Mama Bears Yellowstone Backpacking Trip
A Baby Free Week in the Company of Fellow Adventurous Women
October 2023
Table of Contents
But First, A Little Ramble...
Ok, this ramble is long…
Traveling in a group has its advantages and disadvantages. It is lovely to share both the ups and downs with others as you adventure. The “ups” are fun to savor together in the moment and fondly reminisce about later.
Sometimes it's lovely to have a scenic vista all to yourself, but it can be wonderful to look beside you and see someone else beaming with the same astounded smile that you feel on your own face.
Exploring with others means you get to laugh at someone else’s jokes, instead of making up corny puns or elaborate stories to yourself that no one else will understand. Having more than 1 brain working to consider conditions and routes and more hands to complete camp chores is priceless. Often, a partner can distract you from a difficult situation or make a mundane moment magical by pointing out something that you might not have appreciated on your own.
On the flip side, traveling as a team means making compromises and having to consider the desires and the capabilities of others besides yourself. Maybe a companion was hoping to visit a place that you don’t think you should prioritize with your limited time. Perhaps a travel buddy isn’t as physically fit as you and will force you to slow down or skip experiences that they can’t do. Sometimes it’s as simple as they are a night owl and you are an early bird that can really throw a wrench in things.
Often I find myself in the role of Tour Guide Barbie for others with less experience.
In an effort to have a companion, I exhaust myself planning every detail to perfection to try to please others and I take it very personally when something goes wrong or someone isn’t having the absolute best day of their life.
This particular trip included six mothers who would be leaving behind their partners and young ones for this adventure. A friend of mine going through seminary classes needed to choose people in her life to pray for. She asked if she could pray for me over the phone (she lives in another state) as part of her assignment. I asked for prayer for this trip… for warmth and safety. She did so, and then spent some time asking that the 6 women would be kind to each other and supportive of each other, that there would be no drama or cattiness to ruin the trip. That hadn’t even occurred to me, knowing the girls that I had asked to be a part of this group.
But I did start to think that maybe 6 strong women who didn’t really know each other spending 7 days together in tight confines and tough conditions might actually be a recipe for disaster.
Thankfully all of the above concerns never were an issue with this particular group of ladies. Although I was fondly called Tour Guide Barbie every once in a while, I never felt that the weight of this trip rested on my shoulders alone. It was very much a group effort and a group success. I didn’t feel like I was missing out by compromising or dragging the others along. These companions brought me only joy and support, and never added stress or drama. I was lucky to have such a solid team to take on the challenge I had designed for us.
At this point, I had been to almost every National Park and Monument west of the Mississippi, but I always wanted to return to each of them to get off the roads and past the point of day hikes. I wanted to experience the thing that makes these spaces such important places of conservation. I wanted to explore the wilderness where humans would be an oddity, not the norm. Sure, I could have done this trip by myself and had a lovely time. But I wanted to invite other like-minded women (and particularly moms) to have some time for this adventurous type of self care.
So, I asked around and ended up with a group who would come to be known as the Mama Bears, perhaps hoping the name itself would be enough to scare away our wilder counterparts.
Let me first introduce to you the 6 Mama Bears…
Meet the Team
The first to sign up was BJ, the wife of one of John’s hunting buddies. John had been trying to introduce us for years and I finally got to meet her when John invited them to our wedding. I had been secretly resentful of her all this time. John would always come home from his hunting trips with tales of this mythological woman who cooked a delicious dish of shells for the rowdy hunters who invaded her home every year for the “Outpost” hunting trip. She seemed just too “cool” to be someone I would jive with. Then, at the wedding, I learned she was a normal woman who good-naturally tolerated the drunk and smelly men once a year. She did in fact book herself a “post-Outpost massage” at the end of that week to decompress from the experience.
She was human after all.
BJ had a daughter who was almost 4 when we left for this adventure. She was a feisty three-nager who was getting better and better at sharing her toys with Grey when we would hang out together. I was always impressed with her swimming abilities, able to dive down and retrieve rings at such a young age as a result of her water therapy from a premature birth. BJ’s in-laws had parked their camper in the driveway to help her husband, James, with the little one while we were gone. BJ and I had done a few “kiddy” adventures together to the museum and to Dinosaur Ridge and to the backyard pond, but BJ and I had also done a hot yoga class together and taken quite a few hikes baby free. She was one of the most consistent members of my Full Mooners club, a group of gals that would night hike together during (you guessed it) the full moon, no matter the conditions, no artificial lights allowed. BJ had a bunch of backpacking experience already and was probably the Mama Bear I knew best. She became the co-pilot of the trip, helping to create packing lists and arrange car pooling. She even had her name on the backcountry permit as a back up in case I couldn’t make the trip.
Next up was Ronni, another wife of John’s hunting group. She actually had graduated high school with my youngest brother-in-law and continued to be friends with him throughout the years, so I had seen her in passing a lot already. We had even trading puppy sitting each other’s dogs a few times. Her husband was a singer who would sometimes perform at the same bars as another friend of ours. We had crossed paths often enough, but it wasn’t until John came home from hunting with her husband and told me that Ronni was a reader that our friendship really ignited. I invited her to join a book club that I had recently been attending. We also met up for a few hikes during the day and many with the Full Mooners. This would be Ronni’s first backpacking trip! I feared that we would ruin her for all other trips that could never quite compare to this experience. Her husband Aaron would be taking care of their energetic son who was almost three at the time of the hike. Good thing they got to go to Ronni’s parent’s farm for some extra support and space to explore.
Ronni invited her sister Katie to join and she was brave enough to bite even though she wouldn’t know any of the other women. She would join us from Northern Utah and by the end of the trip, we were wishing she lived a lot closer to join in on smaller adventures with the rest of us. Katie had a good amount of backpacking experience, explaining that she and her husband did a trip every year for their anniversary. One month, the Full Mooners found themselves scattered to the wind and unable to hike together. Ronni was visiting family and had recruited Katie to do their own version of the tradition. We all did our own moonlit adventure and sent pictures to each other. Katie ended up loving it and did a follow up hike with some friends and family. She even continued the “no headlamp” rule much to the dismay of those who joined her. Katie was the most experienced mother with 2 daughters aged 9 and 12. Her husband Dane would get some help from Katie’s parents for school drop off.
Diana was a friend I met on the app for moms called Peanut (highly recommend). Our first hike was to Elk Meadows with our sons and dogs and her mom who was visiting at the time. Diana had such a positive and bubbly personality with an infectious smile. I felt like I had known her for much longer than a few months. We did some hiking together and had a couple of play dates over the summer on my back deck. She had my family over for dinner when we were living in our camper while our house was rented on Airbnb.
She also had a lot of backpacking experience and was our only member with previous experience hanging food from bears, a highly valued skill where we were going.
Her son was just a month older than Grey (about a year and a half) and her father had flown in from Jersey to help babysit when he was out of day care. That way her husband, Jordan, could continue making progress painting the house without her. I call that perfect timing to be gone for a week!
