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Backpacker Magazine – November 2009
National Parks Hall of Fame: Best Wildlife
Who ever said out of sight, out of mind was certainly not referring to the wealth of wildlife that are making some big noise in Thorofare Valley.
Thorofare Valley, Yellowstone, WY/MT (Ken Archer)
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Thorofare Valley, Yellowstone, WY/MT
Wildlife viewing is never a sure thing, even in the heart of one of the last remaining intact ecosystems in the United States. Wildlife hearing, on the other hand? That's a slam dunk. Just set up camp in the isolated Thorofare and Two Ocean Plateau areas at the south end of Yellowstone Lake and pipe down. Bald eagles squeal overhead, loons warble, elk yodel, and howls from members of the Yellowstone Delta wolf pack fill the night.
Only the moose and grizzlies won't be heard–unless they're crashing through the forest next to your camp. "You'll hear things around that lake you won't hear in any other area of the park," says Orville Bach, a seasonal ranger at Yellowstone for 36 years. The 20-mile trek begins on East Entrance Road. Tip: Camp at hiker-only Upper Ford (6B2), right in the thick of the Thorofare's wildlife corridor. Make it a thru-hike by continuing west on Trail Creek Trail; pass Heart Lake and finish at South Entrance Road. No time for a 40-miler? Visit wildlife-rich Swan Lake Flat on a hike to Electric Peak (10.3 miles one-way, start at Glen Creek trailhead).
Essentials
Season July 15 to October
Permits Required
Map Earthwalk Press Yellowstone National Park ($10, boredfeet.com)
Contact (307) 344-2160, nps.gov/yell
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READERS COMMENTS
Haven't seen Denali. But best backpacking for wildlife *seeing* in the lowest 48 isn't Yellowstone. Clue: no designated campgrounds in this national park.
Posted: Nov 12, 2011 bob
Haven't seen Denali. But best backpacking for wildlife *seeing* in the lowest 48 isn't Yellowstone. Clue: no designated campgrounds in this national park.
Posted: Nov 12, 2011 bob
My pick would be Denali in late August. The crowds are gone, and so are the mosquitoes. In one of many trips to this park I witnessed a mother grizzly w/ 3 cubs, a herd of caribou, a porcupine, beaver, a lone wolf, a ptarmigan, 13 Dall sheep rams on Mt Healy and woke one morning to a huge migration of sandhill cranes flying overhead. They don't call Denali the Serengeti of North America for nothing.
But, my close second would be Yellowstone.
Posted: Dec 12, 2009 Nor Eldridge
Did this hike mid sept, 08 (the week of the bank meltdown). Started with a boat shuttle to columbine creek (last day of the service for the year). Made it all the way down to Bridger Lake, than returned by way of eagle pass in the shoshone. Saw 5 hikers; 2 rangers in the park for 5 days. Hunting group of 36 horses, 5 outfitters and 8 city slickers drooling about the prospect of killing animals on our last day. After buying your issue on taking sides in the prez race and reading about how your readership feels about weapons use and protecting the hunter, it was with deep sadness that I divorced with Backpacker! I for one, would be willing to subsidize the outfitting industry, so hunting would be abolished. This would've been one of the best hiking treks I have ever done if it wasn't for this aberration of nature. Even with areas of intense fire damage, the THOROFARE, is as close as modern day Americans get to walking in the footsteps of John Colter, jim Bridger, et al from the 1830's. Bison, Moose, Golden eagles, cranes, wolves (at Nite) and Grizzly tracks and probable near misses were all part of this memorable adventure!
Posted: Dec 10, 2009 Roman Barczynski
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