pudgy_groundhog
Active member
We had such a great time in the Beartooths last year that we returned again this August for a two week vacation. Last year we originally chose the location as it was convenient to meet my parents (~ eight hour drive for them from northwest Nebraska) and Cooke City, nestled in the Beartooth Mountains five miles from the northeast entrance of Yellowstone, looked like an excellent base for hiking, fishing, wildlife watching, and scenic tours. Another added bonus was that while many drive the Beartooth Highway, most people just keep on going to Yellowstone or don't get further than five feet from their car, so it is possible to find solitude in the mountains.
Our trip was a mix of camping, day hiking, backpacking, renting a cabin, and sight seeing. All our pictures/trip notes are posted here and some of the highlights:
1. Day hiking to Republic Pas with a short scramble up Republic Peak. This was a hike we knew nothing about prior to our trip - was not in our hiking book and never saw it mentioned in our online research. We met somebody that recommended the hike and when we had a free day we thought we'd give it a go. Turns out it was one of our favorite hikes - the views were fantastic and we couldn't believe we didn't see another person on the hike. We love finding these unexpected treasures on our trips:
2. The moose, flowers, and sunrises on Lulu Pass Road. This road was fifteen minutes from us and we were up multiple times as it provides access to prime hiking, fishing, and scenery. Steve saw moose the first morning he went up the road and we saw them again the next few days. The fourth day I went up early with my Dad to watch for several hours. Pretty cool! And the wildflowers in this area were just as neat:
3. Other various day hikes in the area. On our first day we did an easy hike to Becker lake to help acclimatize:
and Steve and I did a hike to Goose Lake:
4. Some sightseeing side trips. My parents, Norah, and I spent a day in Cody and the Buffalo Bill museum was terrific. Steve, Norah, and I visited the a animal sanctuary in Red Lodge and we all visited the terraces at Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone:
Norah's favorite was probably the awesome candy store in Red Lodge (it warranted two visits).
Steve also did several lengthy off trail hikes that were fantastic (I don't have pics uploaded to photobucket, but those pics are in our online gallery).
Our vacation culminated in a three night backpacking trip to Aero Lakes. I have a more detailed post here, but in a nutshell it was a haul to get in (I carried Norah and Steve had a 70 lb pack), but so worth it. We had a lazy several days just kicking around camp, exploring the area, and savoring the scenery:
Our campsite:
And Norah the Polar Explorer:
TFL!
Our trip was a mix of camping, day hiking, backpacking, renting a cabin, and sight seeing. All our pictures/trip notes are posted here and some of the highlights:
1. Day hiking to Republic Pas with a short scramble up Republic Peak. This was a hike we knew nothing about prior to our trip - was not in our hiking book and never saw it mentioned in our online research. We met somebody that recommended the hike and when we had a free day we thought we'd give it a go. Turns out it was one of our favorite hikes - the views were fantastic and we couldn't believe we didn't see another person on the hike. We love finding these unexpected treasures on our trips:
2. The moose, flowers, and sunrises on Lulu Pass Road. This road was fifteen minutes from us and we were up multiple times as it provides access to prime hiking, fishing, and scenery. Steve saw moose the first morning he went up the road and we saw them again the next few days. The fourth day I went up early with my Dad to watch for several hours. Pretty cool! And the wildflowers in this area were just as neat:
3. Other various day hikes in the area. On our first day we did an easy hike to Becker lake to help acclimatize:
and Steve and I did a hike to Goose Lake:
4. Some sightseeing side trips. My parents, Norah, and I spent a day in Cody and the Buffalo Bill museum was terrific. Steve, Norah, and I visited the a animal sanctuary in Red Lodge and we all visited the terraces at Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone:
Norah's favorite was probably the awesome candy store in Red Lodge (it warranted two visits).
Steve also did several lengthy off trail hikes that were fantastic (I don't have pics uploaded to photobucket, but those pics are in our online gallery).
Our vacation culminated in a three night backpacking trip to Aero Lakes. I have a more detailed post here, but in a nutshell it was a haul to get in (I carried Norah and Steve had a 70 lb pack), but so worth it. We had a lazy several days just kicking around camp, exploring the area, and savoring the scenery:
Our campsite:
And Norah the Polar Explorer:
TFL!
