the balmy negative twenties, we were able to depart on our private snowmobile tour of the park. Kristen didn’t take to snowmobile operating. After an incident with a snowbank, which resulted in a sprained ankle, she wouldn’t drive above 5 MPH. I was therefore tasked with taking over the driving of her machine. I was starting to come down with a respiratory infection, one that would eventually become my worst sickness in years, so I wasn’t feeling exceptional to begin with and the mighty negatives were taking their toll but when we hit the splendor of Yellowstone all of that was forgotten.

The Lower Geyser Basin contained many marvelous fountains and pots.
The Lower Geyser Basin contained many marvelous fountains and pots.

Yellowstone looked like a misplaced land with snow-masked hillsides and meadows framed between wavy vapors and steamy rivers beaded by ice chunks. It was unreal! Since only about 1000 tourists enter the park daily during the winter, the animals are rather sociable and uninhibited while they are unpleasantly cold. (That sounds like a lot of people until you consider that over 30,000 visitors encroach on Yellowstone every day during the summer months.) We met bald eagles, coyotes, elk, and trumpeter swans. We plowed right through a herd of lethargic bison. Moving among them on a snowmobile, with nothing but frigid air between you, is quite a different experience than passing them in a car. We traveled through a valley where plumes of geothermal steam billowed toward the sky and crept along the horizon in a hazy dance full of a motion at odds with the utter stillness of the rest of the scene.

Red Spouter's name makes more sense after seeing it in the winter. In the summer, it's too dry to do any spouting.
Red Spouter’s name makes more sense after seeing it in the winter. In the summer, it’s too dry to do any spouting.
The trees near pools, pots, and geysers looked more like gritty beasts than plants.
The trees near pools, pots, and geysers looked more like gritty beasts than plants.

Did I stay warm? Shockingly, yes. Thanks to -60-degree boots, two pairs of socks, various foot warmers, a down jacket, a down coat, a thermal top, a snowboarding jacket, three layers of thermal pants of various sizes to allow for their overlay, two glove liners, mittens, two balaclavas, half a dozen handwarmers, and one hideous one-piece snowmobiling suit I stayed unexpectedly cozy. How I even moved while wearing all of that remains a mystery. I wasn’t the exception; no one in our group got cold. In fact, Miles was so comfy that he kept falling asleep on the back of Jason’s snowmobile. It was nerve-racking cruising behind them while he slid this way and that in a speedy slumber.

Even the more typical features of Yellowstone's landscape didn't look typical.
Even the more typical features of Yellowstone’s landscape didn’t look typical.

Although our trip passed too quickly, we still reserved some time at the condo for poker and conversation. It was pleasant and mellow thanks to my great family.

The only time we were assailed by other tourists was when everyone was heading out of the park for the day.
The only time we were assailed by other tourists was when everyone was heading out of the park for the day.
Spending time with my family was a delight as always.
Spending time with my family was a delight as always.

What a memorable vacation! I will never forget the astonishing scenery, chummy wildlife, crinkly cold, and family warmth. Of course, I will also never forget how sick I was afterward. The day we left, my body was so worn out and ill that I could barely move. I slept the entire way home and had a fever the whole night. Yet, oh what a trip!

Rachel February 11, 2017 No Comments

Moab’s Peaks and Plateaus Part II

The next day we hiked the Gooseberry Trail, the most strenuous trail in Canyonlands National Park’s Island in the Sky District. It dives 1400 feet from the top of Island in the Sky to the rim of Gooseberry Canyon, 1200 of those come in its first 0.7 miles. While this path is only 5.4 miles out-in-back, its enormous elevation change makes it relatively untraveled so we were eager to assess its rise and solitude extremes for ourselves.

A series of narrow switchbacks coiled precariously downward from the top of Island in the Sky.
A series of narrow switchbacks coiled precariously downward from the top of Island in the Sky.
The Gooseberry Trail is one of the steepest paths in any national park.
The Gooseberry Trail is one of the steepest paths in any national park.

It took us 4 hours and 40 minutes to complete the trek to Gooseberry Canyon and back; the average is 4 to 6 hours. Frankly, it was much easier than I expected. Based on website comments and Canyonlands’ pamphlets, I anticipated having to take numerous breaks just to keep my heart from going all Tommy Lee in my chest but my beater did just fine and didn’t need many pauses. However, this trail was not easier than Jason expected. Yes, my expectations are tougher than his.

The deep dip down was even more daunting than it appears here.
The deep dip down was even more daunting than it appears here.
The vibrant layers of the Kayenta and Chinle Formations splashed all around us.
The vibrant layers of the Kayenta and Chinle Formations splashed all around us.

The hardest thing about this path, in my opinion, was its fearsome heights. Gazing down from the top of the mesa, the trail looked like a skinny snake slithering on the edge of oblivion. It took some guts to tell that rising “no” inside me “no” but I shut it down slowly with one foot in front of the other.

