Yellowstone Memories

Bechler River - 1968

The Reardon Family (from left):  Dave, Tim, Scott, Keith, and Shirley

NOTE:  To view large versions of the pictures below, please click on the thumbnail versions of each picture

In July of 1968, we borrowed two NPS horses, Red Feather and Dusty, and a stubborn old mule, and set off from the Lone Star Trailhead near Old Faithful.  Our plan was to travel on the Bechler Trail for the 30 mile trek that would ultimately end at the Bechler Ranger Station three nights later.

01-Starting out at Lone Star area - Bechler Trip - 1968.jpg (129820 bytes)        03-Rainbow over Douglas Knob - 1968.jpg (66421 bytes)        05-Preparing to leave Douglas Knob - Bechler - 1969.jpg (73982 bytes)        06-The guys at Three Rivers Campsite - 1968.jpg (133280 bytes)        08-Group photo at Three Rivers - Bechler Trip - 1968.jpg (98719 bytes)        09-Resting the horses - Bechler River - 1968.jpg (135202 bytes)

Being six at the time, I don't recall a whole lot of details of the trip.  I do remember spending many hours on top of that old mule, with my official sailor cap (given to me by my aunt at the beginning of the summer) being the only thing keeping my head from frying under the burning sun.  Red Feather was a model horse, one of the finest animals housed at the Old Faithful horse pens.  Dusty, however, had a mind of his own, and sometimes just refused to go any further until his needs were satisfied.  In fact, one of Mom's favorite memories of this particular trip was when Dusty just stopped, sat down in the trail, and decided to take a long break.  Dusty must have learned a number of his antics from an NPS horse legend by the name of Smokey.  Smokey's rider once stopped for a break one day at a stream in an open meadow.  While resting, something spooked Smokey into a frenzy, who broke away from the desperate clutches of the poor ranger grabbing for the reins, and bolted for the nearest forest cover.  Alas, Smokey was never seen or heard from again.  Farewell, Smokey!

My problem wasn't with Dusty.  On our second day on the trail, my unfortunate mount atop the village mule resulted in one of the most harrowing experiences of the trip.  For the mule got rather tired of this wining kid constantly on its back, and later that afternoon decided to rub me off on a pine tree!  Oh, yeah, I hit the ground pretty hard, but it left my three older brothers with enough material to laugh about for hours.

10-grazing - Bechler trip - 1968.jpg (119638 bytes)        11-Mom and Red Feather - Bechler River - 1968.jpg (143412 bytes)        12-One tired horse - Bechler River - 1968.jpg (138954 bytes)        13-Dusty cooling off in stream - Bechler Trip - 1968.jpg (152227 bytes)        14-Dad and Red Feather crossing Bechler River - 1968.jpg (126596 bytes)        15-Dad and Dave pose near Bechler River - 1968.jpg (64093 bytes)

The first night, we camped just off the trail near the Douglas Knob area, about 9 miles down the trail.  Dad just left the horses and mule grazing in the meadow that night, figuring that their bells would sound an alarm should any grizzlies get close.  I was left kind of wide-eyed with that thought, but we really had a pretty good sleep.  In fact, I remember having something special for breakfast the next morning (pancakes?) before we set off on the trail once again.  We would return to Douglas Knob a few more times over the years to visit the B-47 crash site which was later removed in the early 1990s.

We spent most of the second day passing through the Three Rivers Junction area until we reached the banks of the Bechler River.  We followed the river for the remainder of the day, camping near the impressive sight of Colonnade Falls.  Upper Colonnade (35 feet) and Lower Colonnade (67 feet) make up probably the most impressive pair of waterfalls in the Yellowstone Region.  While their name is undocumented, it probably refers to the nearby columnar basalt layers that resemble columns. [The Guide to Yellowstone Waterfalls and Their Discovery, 2000, pg. 97]

16-Dad and Dave at Lower Colonnade Falls - 1968.jpg (95878 bytes)        17-Lower Colonnade overlook - 1968.jpg (127907 bytes)        18-Mom and Dave at Bechler River viewpoint - 1968.jpg (111744 bytes)        19-Panoramic view of us fishing at base of Lower Colonnade - 1968.jpg (93640 bytes)        20-The guys at Lower Colonnade - 1968.jpg (129172 bytes)        21-Dave and Tim showing off their catch - Lower Colonnade - 1968.jpg (41726 bytes)

After spending the night with the roar of the falls in the distance, we awoke early the next morning and set about to go fishing at the base of the falls.  Here is where our many Gander Mountain rain coats came in handy, as we found the spray at the base of the lower falls to be a direct challenge to our yearning to catch the small trout at the base of the falls.  While we mostly soaking wet by the time our fishing excursion was over, the overall size of our catch seemed worth the effort.  We also enjoyed watching the water ouzel disappear and reappear in the waters of the Bechler River, and find the various basalt formations along the rivers edge to be quite impressive..

Later that afternoon, we completed the last of our eight river crossings, the last of which ran right up to the horses bellies.  I do recall nervously watching the water level rise, and coming to the realization that my boots were getting perilously close to getting wet.  After that crossing, the last three miles to the Bechler Ranger Station was a breeze.  I remember being kind of cold and tired when we were finally ushered into the cozy beds which awaited us at the ranger station.  Our three day, thirty mile adventure had finally come to an end!  

 

Nearing the end of the trail at Bechler Meadows