Lucius Quintus Cincinatus Lamar II is a quirky character in American politics. A former Confederate soldier, post-Civil War Congressman, Secretary of the Interior, and Supreme Court Justice, Lamar inspired the famed Yellowstone geologist Arnold Hague to name the East Fork of the Yellowstone River after him (now called the Lamar River).
Trapper Osborne Russell wrote of the Lamar River Valley in Journal of a Trapper:
Chapter-VI-In the Yellowstone Country-A Garden of Eden Inhabited By a Small Party of Snake Indians - On the 28th [July 1834] we crossed the mountain in a westerly direction through the thick pines and fallen timber, about twelve miles, and encamped in a small prairie about a mile in circumference. Through this valley ran a small stream in a northerly direction, which all agreed in believing to be a branch of the Yellowstone. 29th-We descended the stream about fifteen miles through the dense forest and at length came to a beautiful valley about eight miles long and three or four wide, surrounded by dark and lofty mountains. The stream, after running through the center in a northwesterly direction, rushed down a tremendous canyon of basaltic rock apparently just wide enough to admit its waters. The banks of the stream in the valley were low and skirted in many places with beautiful cottonwood groves. Here we found a few Snake Indians comprising six men, seven women and eight or ten children, who were the only inhabitants of the lonely and secluded spot.
Osborne discovered the intimacy of the Lamar Valley and described it perfectly. Other than some remnants of burned forests from the fires of 1988, along with the absence of Snake Indians (perhaps replaced by the seven young men of our party, plus a few others), the Lamar Valley has changed little since Osborne's observations were recorded in the 19th century.
This essay describes some of my own reflections while trekking through the upper reaches of the Lamar Valley in the Yellowstone backcountry in July of 2012 as part of a BSA expedition based out of the Yellowstone High Adventure Outpost at Camp Buffalo Bill east of Cody, Wyoming.
ARTICLE OUTLINE
- Introduction
- Traversing for Trout and Solitude in Yellowstone
- Pelican Valley to Mist Creek
- Lamar Valley Backpacking
- Lemon City
- Thunder, Fire, and Sky
- Land of the Grizzly
- Ambling Towards Re-Entry
- Commentary on Selected Gear
- Backpack: Hyperlite Mountain Gear Expedition with Accessory Pocket - 33 oz
- Sleeping Bag: Katabatic Gear Chisos Quilt - 15 oz
- Sleeping Pad: Thermarest NeoAir XLite - 12 oz
- Shelter: Locus Gear Cuben Khufu + Mesh Inner - 23 oz
- Other Gear Notes
# WORDS: 3880
# PHOTOS: 13
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Lamar
These are the types of essays I joined BPL for. Thanks for the great write up.
Ryan the nice thing about having you around here is the great trip reports, keep um coming.
Okay the inevitable gear questions.
What causes the stitching to give out on a sleeping quilt? Is it just wear and tear over time or are you a really active sleeper?
You seemed to be mostly using synthetic quilts for a while. What's your criteria for choosing one over the other these days?
I thought you'd mentioned that 900 fill power down is quickly compromised by humidity. Would you use that down jacket on other trips or just shorter and drier trips?
Love that place. The bison herds add a special dimension for me.
Too bad it's bandit to packraft.
Awesome report.
I second Luke's comment to keep them coming Ryan.
Ryan, thanks. I really enjoyed that article. What a great experience for your older Scouts.
I also felt your anxiety about grizzly bears. We are not the primal ruler for Yellowstone's wilderness.
And it reminds me of testing bear spray next door to the Bob.
@Luke Schmidt:
>> What causes the stitching to give out on a sleeping quilt? Is it just wear and tear over time or are you a really active sleeper?
Rolling over certainly places stress on the seams. After pulling the quilt apart and looking at the construction of it, especially the baffles, there were some limitations in how it was built. The construction quality was actually pretty poor, really basic stuff – the baffle stitching was terrible, and sewn with improper thread tension. Ah well. I'll write it off as a young manufacturer with inexperience.
>> You seemed to be mostly using synthetic quilts for a while. What's your criteria for choosing one over the other these days?
Sustained wet conditions. I used a synth quilt last year in Canada in July, during an extraordinary wet weather cycle. I used one in the Bob Marshall Wilderness in early season, the west slope of the Northern Rockies is wet. I use one in the Olympics all the time, and I use on in most of Montana once the fall patterns start (October?) and the spring patterns end (June?). Otherwise, during high pressure windows and dry areas, I prefer down.
>> I thought you'd mentioned that 900 fill power down is quickly compromised by humidity. Would you use that down jacket on other trips or just shorter and drier trips?
Yep, dry trips for 900 fill down. Long dry trips are ok too. I just like to dry my stuff in the sun every few days if needed.
Nice trip report. I enjoyed the great photos, but it seemed like you added lots of navigational detail. Are these targeted as guides for potential reader trips? Glad to see a group of scouts getting into the backcountry.
I wasn't very familiar with the Locus Gear. How does their Khufu shelter compare with other duomid-type shelters?
Thanks for the detailed response Ryan, I always like getting your opinion. I've been basically using the same system of down for shorter and/or drier trips and sythetic (BPL 240) for longer and/or wetter trips. I must say that synthetic quilt is very nice when you are exausted and all you want to do is get in bed and sleep whether you are wet or not.
Also glad to hear the HMG Pack is still going strong, thats on the long term wish list.
Ryan,
Thanks for a nice detailed report. Just read the Ananconda-Pintler report and discovered I'd missed this one. Again, thanks for sharing.
Thank you for a beautifully written report. The artistry of your photos was well matched by the effective prose. Had to laugh at your description of sleeping in bear country. It evoked all too familiar feelings.
Hiking with bears make me anxious enough to detract from the experience, despite understanding their value as wilderness "indicators". Nevertheless, I still get out. My wife, on the other hand, doesn't share my risk-benefit analysis, and refuses to accompany me anywhere there's a chance of a grizzly encounter. So, can anyone suggest areas with the wilderness thrill but without the risk of grizzlies?
Don
Don, the Uintas in Utah are a nice place to backpack and no Grizz, only a few black bears that are rarely seen.
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