puttin’ the hell in Hellroaring Creek
A heat wave couldn’t keep Wolverine Whisperer and Sprite away from a Yellowstone backpacking adventure.
Sprite delighted with the views of the plains in Yellowstone
Wolverine Whisperer (WW), her partner in all things life, and I planned our backpacking course despite abnormally high temperatures into the mid-90s forecasted for our area. For comparison, even the mid-80s is considered extreme here. Usually WW and I opt for high elevation adventures, which would allow us relief from the heat. However, this go around we ended up opting for an elevation hardly 1,000 feet higher than our town. Yellowstone backcountry.
Maybe I should start with our planning fiasco though. Our inability to make a final decision until the night before launch while the date and general area marked our calendars and occupied our minds for months. Yet, the two options remained impossible to choose between. Ahh, so much adventure to experience, so very little time. I won’t share how often evening meetups took place to look at maps and discuss pros versus cons during the week leading up to departure but know that it was more than you would expect.
Decision finally made, gear packed, takeoff time announced; we felt confident in our ability to hike big mileage in the inhospitable conditions. You laugh because you wouldn’t expect less from me (and hardcore parkour WW). If you recall last year’s escapade up the Beartooths during the exact same weekend, then you remember my overambitions paired with a lack of training/preparedness. If not, read no moose. no bears. just views. for a good laugh and some great pictures.
Anyway, I think you understand the gist of our style so the time has come—let’s enjoy the experience of Yellowstone country in the summer and all its glory. Oh! One more thing to keep in mind. People visit Yellowstone for wildlife viewing. I, however, don’t care to meet a grizzly bear on trails. With a group though, maybe a gentle encounter could be considered pleasant. That is not foreshadowing.
day one: Hellroaring Creek Trailhead to the Hellroaring Guard Station
Mountain goats dot the Beartooth Plateau to remain cool during the hottest days of the year.
Beginning with our tradition of picking up coffee and a bakery treat while heading south out of town, we chatted excitedly about the adventure ahead. The car ride is short by Montana standards but long by most travelers at approximately 2.5-3 hours (includes coffee + potty stops though). The picture perfect morning meant the mountain goats were out on top of the pass. We slowed for pictures, admired the views, and continued on.
My obsession with marmots was rewarded by the need to dodge multiples of them scattered across the road across the entire top section of the plateau. More than any of us had ever encountered at once. A note on coffee stops: rolling through both Cooke City and Silver Gate offers a chance to grab coffee so don’t miss out!
Finally, we arrived at the Hellroaring Trailhead and slung our packs on then sauntered down the trail. Yes, down. The first mile drops into a canyon and leads to a suspension bridge over the black canyon of the Yellowstone. We knew the switchbacks and steep trail would be painful as our final mile on Sunday afternoon.
Anyway, the scenery captivated us. Wildflowers in full peak bloom. Hillsides in the distance past dry desert like plains and a river cutting through it all. It didn’t take long to come upon Hellroaring Creek and debate whether any bridges were out so should we wade across the stock crossing or risk it up the trail? I voted risk it. We were rewarded with a beautiful bridge, a trail junction sign, and elk antlers bleached by the sun.
We hiked north out of the park boundary, which doesn’t require backcountry permits.
We continued up out of the creek basin to follow just below a ridgeline toward the park boundary and beyond. More gorgeous wildflowers surrounded us. A view of the creek and its canyon walls. Forested sections where we began shouting to scare away any bears that may be lurking. In the guidebook, this area is deemed boring. However, I adored the variance in hiking through meadow then forest then open ridgeline all while hearing the rush of the creek.
WW gasped at the sight of a bear booty as we began to enter a large meadow. The bear seemed to take it’s time wandering off upon seeing her. Of the two others in the party, neither of us saw or heard the bear. Lucky WW! Pretty sure it was a grizz. Onward though. Not far into the meadow, a trail junction appeared and we took the trail towards the creek and discovered the Hellroaring Guard Station by another creek crossing.
