Yellowstone: The Thorofare

Timeline

9/8-we set out to backpack 70 miles over 6 days starting in Yellowstone; traveling along Yellowstone Lake, down the Thorofare Trail passing the most remote cabin in the lower 48, through the Bridger-Teton wilderness, and finishing in the Tetons

9/9-Thermal features around Heart lake have us in awe

9/9- lunch on heart lake, a delicious hummus and roast beef sandwich- the last “real food” we’ll have for days

9/9- we stop for camp right alongside surprise creek after a big first day- a fire is the first order of business

9/9-I wake in the middle of a cold night to the cry of a young elk

9/10-We watch the sunrise over the Absaroka mountains and onto the Yellowstone river valley

9/10-A grizzly bear charges full speed up-hill

9/10- we cross through meadow after meadow, some stretching as far as the eye can see. 

9/10-It’s 6 miles to the campsite, 20 miles from the closest road. Night is falling. We are exhausted. 

9/10- Water filter is broken. We decide to stop for the night at a backcountry ranger cabin. Zack throws in a line hoping for a tasty addition to dinner. Dan gets a bar of service: bad news. We are heading directly into a 3-day storm....morale is low

9/11-After much debate during breakfast, we decide to trek toward the nearest road rather than further into the wilderness

9/11-A bald eagle soars above lake Yellowstone

9/11-We run into a stock party along the trail. The guide approaches us and asks how our trip is going and before we could answer he blurts out “IT'S ABOUT TO GET A LOT WORSE”; something we still joke about to this day. He warns us about a massive storm coming-something that we were already aware of- but it was this moment that the sadness and regret I was feeling that morning turned into relief; thank goodness we were getting out

9/11- We find camp along the banks of Yellowstone Lake 

9/11-I sit on a rock after jumping in the chilly water and let the sun dry me as it sets over the lake and our camp spot-the last time we see clear skies for some time

9/11-Jim Beam became a good friend around the campfire

9/12-We wake to rain...hard rain

9/12-We are in the bed of a truck, dehydrated, hungry and wet, hitching a ride back to our car

9/13-comfortable in a hotel bed after a warm shower knowing that I will one day complete the Thorofare, but it wasn’t in the cards this time.

Reflections

We “failed”. But failure, I learned, is a mindset. Things don’t always go as planned. Its best to be flexible and charge forward with a full head of steam and positive energy; always seeing the cup half full

Years later, I returned to this trail; with 9 other companions. Friends of mine from all over the country, and we made it to the Thorofare Cabin- a feeling I can’t quite put into words.