[Cdt-l] Flip flop question

[Thomas Hogeboom]

It is possible that heading north in the Great Divide Basin in May might be
doable.  Once you hit the Winds, that strategy could fall apart, though.

 

I hiked 400 miles (southbound) from Old Faithful to Rawlins in July 2008.
Before I left home, I was told by rangers in Yellowstone that there was six
feet of snow in the southern part of YNP at the beginning of June.  By the
time I started off (on July 1st), much of it had melted, but that turned out
to be a mixed blessing because many of the fords were impassible or nearly
impassible.  One ranger at the Yellowstone backcountry office stated
frankly, 'We do not think you will be able to make it through."

 

Well, I proved him wrong, but I had to abandon the route I was planning to
take because the rivers were running high and cold. The trail next to
Shoshone Lake was underwater for nearly a mile and full of mosquitoes.  I
skipped two potentially lethal fords of the Snake River by bushwhacking
three miles along the bank.  South of Yellowstone, I went in up to my
armpits in Plateau Creek and was swept off my feet.  My camera went
underwater and was inoperable for the next two days.  The trail then
disappeared under snowfields well over ten feet deep and I struggled with
route finding.  To top it off, I foolishly went through the Winds without an
ice axe, negotiating frozen snow slopes in running shoes.  It's no
exaggeration to say that I could have easily lost my life on this trip.
[Would I do it again?  Hell, yes!]

 

Tim Hogeboom  "The Hog"

 

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