Winter Planning: How to get to Yellowstone Nat'l Park from far away

As the new year comes in, alot of us are probably thinking about our goals for the year. And, somebody out there might be thinking about finally getting out the Yellowstone National Park for that once-in-a-lifetime fishing trip they've always dreamed about.

Here is an excerpt out of the "Yellowstone's Backcountry Cutthroats" about how to get to Yellowstone National Park if you can't just drive in a couple of hours. If you're thinking about that trip for this summer, now is the time to start looking at airfares to save money.

If you like this portion, you can get the whole book on Kindle or Amazon.com for a hard-copy.

*************************************************

Get To The Trailhead

Getting to your trailhead is not as straight-forward as you might think. Obviously, you can get in a car at your home and drive straight there. But, some people fly into area airports and rent a car from there. You could also drive to a gate city and get a shuttle for out-and-back trips, loop trips, or for trips that have different start and end trailheads.

The biggest issue with planning your arrival at the trailhead is the amount of time it takes to get through the park. The speed limit is 45mph on the roads, so that is significantly slower than 75mph on an interstate. Then there are the bear-jams, which are traffic jams caused by people stopping on the side of the and walking in the middle of the road so they can see a bear, wolf, and the elk. You might also get “stuck” behind a massive RV travelling 35mph.

At night, you should plan on driving only 35mph because most other drivers will be driving that speed, and it’s probably a smart thing to do so you don’t hit an elk on the road, which will definitely ruin your trip (at best). Driving slowly should also be considered as a respect to the wildlife, such as your chances of hitting one and killing it are reduced if you’re driving more slowly.

You can fly into an airport and rent a car. Salt Lake City is the closest hub airport, and Jackson, WY and West Yellowstone, MT are the closest airports. Jackson airport is about forty-five minutes from the south entrance, and West Yellowstone is right next to the west entrance. Both end up adding about $200-$300 onto the overall price of a flight, but depending on your specific situation, it might be worth it to fly into those cities instead of Salt Lake.

I have not flown to Yellowstone National Park because I live a 2.5 hour drive from West Yellowstone. Considering the amount of time it takes to drive from an airport to the park, you’re probably better off driving to the park in your own car if you are less than ten hours away.

Considering the time it takes to get to your own airport, get through security, wait for your plane, fly, and then get your rental car and then drive the four hours to the park…..well, you can see that that’s already about eight hours of your time. Having your own vehicle provides much more flexibility for you during your trip, including seeing a few other National Parks or fishing areas on a bigger summer trip. You might want to stay longer or have to go home. Logistics can be expensive if not done right and done without consideration for flexibility.

You could also get a car shuttle from one of the various providers in the area. I don’t provide a list of the providers because it seems they always come and go each year. Your best bet is to search the internet. In four years, I have not successfully coordinated a shuttle service, except one.

The shuttle service I was successful with is a great service at the Lake Marina that can shuttle you and your canoes to Promitory Point, making a trip to the upper Yellowstone River (above the lake) feasible in one day going in and only one day going out instead of a minimum of two days getting in and two days getting out. It’s a bit expensive, but if you want to be in the area that is known as the area in Continental U.S. that is farthest from any road, it works very well.

There is no basic bus service inside the park. If you’ve been to Yosemite or Zion National Parks and loved the bus system, you should be sorely disappointed that kind of bus service is not available in Yellowstone. There are many tour busses, but no shuttle busses.

Ten things to look for in a point-and-shoot camera for the backcountry

If you're wondering what kind of camera you need to capture an active lifestyle, this is what you are looking for.

These are a few features to look for in a good point and shoot camera that you'll take along on your active lifestyle, year-round, all-climate adventures.

1. Drop-rated: Many of these new point and shoot cameras are rated for 10-foot drops. With kids who want to play with it, a drop-rating is an absolute must, and ten feet seems reasonable. Oh yeah....it's not just the kids who will be dropping it, right?!?!