Last, but not least was a new friend named Amy. She lived just down the street from me and was excited to call this her first backpacking trip. We had met by happy accident one day with our sons at the local rec center pool. I was desperate for playmates Grey’s age and mom friends for me, so I shamelessly asked for her phone number. Thankfully, she had just moved to the area from Park City and didn’t already have a full line up of local friends. Later she would tell me that she had sold a lot of her old hiking and camping gear before the move, thinking that part of her life was over now that she was “settling down” with her husband and new baby. That was really unfortunate timing to meet me. She begged, borrowed, but didn’t actually steal (I think) the gear she needed for the trek. Amy was added to the Full Mooners and joined the neighborhood mom group I had started that had dinners together once a quarter or so. She had a bike trailer for her son that she pulled with a mountain bike just like I did, so we went on a few awesome bike rides together. My favorite was an 18 mile round trip up to Golden for ice cream and back. Her husband, Conner, was roughing it like John with the baby. They would both be working full time and parenting full time on their own. Way to go guys!
The Prep
The Mama Bears had a group chat that would blow up every now and then with pictures of us out hiking with our kids in their backpacks. BJ put us all to shame by even mowing the lawn with a 35 pound kettle bell in a pack that she would also take hiking if she didn’t have her daughter. We did a lot of Q and A sessions about weather and gear. Thankfully across the 6 of us we had multiples of everything we would need and could spread out the weight so that no one person had to carry more than their share. BJ and I supplied a couple of 3 (wo)man tents and water filters. BJ and Diana brought the Jetboils and rope. We arranged our car pool plans and split the cost of the hiking permit and accommodations for before and after the hike.
Then, 4 days before we were to depart, a message appeared on the chat that threatened to derail everything.
Katie’s husband had just started a new job working as a civilian, but for the military. His job was precariously put into question by the approaching possibility of a government shut down. So Katie did a little digging and learned that this could also close National Parks to visitors which would really throw a wrench in our plan to backpack in the world’s first National Park. I attempted not to panic as we kept track of the news and I scrambled to come up with alternate itineraries. I actually had several really good options in mind by the time a bill was passed (with an hour to spare) to prevent the shut down for another 45 days. We all breathed a sigh of relief while we still had a million questions like “why does our government even shut down?” “Didn’t this JUST happen a few years ago?!” “Do other countries have this happen?” None of us are particularly savvy with government and politics so we shelved those questions for another day.
Instead, we continued to stuff things in our pack and take things out of our packs as we struggled to decide what to bring and how to make it all fit.
On Our Way
John, Grey, Lucy and I were living at our camper near Salida at the time while our house was being long term rented on Airbnb. It was a 3 hour drive back to Denver where most of the other girls would be departing from. In a convoluted series of events, I needed to end up with a car being left in Denver for when Grey and I flew back in on November 8th after visiting my family in PA. Was all of that very confusing? Yes, it was hard for me to figure out too. Vagabonding while our house is rented can be a lot of fun, but it’s also a mental load to coordinate the schedules of all the humans, the dog, and all the vehicles.
Really, all it meant was that I wouldn’t be leaving on Tuesday, October 3rd like everyone else. I would actually bid my family farewell the day before to drive down to Denver so I didn’t have to add 3 hours to an 8 hour drive to Yellowstone the following day. I ended up crashing at an only slightly scary Motel 6 just outside my actual neighborhood that night. It was lovely to have just a night to myself to eat a Chipotle burrito while it was still hot and stay up late binge watching The Morning Show on Apple TV. I couldn’t sleep anyway.
As Amy put it in the group chat, “It’s like the night before Christmas.”
In the morning, I put on the still slightly damp sports bra that I had washed in the motel sink the night before. (I really should appreciate being able to easily do laundry again when we are home.) I loaded up, which was easy since everything was already smashed into my pack, and drove to Amy’s house. Ronni was already there helping distract Amy’s son while Amy frantically finished packing up. She thought I was picking her up an hour later. She was ready in no time and it gave me a chance to get an official weight for my pack on her scale.
Fifty-six pounds! How could that be?!?! That was heavier than when I was thru-hiking the Colorado Trail!
Thankfully, I still had some gear to divvy up to the group members who didn’t have a lot of shared items yet in their packs.
BJ had the biggest car, so we met her at a Park N Ride where she would run into us on the highway and left my car behind. Her 4Runner nicely fit the 5 people with all of our gear for the trip. We even brought Diana’s giant foam roller she thought might be nice for massaging sore muscles after the hike. Good thinking.
Our destination for the night was Dubios, Wyoming. We would spend the night there, poised just a couple of hours from the trailhead, and be able to pick up our backcountry permit when the office opened the following morning. When we put the town into our GPS, the robotic voice pronounced it Dew-bwaa like it was some sort of French resort. Maybe there were hot springs there using the same geothermal energy found in the Park boundaries and some fancy French person founded a retreat there. Ya know, the Spa of Dew-bwaa. We highly doubted this was the case as we passed gigantic ranches and tiny country towns. At one gas station, one of us plucked up the courage to sound totally ridiculous and asked, “is it pronounced Dew-bwaa… or Dew-boy… or…?” I watched the guy do a mental facepalm before bluntly replying, “it’s Dew-boys.” Nonetheless, we pronounced it Dew-bwaa for the remainder of the trip.
Time passed pretty easily in the car as the girls got to know each other better. Diana didn’t know anyone besides me. Amy had gone on 2 hikes with BJ and I before and a hike on her own with Ronni via our group chat. BJ and Ronni were regular members of the Full Mooners so they knew each other decently well. Even though I was the organizer of the trip, I still had only known BJ for a couple of years and we hadn’t hung out super often. I met Ronni, Amy, and Diana within that year. So I still had plenty to learn about everyone.
When conversation fizzled out, we pulled out some podcasts we had downloaded ahead of time. Amy had 2 that went together about the wolf reintroduction in Yellowstone. One was a murder mystery about the man who killed Wolf 8 early in the program. The second was a love story of Wolf 21 and 42 in the following generation. I was familiar with these stories already since I had read every one of Rick McIntyre’s Books. In the series, he chronicles the day to day lives of the wolves across decades of tireless observation. Apparently I came off very “fan girl” about Rick, although I am sure he is older than my father. So I was gently teased for actually planning this trip hoping to bump into my idol. Throughout the journey I played along, wondering aloud if that wolf print in the mud meant Rick was nearby or if he could be that guy with the giant camera on the side of the road.
I played an Ologies podcast about bears that also had a Part 1 and a Part 2.
It was nice to learn some things about the animals we were very much hoping to see… preferably from afar.
When we needed a break from knowledge flowing into our brains, Amy introduced us to a game that she always wants Conner to play with her and he refuses. It’s the game where you name celebrities using the letter of the previous celebrity mentioned. But you take the letter of the LAST name and use that letter in the FIRST name of your celebrity. So Taylor Swift would be followed by Scarlett Johansson. We expanded the requirements to include famous people from history (Theodore Roosevelt) or even fake people (Bugs Bunny). It was fun and also really hard. It was interesting to see how you could think of a million examples when it wasn’t your turn. Then when you were in the spotlight, your mind would suddenly go blank. Ronni said it best when she cried out, “I don’t know letters!” We joked that this was the type of game that only an only child would want to play, which Amy took good-naturedly.
