Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

But I always get to wander these places and know that for the next little bit, nobody is going there.

Sure, in the winter, people go to Old Faithful and we'll go to Canyon and walk Norris.

But for the most part, people don't go to anywhere else in the winter.

There's all of these spots that when you're there on that last day, you're the last person there.

But there's just something truly special about knowing that you get to enjoy this one last time before everything really transitions to winter.

I usually enter the park at this time through Gardener.

drop in through Mammoth, and then head straight down through Swan Lake Flats, over to Canyon, down through Hayden, out toward the east entrance, out by the lake a bit, back through Hayden, then over to Norris.

Maybe I'll dip down to the Geyser Basins.

This is one place where following the rules is absolutely essential.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, Waterfalls and Dramatic Landscapes Yellowstone isn't only about geysers and wildlife.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone is another spectacular destination that deserves time on your itinerary.

The Yellowstone River has carved a dramatic canyon through colorful volcanic rock, creating steep walls, beautiful viewpoints, and powerful waterfalls.

The Lower Falls is particularly impressive.

The ground surrounding thermal features can be dangerously thin, and the water can cause severe burns.

This is one place where following the rules is absolutely essential.

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, waterfalls and dramatic landscapes Yellowstone isn't only about geysers and wildlife.

No matter about the canyon, but I had the most magnificent fishing I ever saw in my life.