2. Waterproof: I wanted waterproof because we love to be by the water, whether it's fishing or the pool. Standard waterproof-ness goes to 30 feet these days. You probably don't need more. And don't go for a camera that uses a case...why? because the case can break and then you have to buy another case. I personally think that the seals and such in a waterproof camera body will outlast the external case...I've had two Sony cameras that attest to the non-durability of an external case.

3. 1080 video: yes, you need 1080 video capability going into 2013 and beyond. 720 is not good enough anymore because of the playback on the big screen televisions. Don't go cheap on this! Get the 1080.

4. GPS: do you really need GPS? Probably not. I wouldn't be too concerned about this unless you are already using this feature.

5. WiFi capability: This is something I don't use currently but think I would if I was to get a new camera. It really is a kind of a pain to take out the memory card and put it in the computer every time I want to get my pictures on the computer.  And then how many times have I left the card in the computer?  Get this if you can, but it shouldn't over-ride any other features.

6. Moving parts: I like to minimize the number of moving parts in any gear that will be used alot in relatively harsh conditions. Every time you drop the camera, moving parts become less apt to move as needed.  Specifically, I don't like a shutter and lense that moves in an out every time you turn the camera on or off.

7. Battery adaptability: I say "adaptability because I don't really have a good word for the flexibility of a battery. You should be able to buy inexpensive replacement batteries and rechargers. The battery should be able to be quickly recharged. You should be able to recharge that battery somehow with a solar-charging device you might already have.  The battery should be rated to work well in the cold, too, although not many batteries do well in the cold anyway.

8. Ease of Handling / One-hand operations: the camera should fit in your hand nicely, have a nice grip to it, and be able to be be turned on on/off and zoomed with just one hand, preferably with gloves on. You should be able to have a strap attached to it, too.

9.  Function and Review options: You should be able to review a shot quickly and easily. This function gets into the handling and such, but it is also all about the software being intuitive and able to run through things quickly. You don't want to be sitting there on a cold, windy ridgeline trying to remember all the menu options.....you should be able to do things quickly with cold hands that have gloves on them.

10. Megapixels: You should get no less than 10 megapixels. I base this on the ability to print a nice 8x10 photograph. Sometimes you get really lucky with a point and shoot, and you get an awesome pic that you want to blow up. I've done a good 24x36 print with my 12.1 megapixel, but there is just a little bit of distortion visible to a regular guy.

*************************************

This is the camera I have now. It works pretty well for everything I need. I can use it with gloves easily, too!  It's about three years old now, and the only thing I wish it had is 1080 video; the 720 is what was available when I bought.

Canon PowerShot D10 12.1 MP Waterproof Digital Camera with 3x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom and 2.5-Inch LCD by Canon

• $299.00 $279.99
• Order in the next 35 hours and get it by Monday, Dec 31.
• Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
• More Buying Choices
• $274.38 new (7 offers)
• $184.51 used (4 offers)

• (643)
• Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping.
• See newer model of this item
• Trade in this item for an Amazon.com Gift Card
• Electronics: See all 2,918 items

These are the cameras I would probably buy today if I had to (luckily I don't have to. The Canon above is going strong!).

 Canon PowerShot D20 12.1 MP CMOS Waterproof Digital Camera with 5x Image Stabilized Zoom 28mm Wide-Angle Lens a 3.0-Inch LCD and GPS Tracking (Blue) by Canon

• $349.00 $289.00
• Order in the next 38 hours and get it by Monday, Dec 31.
• More Buying Choices
• $289.00 new (20 offers)
• $265.00 used (4 offers)

• (86)
• Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping and 1 more promotion 
• Electronics: See all 2,918 items

 Nikon COOLPIX AW100 16 MP CMOS Waterproof Digital Camera with GPS and Full HD 1080p Video (Orange) by Nikon

• $379.00 Click for product details
• Order in the next 38 hours and get it by Monday, Dec 31.
• More Buying Choices
• $209.00 used & new (29 offers)

• (364)
• #1 Best Seller  in Underwater Photography Cameras
• Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping and 1 more promotion 
• Trade in this item for an Amazon.com Gift Card
• Electronics: See all 16,176 items

Cool Art:Brian Murphy Artwerkz

I was cruising through some fly-fishing magazines online recently, and I saw some REALLY COOL art that I wanted to pass on to others.

