SUV RVing Adventures

[SUV_RVing]

I just spent 4 days backpacking in the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah. The goal was to climb all 21 of the range's 13,000-foot mountains in one trip. I climbed 10 before my tent blew down in the middle of the night, and I had to hoof it 20 miles back to the trailhead. I started and ended at the East Fork Blacks Fork trailhead, where there is a free campground at the edge of a beautiful meadow.

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Above: Henry's Fork Basin. The pointy peak above and to the right of my head is Kings Peak, the tallest in Utah at 13,527 feet.

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Above: Camped at Dollar Lake in Henry's Fork Basin

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Above: On top of one of the 13ers (Gunsight Peak, I think?)

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Above: What looked like a natural brick road in Painter Basin

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Above: One of the basins as viewed from one of the high ridges

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Above: Curious locals

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Above: Looking down on Trail Rider Pass from the Kings-Emmons ridgeline

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Above: Mountain goat

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Above: Camped in the Yellowstone Creek Basin

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Above: Red Castle

 

[masterplumber]

Very cool, I'm supposed to go backpacking this weekend, but have been sick for 2 days. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

 

[highdesertranger]

very cool. ah, to be young again. highdesertranger

 

[masterplumber]

Don't have to be young again, we've got old man strength on our side. we just have to go a little slower and enjoy the flowers.

 

[ArtW]

Sorry, i laughed about the wind blowing down the tent, I'm sure it wasn't funny when it happened
beautifull pix

 

[SUV_RVing]

Sorry, i laughed about the wind blowing down the tent, I'm sure it wasn't funny when it happened
beautifull pix

No, but it's a good story in retrospect

 

[ArtW]

All I can say in my defense, is i've been there, too
In a cold rain 

 

[SUV_RVing]

Fossil Butte National Monument, Wyoming

After the hiking (mis)adventure in the Uintas, I headed north toward the Tetons, stopping at Fossil Butte National Monument (just west of Kemmerer, Wyoming) along the way. I'd never heard of it before seeing it on the map, but it's a neat place. I went to the visitor center, watched a 13-minute-long video about the area, and then browsed the many fossilized animals and other things on display (fish, a small horse, turtles, an alligator, leaves, plants, insects, etc.). 

I then headed out on a couple of hikes. There are two main hikes advertised in the monument: the Nature Trail (1.5 miles) and the Historic Quarry Trail (2.5 miles). I did both and am glad I did, but I enjoyed the Nature Trail a bit more.

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Above: Big fossilized palm frond at the visitor center

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Above: Fossilized alligator at the visitor center

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Above: Fossil Butte

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Above: Aspen grove on the Nature Trail

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Above: Rolling grassland on the Nature Trail

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Above: Another view from the Nature Trail

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Above: Near the start of the Historic Quarry Trail

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Above: The trail traverses on a bench below the top of the butte

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Above: A little old cabin used by one of the original fossil diggers in the early 1900s

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Above: A pronghorn I saw near the national monument

(More pics, bigger pics, and more info is in the blog post.)

 

[Freerollin']

Lovely Pictures...stunning!!

 

[BobBski]

Great pictures, looks like you had a super trip.

 

[USExplorer]

Great time of year to visit these regions. Those photos of the Uintas are spectacular.

 

[SUV_RVing]

Grand Teton National Park (Part 1)

I've spent a week or so in the Jackson, WY, and Grand Teton National Park area (and am still here as of writing this). What a gorgeous place! Great free camping nearby, too (see http://freecampsites.net; I've stayed at both the one near town and the one east of the park and both are great). Most of these pics are from a 55-mile loop hike I did that started and ended at the Taggart Lake Trailhead, went up Paintbrush Canyon, went south along the Teton Crest Trail, and then cut back east along Granite Canyon.

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Above: The Tetons in the morning from near the Taggart Lake Trailhead

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Above: Reflection of Grand Teton in a lake

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Above: Looking down toward Leigh Lake and Jackson Lake from Paintbrush Canyon

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Above: The view from near the Paintbrush Divide. Mt. Moran is on the left, Mt. Woodring (I think) is on the right.

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Above: Grand Teton as seen from below the west side of the Paintbrush Divide

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Above: Grand Teton from Cascade Creek

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Above: Grand Teton again from Cascade Creek

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Above: Big ol' bull moose

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Above: Grand Teton (middle) and Middle Teton (right) from near Hurricane Pass

 

[SUV_RVing]

Grand Teton National Park (Part 2)

Too many pics for one post!

