Ribbon Lake

My First Waterfall

Enter my third day in a row on my first camping trip ever.

You can read about the day leading to this one, here.

The day before when we got our second permit we also booked our 3rd campsite while in Canyon Village. The weather for that day showed we would catch some precipitation it just depended on when we would get to the trailhead. Ribbon Lake Trail was a 4.1 mile out and back, with 500′ elevation gain. We sat in the car at Artist Point parking lot waiting for the rain to pass, if it ever would. After about a half hours there was a clearing before it became real dark and grey, so we took our chance and packed up quick. It may have been our shortest hike of the trip and the view was unbelievable. The trail started on the edge of the Yellowstone Canyon so we weren’t moving fast as we stopped every 50 feet to look down the Canyon.

One glance over our shoulder and that grey sky was closing in fast. At that point it was understood we had to move, but we weren’t fast enough. Somewhere along the trail we stopped near a pond, got out the tarp and stood under it with all our shit to keep dry as it would more or less hail down on us. We stood there contemplating to wait or carry on.

We both tried to walk under this fucking tarp side by side down a one person trail. I had enough of that after 10 minutes and opted out from the tarp. I led while my friend dragged that tarp draped over him for another mile or so.

At the end of the trail approaching the lake the decline was steep. We seemed to drop off fast and knew the next morning would suck ass, but that was a problem for tomorrow. Again I can’t explain the relief when you can finally settle down at the end of a day with out driving or hiking. Nestled next to Ribbon Lake this campsite was warmer than the others.

I realized I fell into a routine once we reached the campsite. Set up the tent, string the bear pole, explore the area and start a fire. Another eventful night of boiling lake water into pots of coffee, frying some summer sausage, building the biggest fire we could make and smoking cigarettes. At this point my digestive system had been backed up for two days, which I was fine with. Somehow over these four days Luke always managed to find a bathroom, he never had to deal with my rare circumstances.

It was only my third day out in the wilderness and it made its impact. The hiking a few miles a day was good for the body, as well as the natural sleep cycle. We could have a fire for hours and still be dead asleep by 9PM in pitch black darkness. The solitude was good for the mind. You want to clear your head, try being surrounded by nothing but nature as far as the eye can see. If you take a moment to think about how the world we live in today functions, you might realize people are addicted to their smart phones. You take that away for any given period of time and you have two possible reactions; anxiety or freedom.

Focus on basic human survival. Allow yourself to explore new environments. A simple saying, live in the moment.

What a week it had been, we had to have driven 1,800 miles from Saturday night and it was only Wednesday. Everyday something completely new; new sights, new energy, new struggles and new adventures. Travel to your destination, eat food to stay alive, forge shelter. Aside from that I understand why people fall in love with nature, it is pure bliss from worldly distractions. Some of my earliest days where I found absolute peace of mind.

Animal update: we still hadn’t seen a thing on any of our hikes, but we had seen animals. Along our drives from village to village we would see a bison on the side of the road 10 miles off in the distance, every now and then a few hundred yards from the road. As a matter of fact the first animal we saw was a bear halfway up a hill. We only pulled over because there were cars and lines of people taking pictures on the side of the road with Rangers controlling the area. Not the bear in the open wilderness I exactly wanted but cool nonetheless. We saw a mob of deer occasionally and one coyote eating a snack 100 yards off the road but that was about it.

The next day we hiked out both of my Achilles tendons were pulsing. As expected the initial hike up from the lake was rough on the legs but worth it to make it back along the river. At one point we took a legitimate smoke break near the edge and dared to climb closer. Camera in hand I took a few shots while my hands would get clammy knowing I was one slip away from one gnarly fall.

An iconic image of Yellowstone was the last memory from this hike. The first waterfall I had physically seen in my life? I am 80% sure. I would have liked to be closer but I had other thoughts brewing as to where we were going to stay tonight. Our trip wasn’t over yet.

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