one day while walking along the shore my comrade suddenly pressed my arm and pointed toward the lake an indian i cried in great astonishment i thought no indians ever came here our guide laughed heartily and as he did so i perceived my error what i had thought to be an indian was but a portion of a tree which had been placed upright against a log the only artificial thing about it was a bunch of feathers everything else was absolutely natural no knife had sculptured it no hand had given a support to its uplifted arm even the dog which followed us appeared deceived for he barked furiously at the strange intruder there was to me a singular fascination in this solitary freak of nature and surrounded though i was by immeasurably greater wonders i turned again and again to take a farewell look at this dark slender figure raising its hand as if in threatening gesture to some unseen foe leaving the lake we presently entered the loveliest portion of the park a level sheltered area of some fifty square miles to which has been given the appropriate name of hayden valley in commemoration of the distinguished geologist dr ferdinand v hayden who did so much to explore this region and to impress upon the government the necessity of preserving its incomparable natural features even this tranquil portion of the park is undermined by just such fiery forces as are elsewhere visible but which here manifest themselves in different ways thus in the midst of this natural beauty is a horrible object known as the mud geyser we crawled up a steep bank and shudderingly gazed over it into the crater forty feet below us the earth yawned open like a cavernous mouth from which a long black throat some six feet in diameter extended to an unknown depth this throat was filled with boiling mud which rose and fell in nauseating gulps as if some monster were strangling from a slimy paste which all its efforts could not possibly dislodge occasionally the sickening mixture would sink from view as if the tortured wretch had swallowed it then we could hear hundreds of feet below unearthly retching and in a moment it would all come up again belched out with an explosive force that hurled a boiling spray of mud so high that we rushed down the slope a single drop of it would have burned like molten lead five minutes of this was enough and even now when i reflect that every moment day and night the same regurgitation of black slime is going on i feel as i have often felt when on a stormy night at sea i have tried to sit through a coarse dinner on an ocean steamer not far from this perpetually active object is one that has been motionless for ages a granite boulder enclosed by trees as by the bars of a gigantic cage it is a proof that glaciers once ploughed through this region and it was no doubt brought hither in the glacial period on a flood of ice which melting in this heated basin left its burden a grim reminder of how worlds are made think what a combination of terrific forces must have been at work here when the volcanoes were in full activity and when the mass of ice which then encased our northern world strove to enclose this prison-house of fire within its glacial arms one of our party remarked that the covering of this seething boiling area with ice must have been the nearest approach to hell's freezing over that our earth has ever seen another striking feature of our national park is its petrified forest where scattered over a large area are solitary columns which once were trunks of trees but now are solid shafts of agate the substance of the wood however is still apparent the bark the wormholes and even the rings of growth being distinctly visible but every fibre has been petrified by the mysterious substitution of a mineral deposit no doubt these trees were once submerged in a strong mineral solution tinted with every colour of the rainbow still more marvellous to relate an excavation on the hillside proves that there are eleven layers of such forests one above another divided by as many cushions of lava think of the ages represented here during which all these different forests grew and were successively turned to stone this therefore is another illustration of the conflict between life and death each was in turn a victor and rested on its laurels for unnumbered centuries life is triumphant now but who shall say that death may not again prove conqueror if not immediately death may well be patient he will rule all this planet in the end no one can travel through the yellowstone park without imagining how it looks in winter the snowfall is enormous some drifts in the ravines being hundreds of feet deep and owing to the increased supply of water the geysers throw higher streams no travelling is possible then except on snowshoes and it is with difficulty that some of the park hotels are reached as late as the middle of may of course in such a frigid atmosphere the steam arising from the geysers is almost instantly congealed and eye-witnesses affirm that in a temperature of forty degrees below zero the clouds of vapour sent up by old faithful rose fully two thousand feet and were seen ten miles away it can be well imagined that to do much exploration here in winter is not alone immensely difficult but dangerous in eighteen eighty seven an expedition was formed headed by lieutenant frederick schwatka but though he was experienced as an arctic traveller in three days he advanced only twenty miles and finally gave out completely most of the exploring party turned back with him but four kept heroically on one of whom was the photographer mr f j haines of st paul undismayed by schwatzka's failure he and his comrades bravely persisted in their undertaking for thirty days the mercury never rose higher than ten degrees below zero once it marked fifty two degrees below yet these men were obliged to camp out every night and carry on their shoulders provisions sleeping-bags and photographic instruments but finally they triumphed over every obstacle having in midwinter made a tour of two hundred miles through the park nevertheless they almost lost their lives in the attempt at one point ten thousand feet above the sea a fearful blizzard overtook them the cold and wind seemed unendurable even for an hour but they endured them for three days a sharp sleet cut their faces like a rain of needles and made it perilous to look ahead almost dead from sheer exhaustion they were unable to lie down for fear of freezing chilled to the bone they could make no fire and although fainting they had not a mouthful for seventy-two hours what a terrific chapter for any man to add to the mysterious volume we call life one might suppose by this time that all the marvels of our national park have been described but on the contrary so far is it from being true that i have yet to mention the most stupendous of them all the world-renowned canyon of the yellowstone the introduction to this is sublime it is a waterfall the height of which is more than twice as great as that of niagara to understand the reason for the presence of such a cataract we should remember that the entire region for miles was once a geyser basin the river was then near the surface and has been cutting down the walls of the canyon ever since the volcanic soil decomposed by heat could not resist the constant action of the water only a granite bluff at the upper end of the canyon has held firm and over that the baffled stream now leaps to wreak its vengeance on the weaker foe beneath through a colossal gateway of vast height yet only seventy feet in breadth falls the entire volume of the yellowstone river it seems enraged at being suddenly compressed into that narrow space for with a roar of anger and defiance and without an instant's hesitation it leaps into the yawning gulf in one great flood of dazzling foam when looked upon from a little distance a clasp of emerald apparently surmounts it from which descends a spotless robe of ermine nearly four hundred feet in length the lower portion is concealed by clouds of mist which vainly try to climb the surrounding cliffs like ghosts of submerged mountains striving to escape from their eternal prison we ask ourselves instinctively what gives this river its tremendous impetus and causes it to fill the air with diamond-tinted spray and send up to the cliffs a ceaseless roar which echoes and re echoes down the caon how awe-inspiring seems the answer to this question when we think upon it seriously the subtle force which draws this torrent down is the same power which holds the planets in their courses retains the comets in their fearful paths and guides the movements of the stellar universe what is this power we call it gravitation but why does it invariably act thus with mathematical precision who knows behind all such phenomena there is a mystery that none can solve this cataract has a voice if we could understand it perhaps we could distinguish after all but one word god as for the gorge through which this river flows imagine if you can a yawning chasm ten miles long and fifteen hundred feet in depth peer into it and see if you can find the river yes there it lies one thousand five hundred feet below a winding path of emerald and alabaster dividing the huge caon walls seen from the summit it hardly seems to move but in reality it rages like a captive lion springing at its bars scarcely a sound of its fierce fury reaches us yet could we stand beside it a quarter of a mile below its voice would drown our loudest shouts to one another attracted to this river innumerable little streams are trickling down the coloured cliffs they are cascades of boiling water emerging from the awful reservoir of heat which underlies this laboratory of the infinite one of them is a geyser the liquid shaft of which is scarcely visible yet in reality is one hundred and fifty feet in height from all these hot additions to its waves the temperature of the river even a mile or two beyond the canon is twenty degrees higher than at its entrance are there not other canons in the world as large as this it may be asked yes but none like this for see instead of sullen granite walls these sides are radiant with colour age after age and aeon after aeon hot water has been spreading over these miles of masonry its variegated sediment like pigments on an artist's palette here for example is an expanse of yellow one thousand feet in height mingled with this are areas of red resembling jasper beside these is a field of lavender five hundred feet in length and soft in hue as the down upon a pigeon's breast no shade is wanting here except the blue and god replaces that it is supplied by the overspreading canopy of heaven yet there is no monotony in these hues nature apparently has passed along this canyon touching the rocks capriciously now staining an entire cliff as red as blood now tinging a light pinnacle with green now spreading over the whole face of the mountain a vast persian rug hence both sides of the canyon present successive miles of oriental tapestry moreover every passing cloud works here almost a miracle for all the lights and shades that follow one another down this gorge vary its tints as if by magic and make of it one long kaleidoscope of changing colour nor are these cliffs less wonderful in form than color the substance of their tinted rocks is delicate the rain has therefore plowed their faces with a million furrows the wind has carved them like a sculptor's chisel the lightning's bolts have splintered them until mile after mile they rise in a bewildering variety of architectural forms old castles frown above the maddened stream a thousand times more grand than any ruins on the rhine their towers are five hundred feet in height turrets and battlements portcullises and drawbridges rise from the deep ravine sublime and inaccessible yet they are still a thousand feet below us what would be the effect could we survey them from the stream itself within the gloomy crevice of the canon only their size convinces us that they are works of nature not of art upon their spires we see a score of eagles nests the splendid birds leave these at times and swoop down toward the stream not in one mighty plunge but gracefully in slow majestic curves lower and lower till we can follow them only through a field-glass as they alight on trees which look to us like shrubs but many of these forms are grander than