I found Brian Murphy in MontanFlyFishingMagazine.com online magazine.

His art makes me put thoughts into the minds of the fish. I just think it's really cool. Take a look! I haven't asked if I can post some of his art here, so I'll just give you the link to his art.

http://brianmurphymt.com/artwerx.html

How To Get Your Toddlers Into the Backcountry

Ten years ago, my wife and I often went on long backcountry hiking trips with just some quickie planning. These days with 3 1/2 year old and 16 month old boys, we do more quickie trips with long planning time.  When I first started fly-fishing in the backcountry areas of Yellowstone National Park and the Sawtooths of Idaho, I could basically just tell my wife the when’s, who’s, and how’s of a trip and be on my way to paradise. That freedom has turned into clearing everyone’s schedules of many different other who’s and when’s to make clearance for us (on a side-note, the second or third Saturday in September is always reserved for some Lamar River action! And nothing can remove that day).

So, here we are trying to figure out how to get back into fun and fishing in the backcountry, or as close as possible to it, now that one of the kids can walk a few a couple miles each way. Our quickie-trips are generally a half-day scheduled around nap time, and the extended planning effort requires diapers, multiple snacks, safety considerations, and a couple of toys if we’re feeling energetic enough to carry them. The focus of effort is generally keeping the boys happy rather than hoping the fish take some fake food, but that’s how it is as parents of toddlers.

I’ve searched the Yellowstone maps for a place a couple miles off the road to provide some quiet from the road while also providing a safe place for the kids to play. The Lamar River about 200 yards upstream from its confluence with the Yellowstone River provides a two mile hike that the 3 ½ year-old can make on his own, a large gravel bar that provides some sand and many rocks for throwing, and a plethora of nice fishing holes in the immediate vicinity. Perfect!

I have a life-vest for the older boy, but I just can’t get myself to even make him put it on. I would rather watch over him like a hawk than squash his personal movement freedom with the life-vest. If we were rock-hopping and such along steep banks, it would certainly be different. As it is, the ground is flat, the water is barely-moving and shallow next to the gravel bar, and his Mom is there to watch like a hawk. All he wants to do is throw rocks and splash in knee-deep water, and at this location he can do that with the endless rocks and great little pool of water.

The 16-month old is easier in some ways but harder in others. We have to carry him into the location using a baby-backpack (we use the Deuter Kid Comfort III…absolutely awesome and worth the high-price; it has lots of storage).  He’s about thirty pounds, so I get to carry him while his Mom carries the fishing gear and other stuff. Once at our location, he mostly sat in the sand and played with a little plastic rake. He can’t maneuver very well over the rocks yet, and that is mostly a good thing. 

When nap time rolled around, we put him on a little blanket we brought, and give a bottle of milk we kept cold in an insulated cooler made just for that type of thing (all you dads, take a look at baby gear to repurpose for your own needs, too!). We forgot the small shade-tent, but the canyon walls and some trees provided plenty of shade up on the banks of the river. He didn’t take a nap, though! So, we had reverted to Plan B and left for the trailhead before he got really cranky; he was asleep in the backpack before I took ten steps!

I almost forgot! I got a good two hours of fishing in, too! I went mostly up-river, but there were plenty of pockets in both directions. The catching wasn’t very good, but I got looks on nearly every fly…..my prep time was spent planning for the kids rather than researching what flies the fish would be looking for. Anyway, for me, half the fun is just getting the fish to say “yes” or “no” to the fly, and I was getting that answer as I watched them swim away.  It was a bit frustrating, but it beat walking the boardwalks with the crowds at Old Faithful.

Here are a few of the things to think about when you are setting up your trip to the backcountry with toddlers.

1.       Recon

-          Look at the maps for possible locations,

-          Visit the areas in person to look at safety factors and the trail to the site.

