10 September 2015, Thursday

I guess Yellowstone is not so warm in the morning. Nor is it quiet (at
the moment) at night. When we wake it is -1.3º C. Although the
temperature is colder than at Glacier, it does not feel as cold,
likely due to the lower humidity.  We have a shortcake and our
blueberry yogurt for breakfast, along with apple slices. As to peace
and quiet, it turns out there is major construction going on just
down the hill from this normally quiet campground. It is being done
at night to avoid interfering with daytime traffic. All night we are
serenaded by jack-hammers, the beeping of trucks backing up and the
clattering of heavy equipment on the new bridge being built.  Our neighbor in the next tent site is upset and could not sleep at all. I finally got to sleep
by pretending I was in New York City.

After 2 days of driving, O and I agree it is time to hike. Sepulcher
Mountain is recommended as a “challenge.” It is a 10 ½ mile
hike with 2300 feet of elevation gain. The way up is through woods
and steep grassy hillsides with lots of switchbacks. Along the way we
actually pass another hiker, unusual for us! The weather is just
about perfect. There is a cool breeze blowing and the sky is deep
blue. From the top of Sepulcher Mountain I believe we can see all
the way to the Tetons in the south and ranges surrounding us in all
directions.

The hiker we passed catches up with us as we eat lunch on the summit. Turns
out he is training for a hike along the Inca Trail later this year.
We trade photography services – he takes our photo, we take his,
then we part ways. O and I planned to continue the loop hike to
return to our car, but from Michael’s (he’s the other hiker) starting point that would have
made his hike too long, and he was worried about getting back before
dark.

O and I continue on our way. Very shortly we come to a spooky-looking
area of hoodoos – tall columns of rock broken away from the main
part of the mountain. It is very different terrain from what we had
seen on the way up, and quite striking. The path is also steeper with
trails that run very close to the cliff edges. More Grand Canyon
training!

Because of the terrain and loose rocks, it takes us longer to descend than we
had expected. The trail also passes over more hills as we complete
the loop. We are both pretty tired when we arrive back at the car,
but we did get to hear elk bugling as we walked.

Obviously, it is again too late to cook supper, so we head to a Gardiner grocery
store for more fruit and yogurt, and then stop at the Iron Horse Bar and Grill, unrelated to the one at which we had eaten in Missoula, for
dinner. It is difficult to find their parking lot. We can see the
restaurant as we drive across the bridge over the Gardiner River,
but to actually get there we have to drive over narrow gravel streets
with deep pot holes. The roads look more like someone’s neglected
driveway that a village street. While we eat our dinner on the deck
overlooking the river, I notice a line of cars moving very slowly
across the same bridge we had crossed. Leading the procession is a
rather stately-looking elk!