MTgirl's Yellowstone and Grand Teton travel thread

If you're going to be in Montana or in Jackson masks are mandatory inside any building and anywhere outside that it crowded....so everywhere.
In the park its still up to the visitors but I'd highly recommend wearing a mask if you're going to be on any boardwalks. They're only 8' wide but no one does the "single file, stay to the outside edge" polite way of hiking. Its like following a herd of sheep...just wandering and grouping up randomly. Stopping in the middle, blocking the path. Oddly, lots of international visitors still. Just no buses.
Get an early start each day if you can, there will be crowds everywhere. I'd recommend hitting Norris and Midway Geysers basins as early in the day as possible to ensure you can get parking - they generally fill up quickly.

Most services in the park are still limited but the gateway towns are doing everything they safely can to accommodate the visitors. Most of the food services in the park are carry out only, restaurants in the gateway towns are trying to accommodate indoor dining if possible, I'd recommend reservations if you can just as a courtesy to the staff. Or if you're camping just be prepared and plan to do all of your own meals.

Bathrooms are open. PRO TIP: never pass up a bathroom. You could be stuck in traffic unexpectedly and regret not taking advantage of the last stop! Showers in the camps are closed.

Bring bear spray if you have it. Or you can rent some at a kiosk outside the Canyon visitor center. I highly recommend it no matter what your hiking plans are. Can't be too careful.

If you're camping make sure everything is tucked away in the cab of the truck or in the bear boxes at camp. Leave NOTHING out. Last year I watched the camp hosts confiscate about $4k worth of gear out of a open top offroad/military style trailer...dometic fridge, partner steel stove, couple action packer boxes full of pots pans...

Traffic laws still apply in the park. Speed limit is 45. Pull over if you want to go slower if traffic starts to build up behind you. Please don't park in the road to view wildlife. There are plenty of pullouts to use if you want to stop. Road construction between Canyon and Tower have the road closed for the year so instead of the park road being an "8" its a "6". Construction around Old Faithful too so expect delays there.

The NPS recommends keeping 25 yards from all wildlife, 100 yards for bears. Be aware of your surroundings. Also, bison rut is starting so they maybe a little extra cranky and I'd keep a wider berth. Stay on the boardwalks and trails - wandering outside of designated trails can be very dangerous, especially in the thermal areas.

 

The rule is if it smells it needs to be locked up - food, trash, stoves, coolers, pot/pans, coffee mugs, toiletries, pet food. Leaving tents and sleeping bags will be fine. Personally I don't like leaving hammocks or other hanging things - too many antlered animals around that could get tangled up. It happens more than you'd think.
Best case scenario is you come back to camp to find your expensive gear gone and a note on the picnic table directing you to the camp host to retrieve them. Next best, you get your stuff back but you have to pay the fine. A step down you're told you need to vacate the camp. Worst case you come back to your stuff ripped to shreds because the animals found it first and you have to do the true walk of shame to the rangers.
Also - I editted the above post, showers are closed in the camps.

 

yep. i'm questioning if shes actually playing dead or if she legit knocked herself out when she fell. all i know for sure is that she got damn lucky

 

because, you know, the first thing I want to pack for a Yellowstone trip is a nice dress and a pair of strappy heels
not sure where she thought she was going - looked like she was heading to a wedding or something, not hiking on uneven, half rotted, hole-y boardwalks in Yellowstone in 35* temperatures

 

W. T. F.
what exactly is the thought process that leads to someone thinking this is a good idea?
https://www.kbzk.com/news/montana-a...thermal-features-at-yellowstone-national-park

 

oh, i'm sure there's been others. these guys are just the first to get caught

 

mmmm....and the arsenic adds just a but of spice...

maybe some meth.

 

Grand Teton is now requiring reservations for ALL campgrounds in the park. You must make reservations through recreation.gov in order to get a spot. They started accepting res earlier this week and will continue to open up dates/spots on a 6 month basis. There is no longer going to be a 1st come, 1st served system to secure sites. You might be able to snag a same day res if someone else cancels but you still have to pay/register through recreation.gov. Prices went up about 20% over last year's prices too....and those were up about 15% over the privious year.
https://www.nps.gov/grte/planyourvisit/camping.htm

https://www.nps.gov/grte/learn/news...in-grand-teton-move-to-reservation-system.htm