any castles in one place is an amphitheatre within its curving arms a hundred thousand people could be seated its foreground is the emerald river its drop curtain the radiant canon wall cathedrals too are here with spires twice as high as those which soar above the minster of cologne fantastic gargoyles stretch out from the parapets a hundred flying buttresses connect them with the mountain side from any one of them as many shafts shoot heavenward as statues rise from the duomo of milan and each of these great canyon shrines instead of stained-glass windows has walls roof dome and pinnacles one mass of variegated color the awful grandeur of these temples sculptured by the deity is overpowering we feel that we must worship here it is a place where the finite prays the infinite hears and immensity looks on two visions of this world stand out within my memory which though entirely different i can place side by side in equal rank they are the himalayas of india and the grand canyon of the yellowstone on neither of them is there any sign of human life no voice disturbs their solemn stillness the only sound upon earth's loftiest mountains is the thunder of the avalanche the only voice within this canon is the roar of its magnificent cascade it is well that man must halt upon the borders of this awful chasm it is no place for man the infinite allows him to stand trembling on the brink look down and listen spellbound to the anthem of its mighty cataract but beyond this he may not cannot go it is as if almighty god had kept for his own use one part of his creation that man might merely gaze upon it worship and retire part seven part eight of yellowstone national park six early pieces by various this libervox recording is in the public domain i have read with great satisfaction the excellent descriptive articles on the wonders of the upper yellowstone in the may and june numbers of your magazine having myself been one of the party who participated in many of the pleasures and suffered all the perils of that expedition i can not only bear testimony to the fidelity of the narrative but probably add some facts of experience which will not detract from the general interest it has excited a desire to visit the remarkable region of which during several years residence in montana i had often heard the most marvellous accounts led me to unite in the expedition of august last the general character of the stupendous scenery of the rocky mountains prepared my mind for giving credit to all the strange stories told of the yellowstone and i felt quite as certain of the existence of the physical phenomena of that country on the morning that our company started from helena as when i afterwards beheld it i engaged in the enterprise with enthusiasm feeling that all the hardships and exposures of a month's horseback travel through an unexplored region would be more than compensated by the grandeur and novelty of the natural objects with which it was crowded of course the idea of being lost in it without any of the ordinary means of subsistence and the wandering for days and weeks in a famishing condition alone in an unfrequented wilderness formed no part of my contemplation i had dwelt too long amid the mountains not to know that such a thought had it occurred would have been instantly rejected as improbable nevertheless man proposes and god disposes a truism which found a new and ample illustration in my wanderings through the upper yellowstone region on the day that i found myself separated from the company and for several days previous our course had been impeded by the dense growth of the pine forest and occasional large tracts of fallen timber frequently rendering our progress almost impossible whenever we came to one of these immense windfalls each man engaged in the pursuit of a passage through it and it was while thus employed and with the idea that i had found one that i strayed out of sight and hearing of my comrades we had a toilsome day it was quite late in the afternoon as separation like this had frequently occurred it gave me no alarm and i rode on fully confident of soon rejoining the company or of finding their camp i came up with the pack-horse which mr langford afterwards recovered and tried to drive him along but failing to do so and my eyesight being defective i spurred forward intending to return with assistance from the party this incident tended to accelerate my speed i rode on in the direction which i supposed had been taken until darkness overtook me in the dense forest this was disagreeable enough but caused me no alarm i had no doubt of being with the party at breakfast the next morning i selected a spot for comfortable repose picketed my horse built a fire and went to sleep the next morning i rose at early dawn saddled and mounted my horse and took my course in the supposed direction of the camp our ride of the previous day had been up a peninsula jutting into the lake for the shore of which i started with the expectation of finding my friends camped on the beach the forest was quite dark and the trees so thick that it was only by a slow process i could get through them at all in searching for the trail i became somewhat confused the falling foliage of the pines had obliterated every trace of travel i was obliged frequently to dismount and examine the ground for the faintest indications coming to an opening from which i would see several vistas i dismounted for the purpose of selecting one leading in the direction i had chosen and leaving my horse unhitched as had always been my custom walked a few yards into the forest while surveying the ground my horse took fright and i turned around in time to see him disappearing at full speed among the trees that was the last i ever saw of him it was yet quite dark my blankets gun pistols fishing-tackle matches everything except the clothing on my person a couple of knives and a small opera-glass were attached to the saddle i did not realize the possibility of a permanent separation from the company instead of following up the pursuit of their camp i engaged in an effort to recover my horse half a day's search convinced me of its impracticability i wrote and posted in an open space several notices which if my friends should chance to see would inform them of my condition and the route i had taken and then struck out into the forest in the supposed direction of their camp as the day wore on without any discovery alarm took the place of anxiety at the prospect of another night alone in the wilderness and this time without food or fire but even this dismal foreboding was cheered by the hope that should soon rejoin my companions who would laugh at my adventure and incorporate it as a thrilling episode into the journal of our trip the bright side of a misfortune as i found by experience even under the worst possible circumstances always presents some features of encouragement when i began to realize that my condition was one of actual peril i banished from my mind all fear of an unfavorable result seating myself on a log i recalled every foot of the way i had travelled since the separation from my friends and the most probable opinion i could form of their whereabouts was that they had by a course but little different from mine passed by the spot where i had posted the notices learned of my disaster and were waiting for me the rejoin of them there or searching for me in that vicinity a night must be spent amid the prostrate trunks before my return could be accomplished at no time during my period of exile did i experience so much mental suffering from the cravings of hunger as when exhausted from this long day of fruitless search i resigned myself to a couch of pine foliage in the pitchy darkness of a thicket of small trees naturally timid in the night i fully realized the exposure of my condition i peered upward through the darkness but all was blackness and gloom the wind sighed mournfully through the pines the forest seemed alive with the screeching of night-birds the angry barking of coyotes and the prolonged dismal howl of the gray wolf these sounds familiar by their constant occurrence throughout the journey were now full of terror and drove slumber from my eyelids above all this however was the hope that i should be restored to my comrades the next day early the next morning i rose unrefreshed and pursued my weary way over the prostrate trunks it was noon when i reached the spot where my notices were posted no one had been there my disappointment was almost overwhelming for the first time i realized that i was lost then came a crushing sense of destitution no food no fire no means to procure either alone in an unexplored wilderness one hundred and fifty miles from the nearest human abode surrounded by wild beasts and famishing with hunger it was no time for despondency a moment afterwards i felt how calamity can elevate the mind in the formation of the resolution not to perish in that wilderness the hope of finding the party still controlled my plans i thought by traversing the peninsula centrally i might be enabled to strike the shore of the lake in advance of their camp and near the point of departure for the madison acting upon this impression i rose from a sleepless couch and pursued my way through the timber entangled forest a feeling of weakness took the place of hunger conscious of the need of food i felt no cravings occasionally while scrambling over logs and through thickets a sense of faintness and exhaustion would come over me but i would suppress it with the audible expression this won't do i must find my company despondency would sometimes strive with resolution for the mastery of my thoughts i would think of home of my daughter and of the possible chance of starvation or death in some more terrible form but as soon as these gloomy forebodings came i would strive to banish them with reflections better adapted to my immediate necessities i recollect at this time discussing the question whether there was not implanted by providence in every man a principle of self-preservation equal to any emergency which did not destroy his reason i decided this question affirmatively a thousand times afterwards in my wanderings and i record this experience here that any person who reads it should he ever find himself in like circumstances may not despair there is life in the thought it will revive hope allay hunger renew energy encourage perseverance and as i have proved in my own case bring a man out of difficulty when nothing else can avail it was midday when i emerged from the forest into an open space at the foot of the peninsula a broad lake of beautiful curvature with magnificent surroundings lay before me glittering in the sunbeams it was full twelve miles in circumference a wide belt of sand formed the margin which i was approaching directly opposite to which rising seemingly from the very depths of the water towered the loftiest peak of a range of mountains apparently interminable the ascending vapor from innumerable hot springs and the sparkling jet of a single geyser added the feature of novelty to one of the grandest landscapes i ever beheld nor was the life of the scene less noticeable than its other attractions large flocks of swans and other water-fowl were sporting on the quiet surface of the lake otters in great numbers performed the most amusing aquatic evolutions mink and beaver swam around unscared in the most grotesque confusion deer elk and mountain sheep stared at me manifesting more surprise than fear at my presence among them the adjacent forest was vocal with the songs of birds chief of which were the chattering notes of a species of mocking-bird whose imitative efforts afforded abundant merriment seen under favourable circumstances this assemblage of grandeur beauty and novelty would have been transporting but jaded with travel famishing with hunger and distressed with anxiety i was in no humour for ecstasy my tastes were subdued and chastened by the perils which environed me i longed for food friends and protection associated with my thoughts however was the wish that some of my friends of peculiar tastes could enjoy this display of secluded magnificence now probably for the first time beheld by mortal eyes The lake was at least 1,000 feet lower than the highest point of the peninsula, and several hundred feet below the level of Yellowstone Lake.

