Yellowstone National Park

After two weeks getting broken in on the trail with lots of snow, mud, and steep climbs we made it to Yellowstone National Park – our first big objective. Our plan upon arrival was to do a 24 mile day and then a 17 mile day to get through the park quickly since we couldn’t camp with the burros or have Deso with us (both were waiting with my Grandpop just south of the park entrance). When we arrived, we headed straight to the trusty ranger’s station. As soon as we told the ranger our plans she said, “And are you sure your whole party is up for this? There’s 2 foot snow depth on that trail all the way across and no one’s been through there yet this year. Can you come back another time?!” Well, no, not really, so after a few minutes of looking at maps and reading park trail reports we concluded that the 24 mile day we wanted to do was impossible and we hastily came up with a new plan and left slightly disappointed we couldn’t do that long day which would have broken our one day mileage record.
The next morning we headed off on our now 14 mile trek. In the first 4 miles or so we saw at least 9 new species of birds (Dad and Jessie are trying to id every bird in the Rockies), and 3 marmots. That was the only wildlife that we saw the whole entire day but we were in for an unexpected treat. In the first few we haven’t seen a single person on the trail – until that afternoon.....
When we first saw them they looked like buffalo with caution tape on them. We couldn’t figure out what they were if our lives depended on it. When they finally reached us we were a bit shocked. They were a group of boy scouts-not like your average boy scout, the one who is organized and prepared, in fact the were the complete opposite. They were hiking with fishing inner tubes with giant stripes of orange on them heading for lake a mile or 30 minutes or so further on. The best part about the tubes was that they were carrying them right next to a stream big enough to tube down to the lake. Also, their packs looked as if a tornado had hit them. They had a bag or something hanging from every possible spot on their packs. And to top it off they each had their own pair of massive flippers!
A few minutes later a lone, left behind scout passed us trying to catch up with his crew. He asked us how far to the lake, so giggling we told him it might be about an hour and a half. He looked so depressed. As we walked away from him I turned to look at his pack and started to laugh – quietly I hope . He had a full on comforter strapped on top of his load. It was so funny I couldn’t help laughing. A few minutes later we passed the remnants of the group with the troop leaders. As we passed one adult asked me if I wanted to earn $20 bucks? (I figured he meant me carrying his pack to the lake.) “I think I’m gonna need $100! “ Now that was a very memorable wildlife encounter and a great day on the trail.