Forgot to mention...

I completely left out the backpack trip to Dununda Falls & hot spring in Yellowstone! We did this hike early October with another couple. We entered Yellowstone in the Bechler area of the Park. The Bechler side of Yellowstone is in the most Southwest corner of the Park. It's the least visited area of Yellowstone and most of the Parks waterfalls are in this region. We just stayed one night at the Dununda Falls backcountry campsite. We had permits to camp two more nights in other campsites but the weather was so bad we all hiked out the next day. It never stopped raining the entire trip. This wasn't your typical rain shower. This was a very cold, just barely above freezing, downpour. We trudged though the 16 miles (round trip) of soupy mud and had to take our pants off for one of the deeper river crossings to keep our one pair of dry pants DRY. The other crossings we're small enough that we rolled up our pants, kicked off our hiking boots and crossed in our sandals. The closer we got to our campsite the warmer the creek crossings became due to the hot thermal springs running off into the river. Once we made it to camp we set up & secured our tents, changed into our swim suits and soaked in one of the most beautiful hot springs I've ever been to. (Goldbug Hot Springs is number 1) I'm fairly certain we sat and soaked in the hot spring for almost 5 hours. The rain/sleet made it nearly impossible to want to leave the perfect hot pool to be exposed to the freezing rain only to have to sit in the tent for the rest of the evening. The weather was absolutely miserable. But the hot spring made it worth braving the weather and the company I was in never once complained. That is key in situations like this. This trip was one of the best trips I went on this year because of my ridiculous fun friends that joined me. Not all of my hiking friends would have enjoyed this cold wet weather. Sometimes I have to be selective with my invites. No one wants to be around a high maintenance hiker who complains and bitches about every little thing along the way. This trip could have been one of those trips but it wasn't thanks to the good company. Whew! Good times were had by all!