I recognized the mountain which overshadowed it as the landmark which a few days before had received from General Washburn the name of Mount Everts, and as it was associated with some of the most agreeable and terrible incidents of my exile, I feel that I have more than a mere discoverer's right to the perpetuity of that christening.

the lake is fed by innumerable small streams from the mountains and the countless hot springs surrounding it a large river flows from it through a canon a thousand feet in height in a south-easterly direction to a distant range of mountains which i conjecture to be snake river and with the belief that i had discovered the source of the great southern tributary of the columbia i gave it the name of bessie lake after the sole daughter of my house and heart during the first two days the fear of meeting with indians gave me considerable anxiety but when conscious of being lost there was nothing i so much desired as to fall in with a lodge of bannocks or crows having nothing to tempt their cupidity they would do me no personal harm and with the promise of reward would probably minister to my wants and aid my deliverance imagine my delight while gazing upon the animated expanse of water at seeing sail out from a distant point a large canoe containing a single oarsman it was rapidly approaching the shore where i was seated with hurried steps i paced the beach to meet it all my energy stimulated by the assurance it gave of food safety and restoration to friends as i drew near to it it turned towards the shore and oh bitter disappointment the object which my eager fancy had transformed into an angel of relief stalked from the water an enormous pelican flapped its dragon wings as if in mockery of my sorrow and flew to a solitary point farther up the lake this little incident quite unmanned me the transition from joy to grief brought with it a terrible consciousness of the horrors of my condition but night was fast approaching and darkness would come with it while looking for a spot where i might repose in safety my attention was attracted to a small green plant of so lively a hue as to form a striking contrast with deep pine foliage for closer examination i pulled it up by the root which was long and tapering not unlike a radish it was a thistle i tasted it it was palatable and nutritious my appetite craved it and the first meal in four days was made on thistle roots eureka i had found food no optical illusion deceived me this time i could subsist until i rejoined my companions glorious counterpoise to the wretchedness of the preceding half-hour overjoyed at this discovery with hunger allayed i stretched myself under a tree upon the foliage which had partially filled a space between contiguous trunks and fell asleep how long i slept i know not but suddenly i was roused by a loud shrill scream like that of a human being in distress poured seemingly into the very portals of my ear there was no mistaking that fearful voice i had been deceived by and answered it a dozen times while threading the forest with the belief that it was a friendly signal it was the screech of a mountain lion so alarmingly near as to cause every nerve to thrill with terror to yell in return seize with convulsive grasp the limbs of the friendly tree and swing myself into it was the work of a moment scrambling hurriedly from limb to limb i was soon as near the top as safety would permit the savage beast was snuffing and growling below apparently on the very spot i had just abandoned i answered every growl with a responsive scream terrified at the delay and pawing of the beast i increased my voice to its utmost volume broke branches from the limbs and in the impotency of fright madly hurled them at the spot whence the continued howlings proceeded failing to alarm the animal which now began to make a circuit of the tree as if to select a spot for springing into it i shook with a strength increased by terror the slender trunk until every limb rustled with the motion all in vain the terrible creature pursued his walk around the tree lashing the ground with his tail and prolonging his howlings almost to a roar it was too dark to see but the movements of the lion kept me apprised of its position whenever i heard it on one side of the tree i speedily changed to the opposite an exercise which in my weakened state i could only have performed under the impulse of terror i would alternately sweat and thrill with horror at the thought of being torn to pieces and devoured by this formidable monster all my attempts to frighten it seemed unavailing disheartened at its persistency and expecting every moment it would take the deadly leap i tried to collect my thoughts and prepare for the fatal encounter which i knew must result just at this moment it occurred to me that i would try silence clasping the trunk of the tree with both arms i sat perfectly still the lion at this time ranging around occasionally snuffing and pausing and all the while filling the forest with the echo of his howlings suddenly imitated my example this silence was more terrible if possible than the clatter and crash of his movements through the brushwood for now i did not know from what direction to expect his attack moments passed with me like hours after a lapse of time which i cannot estimate the beast gave a spring into the thicket and ran screaming into the forest my deliverance was effected had strength permitted i should have retained my perch till daylight but with the consciousness of escape from the jaws of the ferocious brute came a sense of overpowering weakness which almost palsied me and made my descent from the tree both difficult and dangerous incredible as it may seem i lay down in my old bed and was soon lost in a slumber so profound that i did not awake until after daylight the experience of the night seemed like a terrible dream but the broken limbs which in the agony of consternation i had thrown from the tree and the rifts made in fallen foliage by my visitant in his circumambulations were too convincing evidences of its reality i could not dwell upon my exposure and escape without shuddering and reflecting that probably like perils would often occur under less fortunate circumstances and with a more fatal issue i wondered what fate was in reserve for me whether i should ultimately sink from exhaustion and perish of starvation or become the prey of some of the ferocious animals that roamed these vast fastnesses my thoughts then turned to the loved ones at home they could never know my fate and would indulge a thousand conjectures concerning it not the least distressing of which would be that i had been captured by a band of hostile sioux and tortured to death at the stake i was roused from this train of reflections by a marked change in the atmosphere one of those dreary storms of mingled snow and rain common to these high altitudes set in my clothing which had been much torn exposed my person to its pitiless feltings an easterly wind rising to a gale admonished me that it would be furious and of long duration none of the discouragements i had met with dissipated the hope of rejoining my friends but foreseeing the delay now unavoidable i knew that my escape from the wilderness must be accomplished if at all by my own unaided exertions this thought was terribly afflicting and brought before me in vivid array all the dreadful realities of my condition i could see no ray of hope in this condition of mind i could find no better shelter than the spreading branches of a spruce tree under which covered with earth and boughs i lay during the two succeeding days the storm meanwhile raging with unabated violence while thus exposed and suffering from cold and hunger a little benumbed bird not larger than a snow bird hopped within my reach i instantly seized and killed it and plucking its feathers ate it raw it was a delicious meal for a half-starved man taking advantage of a lull in the elements on the morning of the third day i rose early and started in the direction of a large group of hot springs which were steaming under the shadow of mount everts the distance i travelled could not have been less than ten miles long before i reached the wonderful cluster of natural cauldrons the storm had recommenced chilled through with my clothing thoroughly saturated i lay down under a tree upon the heated incrustration until completely warmed my heels and the sides of my feet were frozen as soon as warmth had permeated my system and i had quieted my appetite with a few thistle roots i took a survey of my surroundings and selected a spot between two springs sufficiently asunder to afford heat at my head and feet on this spot i built a bower of pine branches spread its incrusted surface with fallen foliage in small boughs and stowed myself away to await the close of the storm thistles were abundant and i had fed upon them long enough to realize that they would for a while at least sustain life in convenient proximity to my abode was a small round boiling spring which i called my dinner-pot in which from time to time i cooked my roots this establishment the best i could improvise with the means at hand i occupied seven days the first three of which were darkened by one of the most furious storms i ever saw the vapour which supplied me with warmth saturated my clothing with its condensations i was enveloped in a perpetual steam bath at first this was barely preferable to the storm but i soon became accustomed to it and before i left though thoroughly parboiled actually enjoyed it i had little else to do during my imprisonment but cook think and sleep of the variety and strangeness of my reflections it is impossible to give the faintest conception much of my time was given to devising means for escape i recollected to have read at the time of their publication the narratives of lieut strain and dr kane and derived courage and hope from the reflection that they struggled with and survived perils not unlike those which environed me the chilling thought would then occur that they were not alone they had companions in suffering and sympathy each could bear his share of the burden of misery which it fell to my lot to bear alone and make it lighter from the encouragement of mutual counsel and aid in a cause of common suffering selfish as the thought may seem there was nothing i so much desired as a companion in misfortune how greatly it would alleviate my distress what a relief it would be to compare my wretchedness with that of a brother sufferer and with him devise expedients for every exigency as it occurred i confess to the weakness if it be one of having