Thank you to BJ who did 99% of the driving during this whole trip!
Base Camp- Dubois, Wyoming
We made it to Dubios and checked into the Super 8 which was the nicest Super 8 I have ever seen in my life. Normally they portray a vibe that makes you envision thefts and dirty needles. Not that I am ever above staying in the Super 8, since this girl travels on a budget. Thankfully this one was clean and bright with friendly staff and inspirational quotes hanging from the walls. (Notice this particular sign we decided to pose in front of.)
Katie was still on her way from Utah, driving separately since she was so far away from the others. The rest of us couldn’t wait for her to eat and she’d be arriving when most restaurants were closing down, so we headed to 2Z’s BBQ without her.
It was about this time that I learned no one else was wearing their wedding rings. I leave my expensive diamond at home for trips like this, but still always wear my much cheaper wedding band. Suddenly this group of girls was receiving VERY strong spiked lemonade and even free ice cream dessert from our flirtatious waiter. I was suspicious that I knew the reason why, but gratefully accepted my sundae with a smile anyway. I highly recommend the place, if you are ever in the area.
There was a little patio out back with a stream running by and cottonwoods in their best fall foliage. The temperature was quickly dropping as it was getting dark, but still we stood out there as long as we could tolerate it, just enjoying the scene.
One of the facts I had shared about the wolf reintroduction to Yellowstone is that they even corrected the course of the rivers there.
Without the wolves, their prey like elk and moose were obliterating the shores of willows and aspens whose root systems help keep the river banks from eroding away. As the vegetation was overeaten and the river banks caved in, the water started flowing in a straighter line rather than sloshing around sharp bends. Those turns help hold water in an ecosystem, rather than letting it rush straight away. Beavers also need aspens and willows for building their dams, which holds back water as well. Lots of other species (plant and animal) benefit from a more watery environment. So when the wolves came back and began controlling the numbers of prey animals again, the vegetation was able to grow back and the river banks restabilized. Beavers were making a slow return and more water was staying longer in the Park’s ecosystems. A keystone species had been restored. We were reminded of their importance as we looked at this small little meandering stream behind the restaurant and later throughout our hike in the backcountry.
Back at the hotel, I finally got to meet Katie who had what my mother-in-law would call an “open face”, meaning she was a friendly person who you could easily like. Now our group was complete and it was time for some last minute gear shuffling and organizing. I won’t bore you with a packing list here, but if you are looking for gear recommendations for planning purposes, see the Gear section below.
Amy took my tent and Ronni took the poles. Katie took my water filter (which was already light but did take up some space) as well as a compact but heavy battery pack we could all use to charge our phones for pictures. At the hotel that night, I went through my supplies one more time, taking out an extra dehydrated meal and slimming down on the s’mores supplies that I was bringing for the group. Surely 3 s’mores per capita should be enough, right?!
We had a theme for each day of the trip, and that first night was “game night”. Each person was supposed to teach us a card game or bring another travel friendly game to play. I brought Bananagrams and was excited to be able to leave behind that weight if we played at the hotel that night. I felt like it was harder with more people because you ended up with fewer tiles to work with. Amy, Katie, and Diana each won a hand.
We played Yahtzee (brought by Ronni) and got almost all the way through before we learned that Diana actually had no idea how to play the game. She had simply put 3 check marks in her 4 of a kind box among other incorrect things on her scorecard. Ronni clarified that she was just playing Nahtzee (not-Yahtzee).
We all settled into our beds for possibly our last comfortable and warm night for a while.
Breakfast was included at the hotel, which made our morning easy. I took my last shower and scarfed down some eggs and sausage and yogurt. We split into the two cars (BJ’s and Katie’s) complete with walkie talkies and began our final drive in. There were beautiful views of the jagged Teton mountains breaking through thick cloud cover at various spots.
We climbed up and over a pass with a top elevation of 9,500 feet and gritted our teeth at the sight of about 4 inches of snow there. I quickly referenced our online map of the trail up Mt. Sheridan and was dismayed to realize it was even higher.
We took a quick stop for a scenic photo in Grand Teton National Park, but otherwise were on a mission to get to the Ranger Station by 10am to pick up our backcountry pass.
In Yellowstone
There was some construction on the roads once we crossed into Yellowstone and poor Amy had to do an emergency roadside pee in front of a line of cars when she ran out of time. The rest of us made it at least to the little Park gas station where all the buildings were closed up for the season, but we could at least pee behind them in privacy. We all broke in our new Kula cloths.
Once we found the Ranger Station, we signed in and watched an informative video about things we might experience in the backcountry. We felt that the shot of the hiker guy’s hairy nipple rub as he took his camp bath was a little PG-13, but otherwise there was some useful information. For example, we learned that it is preferable to pee on rocks so that wildlife don’t dig up the soil trying to get at the minerals found in urine. The video also mentioned some safety measures to use when encountering thermal areas and crossing big rivers.
We asked the Ranger who was assisting us if we would run into many river crossings on our particular trail. She reassured us that we wouldn’t, which was a total lie. Perhaps there was some confusion about the route we planned to take.
Otherwise she was exceedingly kind and helpful, but that misinformation about the rivers would cost us on our third day.
She let us know that we would have a “neighbor” in the campsite near us that first night (we vaguely saw a couple of lights from them but otherwise had no interaction) and would otherwise have the place to ourselves. We were kicking around the idea of not trying to summit Sheridan if there was a lot of snow and she said that yes, there would be snow but just do it! We learned that there were definitely grizzlies in the area and that some previous backpackers had mentioned hearing the wolves howling. Pinch me!
Perhaps even more exciting was the knowledge that we would have an actual toilet for those first 2 nights at camp! Wow! We were not expecting that. Both Ronni and Amy were cat hole virgins, and got to put off that experience for a couple more days.
It was very cold, so we sat in the cars with the heaters on and had a little snack first and threw away any smelly trash that we didn’t want to leave in the car to attract bears. We backtracked just a smidge to the trailhead, grunted while trying to stuff those last few items into our packs and then finally shouldered the beasts. Another car unknowingly pulled in just trying to use the outhouse and we enlisted the young daughter to take some “pre” photos for us.
I said a little prayer/mindset setting speech asking for safety and warmth and a group that supports each other. I told people to speak up when they need a break, the rest of us will probably say “thank God”.
I reminded us that there would be cold and wet and dirt and that’s just part of it. We were here to do something hard. To challenge ourselves was to remind ourselves of what we were still capable of accomplishing.
Day 1
Then we were off!
I was in the front for the first “shift” through some weather that was chilly and kinda misty and cloudy. Diana introduced us to her trail game that she plays with her husband, Jordan. Basically, there are 2 mystery words that rhyme. You tell the group how many syllables are in each word and a short clue to try to guess them.
Example: “Both words, 1 syllable. Blue and Bug.” And the answer would be “sky” and “fly”.
It certainly helped to pass the time.