Gooseberry Canyon falls just 100 feet from where its trail ends. What an ending!
Gooseberry Canyon falls just 100 feet from where its trail ends. What an ending!
The White Rim Road, a 4x4 trail, runs along Gooseberry Canyon for a bit so we got asked by a few confused off-roaders where the heck we came from.
The White Rim Road, a 4×4 trail, runs along Gooseberry Canyon for a bit so we got asked by a few confused off-roaders where the heck we came from.

After our initial height-shock faded, the trail really wasn’t terribly terrifying but our awe remained. Mighty views kept hitting us until Gooseberry Canyon brought a new wave of wonderment and alarm. With its 200-foot plummets, it was an intimidating and spectacular spot to eat a victory sandwich. What an amazing hike with all the heart-pounding exertion and panic one could want in a day!

I made Jason look so tough. Photography is magic.
I made Jason look so tough. Photography is magic.
Stairs eased the elevation changes on the trail's gnarliest sections.
Stairs eased the elevation changes on the trail’s gnarliest sections.

Moab was superb once again. You aren’t particularly bright if you thought I would say otherwise. Where else can you freeze your caboose in an alpine meadow and the next day, just minutes away, sport a tank top in desert rapture. It was a little sad not to have our bikes with us but we managed pretty well on two feet.

Rachel December 12, 2016 No Comments

Moab’s Peaks and Plateaus Part I

Jason and I couldn’t let fall freeze into winter without taking our traditional outing to Moab. However, my semester’s relentless presentations, papers, and team projects were creating quite an impediment so we chose to go to Moab for only two days rather than our customary three. Two days of fun is better than three days of no fun. You can check my math; it adds up.

Glorious summer sunshine seemed to seep out of every aspen leaf we came across as we traveled upward.
Glorious summer sunshine seemed to seep out of every aspen leaf we came across as we traveled upward.

We decided, reluctantly, not to take our bikes with us because of our shortened stay. Instead, we settled for two day of hiking in two drastically different climates. We visited the towering peaks of the La Sal Mountains and the deep drops of Canyonlands National Park.

Gold Basin held fantastic views of Mount Tukuhnikivatz or Mount Mellenthin. Maybe Mount Peale? It was hard to figure out which peak was which.
Gold Basin held fantastic views of Mount Tukuhnikivatz or Mount Mellenthin. Maybe Mount Peale? It was hard to figure out which peak was which.

Did you know that Utah’s tallest mountains outside the Uintas are not in the Wasatch Range? Don’t lie, you didn’t know that. The La Sal Mountains, barely east of Moab, contain 12 peaks above 12,000 feet, making them Utah’s second-highest range. Not impressed? What’s it with you and your desensitization to massive mounts? Despite our many trips to Moab, we had never been to the La Sals and that just wasn’t right.

This muddy pond marked the end of our path in Gold Basin, not exactly an inspiring stop spot.
This muddy pond marked the end of our path in Gold Basin, not exactly an inspiring stop spot.

At their lower elevations, the La Sal Mountains felt uncannily familiar and foreign all at the same time with sharp hillsides made scruffy by juniper and scrub oak. At their higher altitudes, the vegetation was more of an alpine standard with patches of aspens and bristly conifers.

It wasn't easy setting my tripod up on giant slabs of stone to get this picture.
It wasn’t easy setting my tripod up on giant slabs of stone to get this picture.

We picked a perfect time to visit the La Sals… well, it would have been perfect if our eyes were the overlords of our skin. The aspens were remarkable golden, almost fluorescent, but it was a bit chilly, as in 57 to 42 degrees depending on the elevation and sun’s inclinations.

Moonlight Meadow had already succumbed to winter's dreariness but it still provided some thrilling views.
Moonlight Meadow had already succumbed to winter’s dreariness but it still provided some thrilling views.

Nippy or not, we hiked three miles out-and-back along the Cirque Lakes Trail (Gold Basin) to a silty puddle our trail guide called a lake. Hence, the best part of this trek wasn’t its terminus but its lofty views of Mt. Tukuhnikivatz, Peale, and Mellenthin.

The aspens forming this wall were the last sentinels of color that remained in Moonlight Meadow.
The aspens forming this wall were the last sentinels of color that remained in Moonlight Meadow.

Although temperatures were dropping into the low 40s as the afternoon waned, we opted to do one more hike, a short jaunt to Moonlight Meadow. Moonlight Meadow is, well, an alpine meadow. Did you see that coming? We took an easy one-mile out-and-back path to this grassy knoll. At 10,000 feet, its famous aspens had dispatched their leaves already amid winter’s incoming bluster but it was still an appealing wander. Isn’t it odd that trees go around naked at the times of the year when they could use their shady wardrobes the most?

The liquid hanging precariously in the sky all day poured down just minutes after we jumped back in our car.
The liquid hanging precariously in the sky all day poured down just minutes after we jumped back in our car.

Unfortunately, thanks to our frosty climbs, by the time we got back to Moab my body had decided it was done performing the fruitless task of keeping me warm. I was cold all night. I had to wear a t-shirt, thermal top, and hoodie just to keep the goosebumps at bay.

The following day we got goosed in a different kind of way. More on that next week.

Rachel December 3, 2016 No Comments
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