-          Look at the area in Google Earth, realizing that water depths are probably different. Check river conditions on USGS water gauges (http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis )

2.       Safety

-          You MUST have a water-safety plan of some sort: life-vests, always-in reach, small water, etc. Don’t under-estimate the dangers of the stream. These are little kids who don’t know better.

-          Consider the impacts of bear country. Follow the rules exactly, and all adults should have bear spray. Teach the kids not to run as a basic backcountry safety principle, but vitally important in a bear situation.

-          Check the weather before you go for heat, thunderstorms, rain, wind, etc.

-          Sunscreen your kids. If you forget it, go back and get it. That goes for bug spray, too.

-          Take a shade-tent and a ground-cloth or blanket for protection from elements.

-          Have plenty of water. Take a filter to make sure you don’t run out.

-          Keep the distance short. Tired kids trip and hit their heads on rocks; beyond the health issue, if the kids get hurt, they probably won’t want to go back.

-          Take a first-aid kit with a small ice-pack for any bumps and bruises.

-          Continuously ask yourself “How could my kids get hurt, and how will WE deal with it?” There’s no 911 in the backcountry.

3.       Plan For Fun

-          If they are old enough, this might be the perfect time to teach your kids to fish!

-          Boys love throwing rocks and playing in sand. Make that a priority.

-          Take some familiar toys with you (yes, jam them in your pack, it’s worth it!).

4.       Kid Care Items

-          Snacks are almost as important as all the safety factors. Take a variety and enough for lunch.

-          You CAN take real milk. Put it in a basic lunch drink cooler.

-          Have a nap plan.

-          Dress your kids for the environment: shoes, shirt, pants vs shorts, hat, etc.(rain gear?!)

-          Don’t forget diapers/wipes/ etal. Remember a bag for the messy diapers (pack it out!).

We had about four awesome peaceful hours in the near-backcountry on this trip, including the excitement of a coyote following us quite closely, the constant sound of the river with no road-noise, and the opportunities to see wildlife up close. Our oldest boy walked the entire way, which is really awesome (insert proud Dad grin here!), and the youngest definitely wore himself out for the day. And Dad got to fish while Mom stayed mostly happy; I say “mostly” because she got to fish for only about fifteen minutes. 

Absolutely most importantly, we are building the foundation of a love for the backcountry that I so deeply hope turns into future long backcountry trips with quickie planning.

A quick look at fly-fishing books from 2012

I was curious to see what kind of books were published on fly-fishing in 2012. So I did a quick search on Amazon, and below is a list of the books that were in the top four pages. The only criteria I used in the search on Amazon was "fly-fishing 2012." I got some other stuff like calendars and such, but these are the books I got. To make the list below, they had to be a book published in 2012 and nothing else. There were several more books published in 2012, but I took only the books from the first four pages of the search results.....sorry if that didn't include you....feel free to add more in the comments section!

I haven't had any time to read this year, and I haven't read these. I'm just putting them out there for your viewing pleasure.

Full Disclosure: I don't make any money off the links.  

It aint fishing but it's backcountry!

Get OUTSIDE and break that cabin fever! Ski or snowshoe...whatever. 

I LOVE yurts! The Idaho State University Yurts are a favorite thing about living in southeast Idaho.

The yurts near Boise are open again after some intergovernmental agency bickering.

The Idaho Statesman : Yurts are now open for business

Yellowstone Snowpack update

Things here in Pocatello are looking pretty bleak for snow. I haven't skied one day yet! No downhill, no backcountry, no cross-country. Normally I have at least a day of cross-country skiing in already.  Doesn't help that I've been home sick as a dog since we got snow on Monday night.

That got me thinking about snow in Yellowstone. How's that looking? Actually, it's looking pretty good.

ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/west_swepctnormal_update.pdf  goes to the map. Another good site is http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/partnerships/links_wsfs.html

And what does the future hold?

Good news is......wetter than normal.

And there is no bad news.  

In the neutral corner, the temperatures are likely to be normal.