Otherwise, we were keeping our eyes and ears peeled, half hoping and half hoping NOT to see a bear. We got really used to saying “hey bear” all the time if we weren’t already talking and laughing. Which we were most of the time anyway.
I was surprised to see there were lots of mushrooms along the whole trail, way more than I would have imagined. We all wished that we were more knowledgeable about edible varieties so we could harvest the bounty along the way.
At our first break, Diana set up her hammock and looked so comfy, snacking while gently swaying. The rest of us had to settle for sitting on some nice logs. Her hammock would be the envy of the rest of the trip, although she did share when she wasn’t actively using it.
We climbed up to our first views of Heart Lake and turned to see what we assumed was Mt. Sheridan surrounded in clouds. We could see snow going up the sides.
We passed right by several colorful pools and bubbling features that we had all to ourselves. THAT was really cool because usually you are rubbing shoulders with a bunch of other people when you get to see those on the roadside boardwalks.
BJ almost became a “Too Close Tourist” getting pictures in front of the features. She eventually convinced us to all do a group photo on this tiny strip of land in between a cluster of pools that I thought would for sure collapse under our combined weight with our giant packs. Thankfully, it didn’t.
At another feature Diana started a “rapid fire” photo shoot idea that we would use the rest of the trip. Basically, each person gets a chance to jump in for a scenic solo shot and then it’s the next person’s turn.
We descended through some scrub brush that smelled uniquely of cinnamon and then through a meadow where I imagined elk would visit in the dusk. There was a closed Ranger Station, and then we were out on the beach.
I tried to take a scenic photo from the water level and tipped over because of my heavy pack, like a turtle stuck on its shell. The girls were gracious enough to smile and help me up as they laughed at me.
We had just a little more hiking to go around the lake a ways until we found our site. Past the camp identification number was a half mile long driveway that was killer when you think you are so close. Soon enough we were home.
There was a bear pole to hang food and communal “hang out” area. Further away were some flat spots for pitching tents. Thanks to Ronni for the high speed video tour below.
At the very end of our spot was a little trail heading up to our toilet. It was just a pit toilet sitting there out in the open with no structure around it. We affectionately called it the “out, not house”. Hey, it was more than we were expecting and put off Ronni’s and Amy’s first woods poop for a couple more days.
I showed Amy and Ronni how to set up the tent that would be our home for the next while and then started doing other camp chores like filtering water. Ronni jumped right in to learn how things work so that she could manage the process herself the next time. BJ and Diana got the Jetboils rolling and Amy and Ronni had their first dehydrated meals. It became the norm to compare the various brands we had brought (Mountain House, Backpacker’s Pantry and Peak) since we had all brought similar meals, just from the different makers.
That night’s theme was ghost story night.
BJ told an old Colorado legend involving deadly mists. I repeated a scary story from a podcast I had heard one time about a search and rescue worker who finds more than she bargained for one day. Ronni repeated a story that her mother had always told them on camping trips. Diana’s was the scariest to me, about the 3 demons we all are born with and carry throughout our lives. The full stories can be found here.
Then it was time to hang the bags from the bears for the night. Diana was the one with the expertise, showing us how to tie rocks on the ends of our lines to huck over the limb. Ronni did not even hesitate and jumped right in to give it a try. I watched to make sure she could accomplish the task before I gave it a try. I wasn’t really sure my arm would have the “oomph” to make it up and over. Teamwork was required to lift the heavy bags of food, one person lifting the bags up as high as they could and then 2 people pulling on the ropes to lift it from there. Diana had a system for wrapping up and tying off the tail of the rope and BJ showed us a very quick and effective knot to use. Night was falling and it was getting tricky to see so BJ turned her headlamp up on her head so that it pointed skyward for us to see the bags. She called it her “coon light!” It worked really well until she bent over to adjust something on ground level and the light was now pointed straight into our faces. We took a cute photo of all of us in a circle with the bags above us.
It was awesome to add something new to my repertoire of outdoor skills. I have never had to hang food before, always being in black bear country where leaving food in the car is fine for car camping. Even on backpacking trips, there often weren’t requirements for food storage. When there were, a borrowed bear canister was more than sufficient.
We all learned another life hack from BJ and boiled water to put in our Nalgenes. Stuffed at the bottom of our bags, the water bottles kept our feet toasty warm till morning.
The elk bugled all night long and me and BJ even heard the sounds of an antler crashing battle.
Day 2
It was too cold to wake up early, so we waited until it was decently warm to brave leaving the tents. Diana took the prize for sleeping in the longest. It was still pretty cloudy but it did clear up as the sun got stronger.
This was Costume Day!
Katie was a pirate, even posing for photos with her peg leg although she did not hike the 3,000 foot climb up Mt. Sheridan with it. Disappointing.
Ronni was a skeleton/witch.
Amy’s costume was hard to pin down a name for, but Diana called her Scary AF or Scary Spice and the latter stuck.
Diana brought a Barbie sash and became Hiking Barbie.
BJ’s costume was the worst because she was an ice cream cone that looked realistically delicious and was torture so far from real ice cream.
I was a cat, complete with a tail that I tied to the bottom of my pack for the hike.
We did our classic rapid fire posing next to the lake and took a group photo in character.
We got to assemble much lighter packs for Mt. Sheridan, just bringing water and lunch and some layers. We would be spending the night in the same spot, so the camping gear stayed behind. We started up the steep path with some sunshine and really pretty fall colors in the underbrush.
It was suuuuuper relentlessly steep, so we took a lot of breathing breaks going up, which gave us a chance to check out the new view of Heart Lake. We could actually see it was heart-shaped from our new perspective. Ronni even caught sight of the “Heart Lake Monster” who got added to her ghost story from the night before.
Did I mention we were all hiking in costume???
After stopping for a snack, the sky got cloudier and we crossed into the snow. It wasn’t bad, only maybe an inch or 2 in places. We all had enough tread and our poles to help with traction. Once we crossed over a ridge, the wind got pretty fierce and cold. I put on all my layers and was only warm because we were still climbing.
There were some cool ice formations on the sides of the trees where the wind had blown snow and then layered it into a design.
We could see a Ranger Station at the top that we were hoping would be open for some shelter from the wind. Just maybe it would be stocked with pizza.
No luck, but it did serve as a little wind break for lunch.
We took some more photos, which you saw when you were introduced to each Mama Bear, and got back into character for a costume photo. Amy even had us do a fun video while we all spun around to get the 360 view.
On the way down, we stopped to look back on where we had been. We could just BARELY see the TINY Ranger Station at the top. It was amazing we had been all the way up here just a little bit ago!
That night was glow night.
Everyone had glow sticks, necklaces, and bracelets. But Ronni brought glow tape and showed off her witchy magic by charging it with her light and suddenly making it appear. She traced the bones on her skeleton costume and did an awesome dance for us. Diana was laughing her ass off. Her laugh was infectious and is the second best thing about that video, after the dance itself. Ronni and Katie did their dance duo which was actually their performance for talent show night.
Diana laughed herself to an early bedtime. Katie followed soon after, probably exhausted from her dance efforts in addition to the 3,000 foot climb up Mt. Sheridan.
