Yellowstone Suggestions

[Cannibal]

So, trying (real hard) to be a "good guy" for my lady. I'm working to cross something off her bucket-list this summer. She has never hiked in Yellowstone (she has seen it superficially) and has been talking about it a bunch and since I claim to listen to everything she says, it's time to act.

I've been to Yellowstone, but it's been a while; pre-hammock. Also, my idea of hiking and her idea of hiking aren't exactly lined-up with each other. Translated: She doesn't like to work too hard. Translated again: Looking for short hiking days to accommodate long leisurely breaks taking in the views.

The info out there on Yellowstone is overwhelming; guess I know how a hammock noob feels their first few weeks on HF. Therefore, I'm calling upon my fellow hangers to help me narrow things down and make the research feasible. Anybody familiar with Yellowstone have any thoughts? Remember, this will be the lady's first hiking trip there and I would like it to live up to the pictures she has floating around in her head; she flipping loves waterfalls...just sayin. Impossible task, I know, but it would be great if we could get into an area where we will only encounter a few hundred people a day.

Wide open to suggestions. I'm thinking we'll probably want to spend 5-6 days in the park. They don't all have to be hiking days, although that would be my preference. So any hybrid ideas will be well received.

Hammock sleeping is of course, mandatory....legal is a personal issue/risk.

Thanks guys and gals!

[Montalaskan]

My favorite areas of the park tend to be on the northern and eastern part of the "8" - Lamar Valley, Fishing Bridge, the Lake, Canyon, Tower, Mammoth, etc. (Mainly because those are the parts I am most familiar with because they are day trips from home.)

I'd check into hiking the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. That's one of my dad's favorite places to backpack.

There are sections around the Lake that only allow hard-side camping, and that's a bit unfortunate because there are some nice trees around there!

Also check out some of the places near the Park but not in. There are some great campgrounds out the northeast entrance (Cooke City) and the Beartooth Highway. Crazy Creek is a favorite of mine, easy hikes both up the creek and down it to the Clark Fork of the Yellowstone below. Great place to fish and if your timing is right, see lots of wildflowers.

[swankfly]

Flexibility, Flexibility, Flexibility...I have been trying to get my desired permit for 2 years. Can never get the dates to line up and its an archaic process. Fax your desired dates and number in party over and wait for a reply. Yes or No. If no, repeat. They do not offer any help. It could be that you wanted to start on Monday with 3 people and they deny it because they only have 2 slots open or you could start on Tuesday with all 3. They do not provide this kind of info, you just keep rolling the dice. Less popular trailheads are better options or you could go sit in front of the ranger station and hope they have enough walk up permits available for your group that day. That is not an option for me traveling from Louisiana. 6 month advance booking, I think? Peak summer 1-2 months out...Good Luck!

[Cannibal]

swankfly, I discovered their booking process pretty early on in my thinking. I've talked with a few Yellowstone regulars and they all said the same thing about reservations; make them in person. I wouldn't want to roll the dice in your position either, but for our purposes I'm probably going to do the whine at the Ranger Station thing until I get my way. Supposedly, they keep the lion's share of backcountry reservations for the walk-ups and that seems to hold with what I'm being told. This is from their website:

Because only a portion of the approximately 300 backcountry campsites are available for advance reservations, you may choose to wait until you arrive in the park to reserve your site(s) and obtain your permit. Backcountry permits are available for free if obtained within two days of the start of your trip.

I dunno, but worst case isn't all that bad given the surrounding area. I only have one thing that is a "must-do" on this trip, so I'm pretty flexible about it.