Dunraven Pass

Day 2 of our Yellowstone adventure.
Hiking Mount Washburn up to 3115m, the toughest hike of the week .

We set off early from the Canyon Village (meet at 6:15) to beat the crowds and the sun. Good strategy as we managed to hike up mostly in shade and cool(ish) temperature.

Gorgeous views over Yellowstone National Park all around. Sadly I forgot the names of the mountain ranges already.

Views got worse during the day with smoke blowing in from the fires in Idaho but still a great place to be.

Made even more exciting by seeing a black 🐻 gorging on pine nuts (only saw moving branches to start with) but got lucky by him descending the tree as we made it up the next switchback

A few more titbits ...
👆The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America; it is named for its ears, which are large like those of the mule.
👆 Yellowstone was established 1872 and covers nearly 3,500-sq.-mile area atop a volcanic hot spot / super volcano. There are:
👉 nearly 300 species of birds, 16 species of fish, five species of amphibians, six species of reptiles, and 67 species of mammal
👉 more than 600 lakes and ponds
👉 over 10000 thermal features - hot springs, mud pots, geysers and steam vents
👉 over 1000 miles of hiking trails - we will only do a minute fraction of it.Read more