Amy led me and Ronni and BJ through a personality test involving a box and a horse and a ladder. I don’t remember the specifics, but it was insightful at the time and helped mellow out our energy from the hype of the glow party. We all snuggled into our beds.
BUT!!! Just before calling it quits, BJ and I heard some little yips that didn’t sound coyote-ish and might have been wolves!!!
Day 3
The next morning, the lake was covered in a mist that burned off and revealed some ducks floating on the water.
I turned on my Garmin inReach like I did every morning to send our “all good” message to my emergency contacts. Suddenly, I received a message from John asking if we were okay. Turns out I had shut off the satellite phone before our “all good” message had gone all the way through to him the night before. He had called my mom (my other emergency contact) to see if she had heard from us. She ignored his call and never called him back, assuming he had butt dialed her. Good thing there wasn’t an actual emergency! I messaged him right away to let him know we were doing just fine.
We sadly began packing up camp because our last night would be at a new location on the other side of the lake. It was so nice to have multiple nights in one spot. It saved so much time in camp chores and allowed us to just enjoy ourselves in the evening.
We took a group photo in our communal area before heading out.
This would be our longest day hiking, 12 miles, but the trail looked mostly flat around the lake so we expected to make good time and didn’t rush. It was too cold in the mornings to get up early or move quickly.
We warmed up under the sun while we walked. Some of us actually enjoyed the little dip as we crossed a stream to cool off. I thought it was too cold.
We sat in the sun and let our damp feet dry off. This is about where Ronni (or maybe Amy) snuck off for her first poop in the woods.
Now they can both call themselves real outdoorswomen.
We passed elk skulls with antlers attached, giant prints, and bear scratches way up in the trees.
Later in the evening, we saw 2 bull elk (living) who observed us for a minute before bounding off.
It was definitely a different experience than with the other elk in the Park who were more comfortable around humans. On our sight-seeing day at the end of our trip, we saw elk nonchalantly eating just inches off the road with cars and people everywhere.
Everyone got a chance to lead the pack and displayed very different paces. We definitely moved slower with Ronni in the lead. Not because of any lack of physical strength on her part. She was slowing us down to look at poop and tracks. That’s my kind of lady! It led to us seeing our first wolf prints!
BJ and Katie set pretty fast paces, but none could compare to Amy. She earned the nickname Princess Fiona since we all suspected that perhaps she couldn’t be out on the trail after dark, or she would turn into an ogre. Hence her urgency.
The reason we found ourselves racing the falling darkness? River crossings...
Back at the ranger station, before setting out, the educational video had mentioned thermal features and river crossings as potential hazards in the backcountry. We had asked if we should anticipate any of those things on our route and the ranger said no.
Well on the first day, we had encountered several (really awesome) thermal features that we were excited to have all to ourselves.
And sure enough on this 3rd day we had at least 6 river crossings that would require us to stop and switch into river shoes, cross, and then stop to put our boots back on to continue hiking.
I say "at least" 6 because there were actually so many that we lost count and couldn't agree on a number.
I didn’t bring river shoes, choosing instead to bring my North Face Camp Booties for warmth rather than sandals. Thankfully Amy has a good arm and was able to throw her Crocs across the river for me to use after she had crossed.
This whole process caused us to slow down considerably. As the sun started to sink, we made the crossings less of a break and started just shoving our damp feet into our boots and marching onward. Under the “encouragement” of Princess Fiona.
I think we were all crossing into Type 2 Fun at this point, although BJ kept our spirits up with song. I contributed a rendition of “Part of Your World” that may have involved some lyric changes to incorporate grizzly bears.
We made it within to within a half mile of our camp when pure darkness fell and a final river crossing made it hard for us to find the trail again on the other side. I bushwhacked through some willows and found our spot. We quickly threw together the 2 tents and got water filtering and Jetboils roiling for dinner.
We were able to have a fire at this location, so Amy and Katie got to work on getting us some comfort after the long day on our feet. We scarfed down our food and then pulled out our ingredients for unique s’mores, the special event of this third day. Diana brought chili powder. I had dark chocolate, chocolate grahams, and strawberries. (My parents taught me this combo that was dubbed a s’moreBerry.) BJ’s Mini Stroopwafels were a hit. But Ronni won best ingredient by carrying 6 Bailey’s shooters for all those miles.
Hanging food at this new location was trickier because the site didn’t have a designated bear pole like the first one did. We found some tree branches that looked strong enough and had enough clearance from the trunk to work. Someone had cleared out the lower branches beneath them, so we figured they had been used before for this purpose.
I warned everyone that the coming night would be our coldest yet, since we were camped right next to the river. I was extra worried for myself because I had broken my Nalgene throwing my pack across a small stream section. The Nalgene was strapped to the outside and made first contact with the rocky shore, with about 50 pounds of pack landing on top of it. All that meant no hot water foot heater for me! Thank goodness Diana had an extra that she graciously let me use for the night. With that and my Sea to Summit Sleeping Bag Liner for added warmth, I was cozy through the night.
(Thanks for BJ for informing me that Nalgene will replace a broken bottle, free of charge. Which they promptly did when I submitted my claim.)
Day 4
In the morning, I woke up and took my customary chug of water from the now cooled Nalgene at my feet… and immediately wanted to spit it out.
The water was strangely and powerfully… minty???
Sure enough, stuck on the lid, completely out of my line of sight all this time, was a wad of Diana’s discarded gum, saved for correct disposal according to Leave No Trace principles. I grimaced and replaced the cap, taking the water to our hanging filter to run through before drinking it again… with disastrous effects. Now all the subsequent water run through that filter tasted distinctly minty. And not really in a pleasant way, more like feeling like you picked up a wad of spit out gum from a hot blacktop parking lot and popped it in your mouth when you were dying of thirst.
With that rude awakening, we began our last day in the wild.
The previous night had in fact been our coldest. Everything was coated with a thin film of frost in the weak morning sunlight.
We moved just a little faster to eat breakfast and break down camp compared to the day before. Now that we knew to fear water crossings, we had looked ahead on the map and found 4 potential spots where we would be delayed on our way out. We did not necessarily want to arrive at the cars at dark, although that would be a better scenario than having to make camp in the dark.
The weather had transitioned from cool and cloudy on our first couple of days to warm and sunny on these last 2 days. This last day was by far the nicest. Although we woke up to frost on the tents and ice in our “clean” water bag, the sun came out strong enough to dry off all of my supplies before they had to be packed away.
We took a group photo modeling our “Mama Bear” shirts that BJ had whipped up for us before heading out.
I’m not sure how others were feeling as they shouldered their packs for that final day in the woods. Maybe they were excited for warm, soft beds and a shower. We had been talking about pizza a lot lately…
But I was mostly just feeling nostalgic, already dreading the end to this perfect adventure.
We walked through a section of forest that was noticeably older than other parts we had passed that had been impacted by a fire. Those newer sections were dense and overcrowded whereas this part was nicely spaced out, sunlight filtering down between the giant trees. I knew those younger sections would mature into something more like this as they grew.