squandered much pity upon myself during the time i had little else to do nothing gave me more concern than the want of fire i recalled everything i had ever read or heard of the means by which fire could be produced but none of them were within my reach an escape without it was simply impossible it was indispensable as a protection against night attacks from wild beasts exposure to another storm like the one just over would destroy my life as this one would have done but for the warmth derived from the springs as i lay in my bower anxiously awaiting the disappearance of the snow which had fallen to the depth of a foot or more and impressed with the belief that for want of fire i should be obliged to remain among the springs it occurred to me that i would erect some sort of monument which might at some future day inform a casual visitor of the circumstances under which i had perished a gleam of sunshine lit up the bosom of the lake and with it the thought flashed upon my mind that i could with a lens from my opera glasses get fire from heaven oh happy life-renewing thought instantly subjecting it to the test of experiment when i saw the smoke curl from the bit of dry wood in my fingers i felt if the whole world were offered me for it i would cast it all aside before parting with that little spark i was now the happy possessor of food and fire these would carry me through all thoughts of failure were instantly abandoned though the food was barely adequate to my necessities a fact too painfully attested by my attenuated body i had forgotten the cravings of hunger and had the means of producing fire i said to myself i will not despair my stay at the springs was prolonged several days by an accident that befell me on the third night after my arrival there an unlucky movement while asleep broke the crust on which i reposed and the hot steam pouring upon my hip scalded it severely before i could escape this new affliction added to my frost-bitten feet already festering was the cause of frequent delays and unceasing pain through all my wanderings after obtaining fire i set to work making preparations for as early departure as my condition would permit i had lost both knives since parting from the company but i now made a convenient substitute by sharpening the tongue of a buckle which i cut from my vest with this i cut the legs and counters from my boots making of them a passable pair of slippers which i fastened to my feet as firmly as i could with strips of bark with the ravelings of a linen handkerchief aided by the magic buckle tongue i mended my clothing of the same material i made a fish-line which on finding a piece of red tape in one of my pockets better suited to the purpose i abandoned as a bad job i made of a pin that i found in my coat a fish-hook and by sewing up the bottoms of my boot-legs constructed a good pair of pouches to carry my food in fastening them to my belt by the straps thus accoutred on the morning of the eighth day after my arrival at the springs i bade them a final farewell and started on my course directly across that portion of the neck of the peninsula between me and the southeast arm of yellowstone lake it was a beautiful morning the sun shone bright and warm and there was a freshness in the atmosphere truly exhilarating as i wandered musingly along the consciousness of being alone and of having surrendered all hope of finding my friends returned upon me with crushing power i felt too that those friends by the necessities of their conditions had been compelled to abandon all efforts for my recovery the thought was full of bitterness and sorrow i tried to realize what their conjectures were concerning my disappearance but could derive no consolation from the long and dismal train of circumstances they suggested weakened by a long fast and the unsatisfying nature of the only food i could procure i know that from this time onward to the day of my rescue my mind though unimpaired in those perceptions needful to self-preservation was in a condition to receive impressions akin to insanity i was constantly travelling in dreamland and indulging in strange reveries such as i had never before known i seemed to possess a sort of duality of being which while constantly reminding me of the necessities of my condition fed my imagination with vagaries of the most extravagant character nevertheless i was perfectly conscious of the tendency of these morbid influences and often tried to shake them off but they would ever return with increased force and i finally reasoned myself into the belief that their indulgence as it afforded me pleasure could work no harm while it did not interfere with my plans for deliverance thus i lived in a world of ideal happiness and in a world of positive suffering at the same time a change in the wind and an overcast sky accompanied by cold brought with them a need of warmth i drew out my lens and touch wood but alas there was no sun i sat down on a log to await his friendly appearance hours passed he did not come night cold freezing night set in and found me exposed to all its terrors a bleak hillside sparsely covered with pines afforded poor accommodation for a half-clad famished man i could only keep from freezing by the most active exertion in walking rubbing and striking my benumbed feet and hands against the logs it seemed the longest most terrible night of my life and glad was i when the approaching dawn enabled me to commence retracing my steps to bessie lake i arrived there at noon built my first fire on the beach and remained by it recuperating for the succeeding two days the faint hope that my friends might be delayed by their search for me until i could rejoin them now forsook me altogether i made my arrangements independent of it either of three directions i might take would effect my escape if life and strength held out i drew upon the sand of the beach a map of these several courses with reference to my starting-point from the lake and considered well the difficulties each would present all were sufficiently defined to avoid mistake one was to follow snake river a distance of one hundred miles or more to eagle rock bridge another to cross the country between the southern shore of yellowstone lake and the madison mountains by scaling which i could easily reach the settlements in the madison valley and the other to retrace my journey over the long and discouraging route by which i had entered the country of these routes the last mentioned seemed the least inviting probably because i had so recently traversed it and was familiar with its difficulties i had heard and read so much concerning the desolation and elemental upheavals and violent waters of the upper valley of the snake that i dared not attempt to return in that direction the route by the madison range encumbered by the single obstruction of the mountain barrier was much the shortest and so most unwisely as will hereafter appear i adopted it filling my pouches with thistle roots i took a parting survey of the little solitude that had afforded me food and fire the preceding ten days and with something of that melancholy feeling experienced by one who leaves his home to grapple with untried adventures started for the nearest point on yellowstone lake all that day i travelled over timber heaps amid tree-tops and through thickets at noon i took the precaution to obtain fire with a brand which i kept alive by frequent blowing and constant waving to and fro at a late hour in the afternoon faint and exhausted i kindled a fire for the night on the only vacant spot i could find amid a dense wilderness of pines the deep gloom of the forest in the spectral light which revealed on all sides of me a compact and unending growth of trunks and an impervious canopy of sombre foliage the shrieking of night birds the supernaturally human scream of the mountain lion the prolonged howl of the wolf made me insensible to all other forms of suffering the burn on my hip was so inflamed that i could only sleep in a sitting posture seated with my back against a tree the smoke from the fire almost enveloping me in its suffocating folds i vainly tried amid the din and uproar of this horrible serenade to woo the drowsy god my imagination was instinct with terror at one moment it seemed as if in the density of a thicket i could see the blazing eyes of a formidable forest monster fixed upon me preparatory to a deadly leap at another i fancied that i heard the swift approach of a pack of yelping wolves through the distant brushwood which in a few minutes would tear me limb from limb whenever by fatigue and weakness my terror yielded to drowsiness the least noise roused me to a sense of the hideousness of my condition once in a fitful slumber i fell forward into the fire and inflicted a wretched burn on my hand oh with what agony i longed for day a bright and glorious morning succeeded the dismal night and brought with it the conviction that i had been the victim of uncontrollable nervous excitement i resolved henceforth to banish it altogether and in much better spirits than i anticipated resumed my journey towards the lake another day of unceasing toil among the tree tops and thickets overtook me near sunset standing upon a lofty headland jutting into the lake and commanding a magnificent prospect of the mountains and valley over an immense area in front of me at a distance of fifty miles away in the clear blue of the horizon rose the arrowy peaks of the three tetons on the right and apparently in close proximity to the eminence i occupied rolled the picturesque range of the madison scarred with clefts ravines gorges and canyons each of which glittered in the sunlight or deepened in shadow as the fitful rays of the descending luminary glanced along their varied rocky irregularities above where i stood were the lofty domes of mounts langford and doane marking the limits of that wonderful barrier which had so long defied human power in its efforts to subdue it rising seemingly from the promontory which favoured my vision was the familiar summit of mount everts at the base of which i had dwelt so long and which still seemed to hold me within its friendly shadow all the vast country within this grand enclosure of mountain and lake scarred and seamed with the grotesque ridges rocky escarpments undulating hillocks and miniature lakes and steaming with hot springs produced by the volcanic forces of a former era lay spread out before me like a vast panorama i doubt if distress and suffering can ever entirely obliterate all sense of natural grandeur and magnificence lost in the wonder and admiration inspired by this vast world of beauties