4th of July Visit Part 3 (Avalanche Peak)

Our main purpose for going to Yellowstone on Tuesday was to complete the hardest day hike in Yellowstone. It is a 5 mile hike on the east side of the park to Avalanche Peak. The Peak tops out around 11,000ft. We needed to climb around 2,000 just to reach it. We started out with 8 bottles of water thinking it was not going to be that hard.

--Here is a picture of a tree that had fallen, Chelsey claims to have knocked it over--

We were making good time, and we ran into a couple that was heading down the mountain. They said it got steep and rocky, and they gave us a trail map (good thinking!) Below is my favorite spot (excluding the top views.) There was a meadow about 0.7 miles up with amazing wildflowers. It is where all the runoff runs down the mountain during the melting season.

--Pretty flowers--

--View looking down (the mountain you see is as tall as the one we are climbing)

--one more picture, doesn't do the view justice--

The trail got steeper and rockier after this point. We ascended to above the tree line pretty quickly. There were warnings about bears in this area, but with the hot weather, we weren't too worried.

--Chels and the rocks we were climbing. You can see Yellowstone Lake in the background--

--Getting closer to the top--

As we got closer we ran into some snow. Chelsey, in true Chelsey form, started throwing snowballs. It felt really good, we were all hot and sweaty. It was strange for it to be so hot, but to be standing in snow.

--Josh and I next to the snow--

After we got through the snow, we could see the top, and the trail that lead to it. We had renewed energy and trekked on. In about 20 minutes we were at the top.

--That little patch of snow on the top right is where we were just standing--

--Chels and Josh at the top--

--Kissin at the top--

--Here is a picture I found online to show you how tall the mountain is--

It took us about 2 hours to hike up. We enjoyed the view for a while, ate snacks (and fed some to the chipmunk up there - don't tell the ranger) and headed back down. I thought the trip down was much harder than hiking up. Josh LOVED hiking downhill. I struggled to keep up! We made it down in about 45 minutes-1 hour. I was so happy to see the car, and the air conditioning!

--We had to take the token car trip photo on the way home--