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Above: Closeup of the Schoolroom Glacier

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Above: Grand Teton from the southwest-ish

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Above: Looking back at the Teton Crest from near Mount Meek Pass

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Above: The Teton Crest Trail past Spearhead Peak

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Above: A small black bear in Granite Canyon

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Above: View from the Snake River Overlook

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Above: One last look at the Tetons from the east

 

[highdesertranger]

very cool. I did pretty much the same loop in 1975. memories. highdesertranger

 

[SUV_RVing]

Yellowstone (Part 1)

I spent a couple of days in Yellowstone after leaving Jackson and before climbing Granite Peak, the tallest mountain in Montana.

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Above: The river near my free campsite between Grand Teton and Yellowstone National PArks.

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Above: Old Faithful

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Above: Waterfalls near Midway Geyser Basin

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Above: Grand Prismatic Spring

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Above: Gibbon Falls

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Above: Porcelain Basin

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Above: Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces

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Above: Mammoth Hot Spring Terraces

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Above: Coyote

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Above: Petrified tree

 

[SUV_RVing]

Yellowstone (Part 2)

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Above: Traffic jam

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Above: Traffic jam

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Above: Tower Fall

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Above: Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone from Artist Point

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Above: Bear print on the boardwalk

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Above: Black Pool in West Thumb Geyser Basin

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Above: Kayakers in Yellowstone Lake at Fishing Hole Geyser in West Thumb Geyser Basin

 

[SUV_RVing]

Hiking Granite Peak (12,808'; highest point in Montana) – Part 1

After exploring Yellowstone, I headed out of the northeast entrance, camped on national forest land near Cooke City, and woke up at 3 am to start my hike of Granite Peak. It's 28 miles round trip and 4500' feet of elevation gain and is usually done in multiple days, but I wanted to see if I could do it in one. It took 16 hours, but I did it. Success! 

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Above: Boondocking at an old cabin site near the trailhead

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Above: An old cabin at the trailhead

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Above: A waterfall along the approach

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Above: Heading cross-country

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Above: Upper Aero Lake

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Above: Granite Peak and the final approach basin to its southwest face

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Above: Down in the basin

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Above: A closer look at the face. The route I took is called the Southwest Couloir. It follows a steep couloir (gully) up the left side of the face

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Above: What's left of the Sky Top Glacier. Plus some icebergs.

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Above: Getting closer to the face now. Had to traverse under it to the left.

 

[SUV_RVing]

Hiking Granite Peak (12,808'; highest point in Montana) – Part 2

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Above: The crux of the route: An icy corner with a fixed rope

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Above: Inside the couloir

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Above: Looking out over the high basin/valley from near the top

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Above: The summit!

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Above: Meltwater on a snowfield

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Above: A big ol' rock balanced on smaller rocks

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Above: Looking back on the way out

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Above: Mountain goats!

 

[masterplumber]

Nice country. I picked up your book on Kindle. I always like to see how other people sort out their rigs and you have some great ideas. I'd really like to get an SUV in the next year or so, as a travel vehicle and backup to my work truck. I'll need something a little bigger as I want it to serve multiple purposes and be able to tow my various trailer with it also. But one of the main things is I want to be able to make shorter, or sometimes long trips but with rougher roads in it and be able to sleep in it so I don't have to always take my cargo trailer. Keep getting out there and maybe one day we'll run into each other in a canyon or on a river or something.

 

[SUV_RVing]

Nice country. I picked up your book on Kindle. I always like to see how other people sort out their rigs and you have some great ideas. I'd really like to get an SUV in the next year or so, as a travel vehicle and backup to my work truck. I'll need something a little bigger as I want it to serve multiple purposes and be able to tow my various trailer with it also. But one of the main things is I want to be able to make shorter, or sometimes long trips but with rougher roads in it and be able to sleep in it so I don't have to always take my cargo trailer. Keep getting out there and maybe one day we'll run into each other in a canyon or on a river or something.

Do it! I have so much fun in mine. Bigger rigs definitely have certain advantages, but there's not much that can beat an SUV as far as ease and simplicity go. I've spent about 60 nights in mine so far this year and couldn't be happier with the setup.