i nearly forgot to improve the few moments of remaining sunshine to obtain fire with a lighted brand in my hand i effected a most difficult and arduous descent of the abrupt and stony headland to the beach of the lake the sand was soft and yielding i kindled a fire and removing the stiffened slippers from my feet attached them to my belt and wandered barefoot along the sandy shore to gather wood for the night the dry warm sand was most grateful to my lacerated and festering feet and for a long time after my woodpile was supplied i sat with them uncovered at length conscious of the need of every possible protection from the freezing night atmosphere i sought my belt for the slippers and one was missing in gathering the wood it had become detached and was lost darkness was closing over the landscape when sorely disheartened with the thought of passing the night with one foot exposed to freezing temperature i commenced a search for the missing slipper i knew i could not travel a day without it fearful that it had dropped into the lake and been carried by some recurrent wave beyond recovery my search for an hour among fallen trees and bushes up the hillside and along the beach in darkness and with flaming brands at one moment crawling on hands and feet into a brush heap another peering among logs and bushes and stones was filled with anxiety and dismay success at length rewarded my perseverance and no language can describe the joy with which i drew the cause of so much distress from beneath the limb that as i passed had torn it from my belt with a feeling of great relief i now sat down in the sand my back to a log and listened to the dash and roar of the waves it was a wild lullaby but had no terrors for a worn-out man i never passed a night of more refreshing sleep when i awoke my fire was extinguished save a few embers which i soon fanned into a cheerful flame i ate breakfast with some relish and started along the beach in pursuit of a camp believing that if successful i should find directions what to do and food to sustain me the search which i was making lay in the direction of my prearranged route to the madison mountains which i intended to approach at their lowest point of altitude end of part eight part nine of yellowstone national park six early pieces by various this liberbox recording is in the public domain part nine thirty seven days of peril part two buoyed by the hope of finding food and counsel and another night of undisturbed repose in the sand i resumed my journey along the shore and at noon found the camp last occupied by my friends on the lake a thorough search for food in the ground and trees revealed nothing and no notice to apprise me of their movements could be seen a dinner fork which afterwards proved to be of infinite service in digging roots and a yeast powdered can which would hold half a pint and which i converted into a drinking-cup and dinner-pot were the only evidences that the spot had ever been visited by civilized man oh thought i why did they forget to leave me food it never occurring to me that they might have cached it as i have since learned they did in several spots nearer the place of my separation from them i left the camp in deep dejection with the purpose of following the trail of the party to the madison carefully inspecting the faint traces left of their course of travel i became satisfied that from some cause they had made a retrograde movement from this camp and departed from the lake at a point further down-stream taking this as an indication that there were obstructions above i commenced retracing my steps along the beach an hour of sunshine in the afternoon enabled me to procure fire which in the usual manner i carried to my camping-place there i built a fire and to protect myself from the wind which was blowing violently lashing the lake into foam i made a bower of pine boughs crept under it and very soon fell asleep how long i slept i know not but i was aroused by the snapping and crackling of the burning foliage to find my shelter and the adjacent forest in a broad sheet of flame my left hand was badly burned and my hair singed closer than a barber would have trimmed it while making my escape from the semicircle of burning trees among the disasters of this fire there was none i felt more seriously than the loss of my buckle-tongued knife my pin fish-hook and tape fish-line the grandeur of the burning forest surpasses description an immense sheet of flame following to their tops the lofty trees of an almost impenetrable pine forest leaping madly from top to top and sending thousands of forked tongues a hundred feet or more athwart the midnight darkness lighting up with lurid gloom and glare the surrounding scenery of lake and mountains fills the beholder with mingled feelings of awe and astonishment i never before saw anything so terribly beautiful it was marvellous to witness the flash-like rapidity with which the flames would mount the loftiest trees the roaring cracking crashing and snapping of falling limbs and burning foliage was deafening on and on on travelled the destructive element until it seemed as if the whole forest was enveloped in flame afar up on the wood-crowned hill the overtopping trees shot forth pinnacles and walls and streamers of arrowy fire the entire hillside was an ocean of glowing and surging fiery billows favored by the gale the conflagration spread with lightning swiftness over an illimitable extent of country filling the atmosphere with driving clouds of suffocating fume and leaving a broad and blackened trail of spectral trunks shorn of limbs and foliage smoking and burning to mark the immense sweep of its devastation resolved to search for a trail no longer when daylight came i selected for a landmark the lowest notch in the madison range carefully surveying the jagged and broken surface over which i must travel to reach it i left the lake and pushed into the midst of its intricacies all the day until nearly sunset i struggled over rugged hills through windfalls thickets and matted forests with the rock-ribbed beacon constantly in view as i advanced it receded as if in mockery of my toil night overtook me with my journey half accomplished the precaution of obtaining fire gave me warmth and sleep and long before daylight i was on my way the hope of finding an easy pass into the valley of the madison inspired me with fresh courage and determination but long before i arrived at the base of the range i scanned hopelessly its insurmountable difficulties it presented to my eager vision an endless succession of inaccessible peaks and precipices rising thousands of feet sheer and bare above the plain no friendly gorge or gully or canon invited such an effort as i could make to scale this rocky barrier oh for the faith that could remove mountains how soon should this colossal fabric open at my approach what a feeling of helpless despair came over me with the conviction that the journey of the last two days had been in vain i seated myself on a rock upon the summit of a commanding hill and cast my eyes along the only route which now seemed tenable down the yellowstone how many dreary miles of forest and mountain filled the terrible panorama i thought that before accepting this discouraging alternative i would spend a day in search for a pass twenty miles at most would take me into the madison valley and thirty more restore me to friends who had abundance supposing that i should find plenty of thistles i had left the lake with a small supply and that was entirely spent i looked in vain for them where i then was while i was thus considering whether to remain and search for a passage or return to the yellowstone i experienced one of those strange hallucinations which many of my friends have misnamed insanity but which to me was providence an old clerical friend for whose character and counsel i had always cherished peculiar regard in some unaccountable manner seemed to be standing before me charged with advice which would relieve my perplexity i seemed to hear him say as if in a voice and with the manner of authority go back immediately as rapidly as your strength will permit there is no food here and the idea of scaling these rocks is madness doctor i rejoined the distance is too great i cannot live to travel it say not so your life depends upon the effort return at once start now lest your resolution falter travel as fast and as far as possible it is your only chance doctor i am rejoiced to meet you in this hour of distress but doubt the wisdom of your counsel i am within seventy miles of virginia just over these rocks a few miles away i shall find friends my shoes are nearly worn out my clothes are in tatters and my strength is almost overcome as a last trial it seems to me i can but attempt to scale this mountain or perish in the effort if god so wills don't think of it your power of endurance will carry you through i will accompany you put your trust in heaven help yourself and god will help you overcome by these and other persuasions and delighted with the idea of having a travelling companion i plotted my way over the route i had come intending at a certain point to change it so as to strike the river at the foot of the lake stopping after a few miles of travel i had no difficulty in procuring fire and passed a comfortable night when i resumed my journey the next day the sun was just rising whenever i was disposed as was often the case to question the wisdom of the change of routes my old friend appeared to be near with words of encouragement but his reticence on other subjects both surprised and annoyed me i was impressed at times during the entire journey with the belief that my return was a fatal error and if my deliverance had failed should have perished with that conviction early this day i deflected from my old route and took my course for the foot of the lake with the hope by constant travel to reach it the next day the distance was greater than i anticipated nothing is more deceptive than distance in these high latitudes at the close of each of the two succeeding days my point of destination was seemingly as far from me as at the moment i took leave of the madison range and when cold and hungry on the afternoon of the fourth day i gathered the first food i had eaten in nearly five days and lay down by my fire near the debouchure of the river i had nearly abandoned all hope of escape at daybreak i was on the trail down the river the thought i had adopted from the first i will not perish in this wilderness often revived my sinking spirits when from faintness and exhaustion i felt but little desire for life once while