Those potential river crossings we were worried about turned out to be dry stream beds or small creeks that we were able to cross on fallen logs.
Soon enough we found ourselves back along the lake and heading back towards the lollipop stick site where we would retrace our steps out of the valley.
Before we reached that spot, we stopped for lunch and a little basking in the sun on the beach. We laughed at some elk tracks we found just on the edge of the water, joking that his Match profile must say something about enjoying long walks on the beach.
We decided that after 4 days of a “whore’s bath” with baby wipes, this might be the perfect spot for a little refreshing skinny dip. Diana had drifted off to sleep in her hammock and almost missed out, but when she realized she was the only one not going, she came bursting out of the bushes buck naked and dove right in. The rest of us followed, laughing and splashing, then posed for (clothed) photos, grinning ear to ear.
After reluctantly putting our shirts and boots back on, we found more beachy footprints that revealed who else might have enjoyed a little dip in the water that day including otters and a bear!
We were glad that we stopped a little short of the intersection when we were stripping down because we ended up running into several groups on the lollipop stick, heading into the valley. One was a couple who we all felt were in the middle of an argument. The man was super friendly and talkative with us and his lady sat cross armed, facing the other direction, and never said a word. We invented all kinds of explanations for what they might have been fighting about, mostly laying the blame on the woman for being “too hot, too tired, too dirty, too…”
But we’re all adventurous women ourselves and have had spats in the woods with our partners before that had nothing to do with that so who knows.
(See my Backpacking the CDT article for a look into the trail arguments of me and my husband.)
It was nice to revisit some of the same sights on the way out, but this time under a radiant sunny and blue sky rather than in a mist. Heart Lake was pristine, Mt. Sheridan imposing, and the thermal features even more colorful in the brighter light.
It seemed we were all in high spirits at the top of our hike back to the car. We stopped for a photo shoot and a snack. All downhill from here!
But even when the going is downhill, the miles began to wear on us.
We stopped at the same log where we had stopped on our first day for a quick photo and pressed onward.
The sun was certainly sinking while BJ and I tried to think of every little punny thing we could say involving bears…
I BEARLY have any energy left…
BEAR to the right here…
The sun felt great on my BEAR skin today…
A couple members of the group were really dragging at the end of this 40-mile-tough-terrain-with-weighted-packs adventure. Those of us in front eagerly awaited the moment when we could take off the packs and unlace our boots, but we stopped and waited often so they could catch up. Finally, Ronni mentioned slowing down so we could “finish together”.
Yes, we definitely wanted to be able to walk out of that trailhead as the supportive group. Just as we had been for each other this whole time.
And we did!
BJ paused at the sign to replace Palo Escobar, a walking stick she borrowed from that exact spot 4 days earlier. (Palo means “stick” in Spanish.)
We took a lot of “relieved faces” photos…
… and a photo of our feet freed of our boots and feeling foot-loose in our comfy shoes.
Back in Civilization
We drove back to the Ranger Station for more than just a pit toilet and some cell phone service to check in with our partners. There, we bid a tearful farewell to Ronni and Katie who decided to start on their way back to their families in Utah. The rest of us were heading to a cabin in the North East corner of the Park which was the complete opposite direction from their destination. We got a photo later of them enjoying their pizza at a pit stop.
Everyone made a call home once we had service. When I finally did switch my phone off airplane mode, I had an astounding 64 text messages, many of them from the husband’s chat that I was still a part of of since I had started it. Their messages were coming in out of order which made for a really fun game of “figure this mess out” on our drive to our Airbnb.
Basically, John apologized to the other guys for me stealing their wives, but consoled them with the idea that, as the only responsible adult in the house, they were free to feed their children sugary cereal for dinner.
“Responsible adult” needing to be strongly emphasized in air quotes in that sentence.
A follow up message revealed that strategy had backfired on John as Grey was literally bouncing up and down on him and refusing to fall asleep way past his normal bedtime. Amy’s husband, Conner, was planning to binge watch Californication with his 1.5 year old and later sent a picture of the two of them hanging out at a brewery together. BJ’s husband, James, asked for advice about what to do with a sink full of dishes. “Usually they just end up back the cupboards, clean as a whistle, I don’t understand what’s happening!” Ronni’s husband, Aaron, recommended some gasoline and a match to take care of the pile up and then posted a photo of his doe he successfully hunted while we were gone. Jordan was happy to hear that Diana had made it out safe and sound. He had accidentally FaceTimed John and then in the conversation revealed that he was really worried about the mileage we were planning to make each day. On the flip side, when Amy told Conner that was the hardest thing she had ever done, he had to reshape the image in his mind that he had of her and some friends packing some snacks in a bag for a stroll in the woods.
You know, what some people might consider normal for a fun and relaxing “get away from the babies” girls’ trip.
We were glad to hear our families were at least surviving without us, yet still looked forward to the last days of our trip before we would have to pick back up that caregiver mantle again.
We grabbed pizza from Dominoes and chowed down at our cute cabin just outside of the Park boundaries. Amy and I had grand ambitions of catching up on some episodes of The Morning Show that we were obsessed with, but took our turn in the shower and conked out instead.
Sight-Seeing Day
We set alarms since we didn’t want to entirely sleep the day away, grabbed some McDonald’s breakfast, and drove back into the Park for our day of standard tourist sightseeing. Some of the girls hadn’t been to Yellowstone at all before. The ones that had were children the last time they were there. It would have been a shame to spend all that time there and say they had missed out on Old Faithful.
We stopped at pretty much every thermal feature along the way, thoroughly enjoying the colors and the sounds and the smells of these perhaps less appreciated wonders.
We saw a lone bison on the side of the road and took pictures from a respectful distance until more people arrived and ruined the moment by being Too Close Tourists (coined by BJ). We drove away with eyes rolling, secretly hoping someone was going to get gored.
BJ and I were belting out Blake Shelton’s “Ol’ Red” when we pulled into the parking lot and didn’t move to exit the vehicle until we had finished the song.
We walked up to Old Faithful just in time to see some excited jogging towards and shuffling around the viewing area. Sure enough we got to a spot just in time for the big show. It was awesome as always, still wow-ing even though this was probably my 5th time seeing it.
Perhaps my favorite part of the whole experience is at the tail-end. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people, speaking dozens of different languages and hailing from far off lands, all celebrate the moment with a round of applause. Every. Single. Time.
As we were walking up, I was mentioning to the others how I’ve learned to try to be upwind of the geyser so that you can actually see the projecting water, instead of merely the wave of steam and mist being blown off of it. We were not really in the best spot for that particular display, but we had plans to kill time looking at the other pools and geysers in the area and see a second eruption anyway.
Beehive Geyser was going off right after Old Faithful, but we were too far away to make a run for it and enjoyed it from afar.
We did still get to take in the colorful pools and a few geysers bubbling and burning just off the boardwalks.
At the risk of including too many videos of burbling water... enjoy!
The geyser below was dubbed the “sexiest” geyser by Diana… Perhaps inspired by its name…???
