Mount Washburn

Named for Surveyor-General Henry D. Washburn from the 1871 Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition, Mount Washburn is 10,243 feet high and provides 3 trails to reach the top.

Oh look, another member of the greeting committee! We didn't stop to say hi, he wasn't in a friendly mood. After using the fence for a scratching post, he meandered down the entry road to challenge cars as they came up. You never know what type of entertainment you'll run across in Yellowstone!

Last year we hiked up the Dunnraven Pass trailhead. This year we chose the Chittenden Road path. The ranger station is the little peak on the highest mountain. That's our destination.


This road is used by the ranger that lives at the top all summer watching for fires. The temps were a brisk 40+/- degrees with wind in our faces so we bundled up and took off. 

This  area is a good example of the 1980 fire that consumed over 60% of the park. It's amazing that through the intense winters, wind, and rain, these trees are still standing like ghosts of time. It's also surprising that there is very little vegetation coming up to replace these trees.

The ranger station is getting closer. Note the orange sticks on the right side of the road. These start appearing all over the park in mid-September and act as snow gauges for the depth and also as road boundaries for skiers and snowmobilers.

We're over half way up and yes, it's still cold!

And we made it! The ranger in residence apparently owns a Honda FITT! The road is steep, very rocky and has several switchbacks so the fact a Fitt makes it, is pretty commendable. This should definitely be a commercial for Honda. I think they missed the boat on this one!





All the walking finally warmed us up, however, we put the jackets back on for the descent. The wind was present and making itself felt.

With all the rain we've had this year, the skies have been crystal clear blue and beautiful. But California and Idaho are battling some large fires and this one day, for our biggest hike, the wind brought the smoke in and, like last year, our pictures are hazy. We'll try again next year for the spectacular views.




We are on the way back down now. You can see the burned out tree area below that I showed the close up of above. It covers quite an expansive area. Other trees have filled in the burned areas below.

This is a great example of an obsidian cliff left over from the volcanic period.

These two were grazing on the side as we walked down. This hike is special for seeing Big Horn Sheep. Not so on this day. But doesn't this Bison look like he's big buds with this Pronghorn? (By the way, Pronghorn's are just Pronghorn's. They aren't a part of the deer family. Also, People mistake these for antelope, which are not present anywhere in YS.)

Miles hiked: 115