struggling through a field of tangled trunks which seemed interminable at one of the pauses i found myself seriously considering whether it was not preferable to die there than renew the effort to proceed i felt that all attempt to escape was but a bitter prolongation of the agony of dissolution a seeming whisper in the air while there is life there is hope take courage broke the delusion and i clambered on i did not forget to improve the midday sun to procure fire sparks from the lighted brands had burned my hands and crisped the nails of my fingers and the smoke from them had tanned my face to the complexion of an indian while passing through an opening in the forest i found the tip of a gull's wing it was fresh i made a fire upon the spot mashed the bones with a stone and consigning them to my camp kettle the yeast powder box made half a pint of delicious broth the remainder of that day and the night ensuing were given to sleep i lost all sense of time days and nights came and went and were numbered only by the growing consciousness that i was gradually starving i felt no hunger did not eat to appease appetite but to renew strength i experienced but little pain the gaping sores on my feet the severe burn on my hip the festering crevices at the joints of my fingers all terrible in appearance had ceased to give me the least concern the roots which supplied my food had suspended the digestive power of the stomach and their fibres were packed in it a matted compact mass not so with my hours of slumber they were visited by the most luxurious dreams i would apparently visit the most gorgeously decorated restaurants of new york and washington sit down to immense tables spread with the most appetizing viands partake of the richest oyster stews and plumpest pies engage myself in the labour and preparation of curious dishes and with them fill range upon range of elegantly furnished tables until they fairly groaned beneath the accumulated dainties prepared by my own hands frequently the entire night would seem to have been spent in getting up a sumptuous dinner i would realize the fatigue of roasting boiling baking and fabricating the choicest dishes known to the modern cuisine and in my disturbed slumbers would enjoy with epicurean relish the food thus furnished even to repletion alas there was more luxury than life in these somnolent vagaries it was a cold gloomy day when i arrived in the vicinity of the falls the sky was overcast and the snow-capped peaks rose chilly and bleak through the biting atmosphere the moaning of the wind through the pines mingling with the sullen roar of the falls was strangely in unison with my own saddened feelings i had no heart to gaze upon a scene which a few weeks before had inspired me with rapture and awe one moment of sunshine was of more value to me than all the marvels amid which i was famishing but the sun had hid his face and denied me all hope of obtaining fire the only alternative was to seek shelter in a thicket i penetrated the forest a long distance before finding one that suited me breaking and crowding my way into its very midst i cleared a spot large enough to recline upon interlaced the surrounding brushwood gathered the fallen foliage into a bed and lay down with a prayer for sleep and forgetfulness alas neither came the coldness increased through the night constant friction with my hands and unceasing beating with my legs and feet saved me from freezing it was the most terrible night of my journey and when with the early dawn i pulled myself into a standing posture it was to realize that my right arm was partially paralyzed and my limbs so stiffened with cold as to be almost immovable fearing lest paralysis should suddenly seize the entire system i literally dragged myself through the forest to the river seated near the verge of the great caon below the falls i anxiously awaited the appearance of the sun that great luminary never looked so beautiful as when a few moments afterwards he emerged from the clouds and exposed his glowing beams to the concentrated powers of my lens i kindled a mighty flame and fed it with every dry stick and broken tree-top i could find and without motion and almost without sense remained beside it several hours the great falls of the yellowstone were roaring within three hundred yards and the awful canon yawned almost at my feet but they had lost all charm for me in fact i regarded them as enemies which had lured me to destruction and felt a sullen satisfaction in morbid indifference my old friend and adviser whose presence i had felt more than seen the last few days now forsook me altogether but i was not alone by some process which i was too weak to solve my arms legs and stomach were transformed into so many travelling companions often for hours i would plod along conversing with these imaginary friends each had his peculiar wants which he expected me to supply the stomach was importunate in his demand for a change of diet complained incessantly of the roots i fed him their present effect and more remote consequences i could try to silence him with promises beg of him to wait a few days and when this failed of the quiet i desired i would seek to intimidate him by declaring as a sure result of negligence our inability to reach home alive all to no purpose he tormented me with his fretful humours through the entire journey the others would generally concur with him in these fancied altercations the legs implored me for rest and the arms complained that i gave them too much to do troublesome as they were it was a pleasure to realize their presence i worked for them too with right good will doing many things for their comfort which had i felt alone would have remained undone they appeared to be perfectly helpless of themselves would do nothing for me or for each other i often wondered why they ate and slept so much that they did not aid in gathering wood and kindling fires as a counterpoise to their own inertia whenever they discovered languor in me on necessary occasions they were not wanting in words of encouragement and cheer i recall as i write an instance where by prompt and timely interposition the representative of the stomach saved me from a death of dreadful agony one day i came to a small stream issuing from a spring of mild temperature on the hillside swarming with minnows i caught some with my hands and ate them raw to my taste they were delicious but the stomach refused them accused me of attempting to poison him and would not be reconciled until i had emptied my pouch of the few fish i had put there for future use those that i ate made me very sick poisoned by the mineral in the water had i glutted my appetite with them as i intended i should doubtless have died in the wilderness in excruciating torment a gradual mental introversion grew upon me as physical weakness increased the grand and massive scenery which on the upward journey had aroused every enthusiastic impulse of my nature was now tame and spiritless my thoughts were turned in upon myself upon the dreadful fate which apparently lay just before me and the possible happiness of the existence beyond all doubt of immortality fled in the light of present realities so vivid were my conceptions of the future that at times i longed for death not less as the beginning of happiness than as a release from misery led on by these reflections i would recall the varied incidents of my journey my escape from the lion from fire my return from madison range and in all of them i saw how much i had been indebted to that mysterious protection which comes only from the throne of the eternal and yet starving footsore half-blind worn to a skeleton was it surprising that i lacked the faith needful to buoy me above the dark waters of despair which i now felt were closing around me in less serious moods as i struggled along my thoughts would revert to the single being on whom my holiest affection centred my daughter what a tie was that to bind me to life oh could i be restored to her for a single hour long enough for parting counsel and blessing it would be joy unspeakable long hours of painful travel were relieved of physical suffering by this absorbing agony of mind which when from my present standpoint i contrast it with the personal calamities of my exile swells into mountains to return from this digression at many of the streams on my route i spent hours in endeavouring to catch trout with a hook fashioned from the rim of my broken spectacles but in no instance with success the tackle was defective the country was full of game and great variety i saw large herds of deer elk antelope occasionally a bear and many smaller animals numerous flocks of ducks geese swans and pelicans inhabited the lakes and rivers but with no means of killing them their presence was a perpetual aggravation at all the camps of our company i stopped and recalled many pleasant incidents associated with them one afternoon when approaching tower falls i came upon a large hollow tree which from the numerous tracks surrounding it and the matted foliage in the cavity i recognized as the den of a bear it was a most inviting couch gathering a needful supply of wood and brush i lighted a circle of piles around the tree crawled into the nest and passed a night of unbroken slumber i rose the next morning to find that during the night the fires had communicated with the adjacent forest and burned a large space in all directions doubtless intimidating the rightful proprietor of the nest and saving me from another midnight adventure at tower falls i spent the first half of a day in capturing a grasshopper and the remainder in a fruitless effort to catch a mess of trout in the agony of disappointment i resolved to fish no more a spirit of rebellion seized me i determined that thistles should thenceforth be my only sustenance why is it i asked myself that in the midst of abundance every hour meeting with objects which would restore strength and vigour and energy every moment contriving some device to procure the nourishment my wasting frame requires i should meet with these repeated and discouraging failures thoughts of the early teaching of a pious mother suppressed these feelings oh how often have the recollections of a loved new england home and the memories of a happy childhood cheered my sinking spirits and dissipated the gathering gloom of despair there were thoughts and feelings and mental anguishes without number that visited me during my period of trial that never can be known to any but my god and myself Bitter as was my experience, it was not unrelieved by some of the most precious moments I have ever known.

