Recap of the last 2 weeks: Post 1 Coyote Creek Camping Trip

So a lot has happened since our last post.  I will attempt to go into all the fun stuff that has been happening on our days off as well as a small update about work and all the extreme fun that goes with it. This is the first post of the updates
   To start with, we had our first overnight backpacking and camping trip last Tuesday ( the 5th).  It was Sam and I, and our friend Anna that works at the front desk with Sam.  For those who don't know, if you are going camping in Yellowstone, at any place other than a designated campground, you need a back country permit.  You can get these at any ranger station.  It is a safety precaution mainly, but is also useful so that you will know which camps around the park are open so that you won't have to worry about hiking 10 miles to find out someone is already sleeping where you wanted to be.  They briefly make sure you are aware of the dangers of the backcountry (bears, river crossings, etc.)  while also letting you know about the condition of the trail.  It so happened that the trail we were going on only had one campsite where fires are permitted, and this camp was just past a creek crossing.  So I chose that one since it was still getting pretty cold at night and we would want a fire.  Turns out we probably would have been better off to not cross the creek, but that comes later.  On the way to the trailhead, which is the Hellroaring Creek Trail, we spotted a gray wolf in a meadow, and a coyote on the road just before reaching our destination.  We got a somewhat later start than anticipated, but hit the trail at around 3:00.  Our campsite was 5.4 miles ahead of us.  Also, this was Sam's first ever backpacking experience.
    After going down a series of switchbacks (which were terrible on the way back), we crossed a suspension bridge over the Yellowstone River.  After hiking through a small patch of pines, we crossed out into open sage meadows which would take us through the rest of the trail.  The weather was beautiful and warm, and a couple miles later we spotted a little gray fox watching us from on top of a nearby hill.  There were also little towns of prairie dogs along the way, we could hear them squeaking at us when we got too close!  Hiking in, on our left was a tall rocky mountain alongside Hellroaring Creek.  We were steadily going uphill the entire way, which we noticed on the way back more than on the trip in.  It was a nice easy grade, but 5.4 miles is still pretty tiring with a 30-40 lb. pack.  The neatest thing along the way was the amount of elk shed antlers along the trail.  I spotted the first one and thought it was the coolest thing ever, but after finding bigger sets, and eventually a complete giant pair, I couldn't believe it.  Unfortunately, you are not allowed to remove any natural thing from Yellowstone or you can face pretty heavy fines. 

    By the time we passed the first campsite along our route, we had been hiking for about 4 hours.  It was getting close to 7:00, and the temperature and sun were starting to drop.  We knew we only had about a 1/2 mile left so we were getting pretty excited about setting up camp and hanging out for the night.  Then, we came to the creek we had to cross.  By my definition, it should have been a small river based on how fast it was flowing.  It was only about 6 feet across, but we decided to cross because it didn't look very deep even though the water was very fast. 

So, we changed from our boots into water shoes, locked arms for stability and support, and began to cross.  I went first, Sam next to me, and Anna last.  Needless to say, the water was freezing cold.  Before I knew it, I was waist deep in the middle of the stream.  It was happening pretty fast, and because of the cold water we were trying to rush across and Anna lost her footing.  She went down in the water pack and all, but luckily Sam was able to grab her by the chest strap on her pack and hold her head above the water.  So then, Sam loses her footing and goes down in the water too.  At that point I was mostly across so I was pretty stable, and was able to grab onto both of them and help get them out of the water.  The adrenaline was definitely pumping after that.  They were both freezing cold and needed to get warm quick or hypothermia was a real possibility.  So I gave them what extra clothes I had brought and ran ahead to the campsite to get a fire going.  Once we had finally made it to camp we got the tent set up and they tried drying all of the wet clothing near the fire.  Luckily, the sleeping bags had been spared by the creek. 

The campsite was actually very nice, and even though morale was pretty low after the swim, we slept soundly that night and were ready to go the next morning.  Most of their clothes were still wet, and Sam lost one of her hiking boots.  She had to wear her water shoes back the whole way!  The hike out was pretty uneventful after we found a much safer crossing.  The weather wasn't as warm as the day before, but the sun was still out for most of the way.  We even caught sight of a pronghorn antelope heading down the trail ahead of us. 

Overall it was really a fun experience despite the girls being a little cold during the night, and we learned a lot of lessons about the Yellowstone back country along the way.  Next time we will be smarter and more prepared about being out in the wild.