As we meandered around, it gave us the perfect opportunity to scope out the ideal spot for viewing the next Old Faithful performance. We ended up running from the far end of the boardwalks as the minutes were creeping towards the predicted time. (Cause, ya know, while we had just hiked 40 miles with huge packs for the last several days, what we really needed was a good ol’ jog!) We were in place with time to spare, getting to know the people who sat down next to us. Two older ladies who had been friends forever were taking their annual trip together. One of them remembered that she had first seen a picture of Old Faithful in a book in 2nd Grade in North Carolina and had vowed that she would see it in person someday.
And here she was, perhaps 60 years later, completing that promise to her younger self. I was reminded how fortunate I was to be seeing it now for my 6th time.
Running a little behind schedule just added to the suspense and excitement and boy was it worth it once it happened. I filmed over a minute of it and still had plenty of time to put down my camera and just enjoy it.
One of our new friends to our left said “now that’s a great eruption” to which Diana responded, none too quietly, “that’s what she said!” There was the briefest moment of awkward silence as I worried what these older women might think of a comment like that, but they guffawed and exclaimed that now when they looked at these pictures, they would be remembering that!
BJ was very disappointed to discover that it is actually written OLD Faithful rather than the shortened Ol’ Faithful she feels like she heard all her life. So in all our photos with the sign on our way out, she is “faithfully” covering the D.
We made a quick stop at the Visitor Center for some souvenirs. I got Grey the Goodnight Yellowstone book.
Then we continued on our way to the Grand Prismatic Spring.
The first time I had visited Yellowstone, the trail to Fairy Falls was under construction and closed to visitors. Since then, I had not had the opportunity to go on that particular hike. I had always wanted to return and see the Grand Prismatic from that higher viewpoint to really see all the colors. It was not too cold, so there was not an obscuring blanket of steam. The colors did not disappoint.
However, we were starting to feel the drag of touring with other tourists rather than on our own in the backcountry. We felt like we had to wait our turn for a chance to take our photo in front of the viewpoint and then defend that spot while we swapped out before it got overrun with other people. Even my photo was marred by people who didn’t mind getting into my shot to get theirs. Another version of Too Close Tourists.
I turned us around to head back to the parking lot, planning to stop at the ground level board walk of the Grand Prismatic next. I didn’t realize that some other members of the group were expecting to carry on to see the falls and I regret not going there myself. I think I was just under the impression that we had done a lot of hiking already and Diana had a wicked blister that was killing her and we would already be racing sunset to get around the loop before dark. I suppose I do always like to leave something to bring me back again on my trips, so Fairy Falls is it for this Yellowstone visit.
We spotted another lone bison near the entrance to the trail. I stopped to attempt to film him multiple times. Every time I turned the camera on, he dropped his head down into the tall grass to feed, so I wasn’t getting the shot I wanted. Finally he cooperated. (Please forgive my shaky filming.)
The pools and bacterial mats at the Grand Prismatic seemed like they were much drier than in the past when I had visited. Here’s a photo of the Excelsior Geyser Pool from a different trip I took in August of 2021. Now, 2 years later, it was all but dry.
I hope this isn’t a sign that the spring itself is drying out. I do understand that these features are not man made and not controlled by plumbing or anything like that, but it would still be sad to not be able to show my son these wonders when he is older. Nature will play its course with the Spring and Old Faithful and all the countless other pools and geysers that go through periods of drying and filling.
It all cycles across eons too vast for this mere human to comprehend or control.
The ripples and colors in the bacteria mats were still epic to see before we raced off to Yellowstone Falls. (We attempted to spell Yellowstone with our shadows, but with 4 people we didn’t make it very far…)
I had never stopped at the Upper Falls viewpoint on the South Rim before and that was a cool angle. (Some ravens in that parking lot were happy to hop over as I desperately tried to shake loose some cheese pieces that had fell in the most unfortunate spot right on my crotch and were partially melted into my yoga pants. That’s what I get for eating while driving.)
But my favorite spot is Artist Point and that’s where we ended up watching the sun set over the Falls. (Someday I vow to get there for the morning shot with the sun on the Falls. It has yet to happen for me, I’m always there for the sunset.)
We made a quick stop to the Mud Volcano area. Ronni had shared an idea of turning our adventure into a bedtime story for her son which would have been made even better with the addition of the dragon from inside the Dragon’s Mouth Cave there. I just cannot believe all those sounds come from simply the movement of water. It’s hard to hear over the sound of the waves in the video below, but there are some deep rumbling sounds that are surely from a real dragon who lives in there.
And who doesn't love the nice satisfying "pop" of a nice, thick, mud bubble?
In that perfect wildlife spotting light between sunset and darkness, we saw a bunch of bison along the sides of the roads. The group had just finished complimenting my Tour Guide Barbie skills, perfectly timing all our various stops throughout the day. Right after that, we rounded a bend to find 2 swans swimming along in the river nearby.
“See?!” said BJ. “You even cued these swans to be here so perfectly!”
“Ya,” I responded. “But I’m going to have to cut their pay because they were supposed to have their necks in that classic heart shape when we saw them.”
It was a Mexican restaurant for dinner and then back to the cabin for Talent Show Night.
We had already seen Ronni and Katie’s dance (enhanced by the glow tape) but the rest of us still needed to share our talents.
BJ was practically bursting to give us stickers that she had made, in addition to the shirts and chap stick (named BJ lips) that she had already given us. The stickers were in the same colors and style as the traditional National Parks posters and magnets, featuring the slogan, “Friends Don’t Use Friends As Bear Bait”.
Diana belted out a rendition of a song she sang in a high school play (an Egyptian version of the Romeo and Juliet tale), even climbing up to the cabin’s loft area for added effect. It was worthy of any Broadway stage.
Amy led us through a miniature watercolor painting class, creating a foggy forest scene that was reminiscent of that first day hiking into our trail. She is now commissioned to redesign the Rae Around the World website logo… coming soon!
I had frantically been scratching notes on some slips of paper throughout our trip and threw them together at the last second into a story about 6 Mama Bears going on an adventure into the woods together. It featured all of the memorable quotes from the trip as well as each woman’s strengths and assets to the group. I’m happy to say there were some misty eyes when I was done reading.
On the Way Home
Our drive home passed in a blur, singing songs and playing another one of Amy’s single child road trip games. A word game about 2 things you would take camping. Somehow after 7 days together, we still had plenty to talk about and continued to learn about and admire each other.
I got to see Diana and Amy reunited with their little ones and was looking forward to seeing Grey the next day when I would fly into Salt Lake. John had gone there towards the end of our trip to spend some time with his family who could also help out with Grey while he was working.
In Reflection
For myself, I can hands down say this was the best trip I have EVER been on. I try not to go on and on too much in front of people who couldn’t make the trip, but I probably can’t help it. Often when hanging out with some of our friends, it seems like John and I are the only ones with stories of adventures to tell. On this particular trip, I was often the silent one, listening to the other women relate their recent experiences and adding a dozen things to my Bucket List.