And then, you know, the rafting and the floating thrown in gave it a nice mix.

So while we're talking about the rafting and the floating, so the Snake River, they talk about the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

Are you in a canyon or tell us, like, what is that like?

On the Snake River part, you mean?

Yeah, I saw reference to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone.

So are you rafting or floating through that? Well, I mean, it's a huge...

I mean, we were on one portion of it, really.

And so we stuck around in order to see it.

Mm-hmm

... pretty much, there's also called the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, which is this massive canyon that was carved out likely when the volcano erupted.

So magma just kind of dug a big old trench, um, through these stone walls.

And there's two waterfalls there called the Upper Falls or the Lower Falls, which I think you just referred to as Bridal Falls most of the trip.

Now full stop.

Along those same lines, it appears as if Dunraven Pass, which connects Tower to Canyon... is going to be closing on October 12th, if not earlier, with this incoming storm.

So that means if you are driving from Canyon to Lamar or from Fishing Bridge and Lake and all that or the east entrance to Lamar, you are now going to have to go through Norris and Mammoth to get to Tower and then out to Lamar and Cook City.

So that's going to be a long detour after the 12th, if not earlier, with this incoming snowstorm.

That's all the news I have this week.

That means Sylvan Pass.

Then you could also have Craig Pass, which is that road between West Thumb and Old Faithful, that might close.

They might even close the road that connects Canyon to Norris if there's that much snow.