The Hellroaring Guard Station was closed and locked up but there was a well maintained outhouse for us to utilize.
Rather than take our boots off to wade across, we decided this would be a good spot to set up camp. Eight miles for the day in this heat was enough. So we pitched the tent in the designated campsite and took our backpacks over to the porch of the station for dinner. I’m curious, how diligent are you about ensuring you eat and stores smellies 100 yards from your camp? We are dogmatic about it. However, that didn’t stop the 4-points buck from bothering us all night long.
Day Two: Moving Camp + Explorations
The new campsite
After a leisurely morning enjoying the sunshine and coffee, we packed up to move camp two miles north at the junction of Coyote Creek for an easier exit on our last day. We trudged up Telephone Basin trail; traveled through forest and up a few switchbacks crisscrossing up a meadow filled with wildflowers all while keeping the shouting to a maximum to warn bears of our existence. A swampy meadow at the junction became our new basecamp and WW and I set up the tent while her plus one burrowed into the woods at the edge of the meadow for a well deserved afternoon of rest in the shade.
Then, just the two of us headed up the trail in aims of conquering a pass with a view. Not so unique after all, huh? Oh, but I began leading us down the wrong trail when we should have been heading uphill. Of course. Once our direction was remedied, we found ourselves in full adventure mode.
The trail was a mere suggestion. Our favorite kind of adventure. Soon we were busy bushwhacking, skirting piles of bear and moose scat, losing and re-finding the trail, scattering a nested pair of dinosaurs (Sandhill Cranes), balancing across logs at water crossings, busting up spiderwebs through a creepy forest, and switchbacking up to almost 9,000 ft.
Sprite admires the low alpine view.
Sunflowers soaked up the sunshine.
Paintbrush kept us in awe.
Peak wildflower weekend meant finding them even in the forests.
We relished the view and the wildflowers by practicing creating wildflower swooping videos in slow motion. Then, the two of us turned back and rolled faster downhill easily retracing the trail for our return trip. A golden hour photo shoot followed dinner. We turned in early to combat the mosquitos and heard hooves passing behind our tent. The meadow was a perfect moose habitat after all.
WW captured golden hour
Day Three: Hiking out via Coyote Creek Trail
Elk antlers can be found in abundant supply in the prairies of Yellowstone.
Snorting unnervingly close to the tent gave us a 4:30am wake up call. Moose? Bison? We weren’t brave enough (foolish enough?) to unzip the tent and peer out to find out. So we put our earplugs (WW) and eye mask (Sprite) back on and fell back asleep. Later, when my bladder sang to me I found frost on the tent. I knew it wouldn’t change our nearly 90 degree afternoon of hiking ahead though. I lucked out with my timing and watched a massive Great Grey Owl swooping over the meadow lifting into the trees on the opposite side of the meadow from the tent. By massive, I mean the wingspan was as wide as I am tall.
We waited out the melting of the frost and drying off of the moisture before getting out of the tent and on our way for the day. Conquering the second half of the loop meant not much elevation gain or loss so the miles were leisurely with lots of conversation. Until the sun broiled us. There were more signs of bears: scratches on trees, scat, and paw prints at water crossings. There were more fields of wildflowers. More open meadows with lovely views. All the excitement trails offer.
Overall, the variety of the landscape and views intrigued me. And maybe WW and her partner too. The wildflowers were certainly worth it! Would I recommend this loop to anyone else? During peak wildflower season, yes. Possibly during elk season in the fall too. It’s obviously not a well traveled trail because the guide book claims it to be a boring trek.
However, I thought the long stretches along the creek were calming, the long stretches along the hillsides refreshing, and the long stretches in the woods scared of bumping into a grizzly adventurous. What do you think? Would it be worth it to you?
Montanans call them buffalo. Bison jams are inescapable in the summer in Yellowstone.