From conversations during and after the trip, it sounds like everyone had a wonderful and memorable trip. John continues to ask my friends how the trip was when I’m in the other room, perhaps probing for the “real story”. He probably envisions me skipping 100 yards in front of the group, whistling, while they are dragging behind me, miserable. Thankfully, all of the girls have assured him that they had a good time, too.
In fact, it was on this trip that BJ identified that the fun scale was missing a level. The usual starting place is called “Type 1” fun, meaning that you are having a regular good ol’ time. But! We felt like most of this trip fell into what BJ called “Type O” fun, the Original Fun. This was an experience that was great in the moment BUT WOULD BE EVEN BETTER reminiscing about it later.
The group is currently prepping for a May rim to rim TO RIM hike of the Grand Canyon as our reunion trip. Stay tuned and subscribe for updates when I write that article!
The Gear
Here’s the laundry list of stuff that got us through this adventure. Links provided will take you to Amazon to purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. There won’t be a link provided if I can’t find the item on Amazon. Check back often as I plan to partner with more sellers soon! Anything linked here is something that I actually own and used on this trip, unless otherwise noted. There are some rare instances where a product is no longer being manufactured, but I found an equivalent product by the same company.
Rae's Gear
The Big Stuff!
Nicknamed Monster Blue from my thru-hike on the Colorado Trail, my Deuter Women’s Aircontact Backpack carried it all.
My Black Diamond Trekking Poles which are ADJUSTABLE (You might be wondering why it should matter if the poles are adjustable, since you choose the size that fits your height. Well! In Colorado, usually the trails are straight up on your way in and straight down on the way out. Or even on thru-hikes like this one, you are going predominately one direction for a while. It’s nice to be able to drop your pole height a little when powering up steep and especially rocky areas. That way you don’t have to lift your arms as high. That probably sounds like it would be such a small and pathetic difference, but it matters when are covering miles. Then on the downhill, you lengthen your poles slightly so they catch you faster.)
3L Water Bladder from Camelbak (I wish it was easier to refill and had a bigger opening for drying out. Plus the nozzle on this one is always filthy as it drags through the dust when I set the pack down, no included cap. I got this New 3L Bladder that is easier to clean and dry. It has a cap for the nozzle that keeps it clean.)
Big Agnes Manzanares 3 Person Tent (This is an older model that is no longer available. Both the Big Agnes Copper Spur 3 person tent and Big Agnes Black Tail 3 person tent seem comparable. Our tent has the MTNGlow lights included in it. This seems so superfluous, but I love them and would highly recommend purchasing a tent with this already attached.)
Big Agnes Roxy Ann 15 degree bag (This link will take you to a 3-in-1 sleep system that is the new model from Big Agnes. I just have the original sleeping bags without the extra outer bag. Mine zips together with the Big Agnes Lost Ranger that John has for snuggly camp bed.)
Sea to Summit Inflatable Pillow
Garmin inReach Mini (I include this under the “big things”, even though it is small, because it plays a big role in a backpacking plan. John got this for me in 2019 for the trail and I have used it a ton since. It has been dropped and crushed and soaked in water with no damage. The battery life is amazing, it will last for months if you’re not really using it and be ready in an emergency. I can’t say enough good things about having this as a peace of mind for anyone who leaves concrete and cell phone service far behind.)
The Clothes!
REI brand women’s zip off hiking pants (2)
Beanie
Seirus Gloves (I love these gloves! I’ve had them for 5 years now and they have held up through countless outings. I take them on every backpacking trip, every 14er summit, every cross country ski trip, and use them for a dozen other little things in between. They aren’t bulky at all, I have lots of dexterity with them on. They are the perfect thickness to provide warmth but not overheat while being active.)
Sunday Afternoons Ultra-Adventure Hat
Avia Sports Bra (2)
2 short sleeve and 2 long sleeve shirts that are light, breathable, and good sun protection (I was wearing the All in Motion brand, can’t find on Amazon.)
1 pair of underwear per day
REI brand wool base layer top and bottoms for PJs
North Face Camp Booties (My cousin Sarrah got these for me for Christmas one year. I wear them pretty much daily, 9 months out of the year. They are warm, not sloppy at all, and (the best part in my opinion) have real soles with traction! I’ve been seen in them just quickly taking out the trash or spending an hour shoveling thick, wet snow. They have been with me on every backpacking trip and to every campfire since I’ve got them.)
The Little Things!
Kindle (I never even got a chance to read, we were having too much fun.)
Knockaround Running Sunglasses for Women
Sawyer Bug Lotion (Really works, lasts forever with one application, and very low odor. I only had the lotion version, so I brought the spray below for using when bugs were trying to get through my thin clothes.)
Herbal Armor Bug Spray (Also REALLY works, despite being DEET free, which usually makes me suspicious. This is what John drove 2 hours to bring me on the trail back in 2019. I’m probably still using the same bottle because a little goes a long way, you don’t have to keep reapplying it.)
Platypus Hanging 4L Water Filter
Toothbrush and Toothpaste (I leave behind my more delicate Philips Sonicare and bring the cheap ones you get for free at the dentist.)
Battery Pack and Cell Phone Chargers
Hand Sanitizer
Kula Cloth
Deuce Poop Trowel (yes, it is really called that…)
Cell Phones
Trash Bags
Emergency Kit- Always make your own, don’t just buy one at the store and throw it in your pack.
Aquatabs Water Purification Tablets
AAA Batteries (replacements for the headlamps)
Hothands Body Warmers (stick-on)
Fast Fire Cubes (couldn’t find on Amazon)
The Food!
Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry Dehydrated Meals (Faves are Biscuits and Gravy from MH and Three Cheese Mac and Cheese from BP. I brought 1 for breakfast and dinner each day. I packed 1 extra just in case and didn’t use it.)
For lunch I brought Tuna Kits and tortilla wraps with peanut butter and honey.
Snacks: beef jerkey, cashews, dried fruit (no sugar added)
S’mores supplies: regular and chocolate graham crackers, milk and dark chocolate Hershey bars, marshmallows, strawberries.
BJ's Gear
Women’s Backpack – Gregory Deva 70
Amy's Gear
Diana's Gear
Salomon Women’s X Ultra 3 MID GTX W Hiking Boots
64 oz Nalgene
REI Co-op Trailmade Rain Pants – Women’s
Smartwool base layers and tshirt
Big Agnes – Insulated Q-Core SLX Sleeping Pad
BJ Lips
Crunchi mineral sunscreen sunlight SPF 30
Primally pure soothing cream
REI Co-op Magma 850 Down Hoddie – Women’s
REI Co-op Lightweight Compression Stuff Sack – 10 L and 20 L
REI Co-op Trailmade Pants – Women’s Color: COPPER CLAY
Nuun tabs sugar free – electrolytes
Additional Reading
Rim to Rim to Rim of the Grand Canyon (Part 2 of the Mama Bears Saga)- Coming soon! Subscribe for updates when new content is released!
Backpacking 40 Miles of the CDT… Baby on Board!
Thru-Hiking the Colorado Trail- Coming soon! Subscribe for updates when new content is released!
Links provided will take you to Amazon to purchase. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Anything linked here is something that I actually own and used on this adventure, unless otherwise noted.