• Lone Star Geyser

    Lone Star Geyser

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    Jake Bramante

    Lone Star Geyser in Yellowstone National Park is a great, cone geyser set away from the large collection at Old Faithful. The path to it is along an old road that is bike-friendly and follows a beautiful, lazy section of the Firehole River. Just east of the Kepler Cascades pullout is the parking lot for…

  • Slide Lake Backpack 2016

    Slide Lake Backpack 2016

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    Jake Bramante

    I had the opportunity to go on my first backpack (yes, you read that right) of the year at Slide Lake in Glacier National Park this past weekend. The plan was to hike up Lee Ridge, drop down to Slide Lake, explore around and then hike back out the next day. Originally, we were going…

  • Fairy Falls Loop with Imperial Geyser

    Fairy Falls Loop with Imperial Geyser

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    Jake Bramante

    The Fairy Falls trail in Yellowstone National Park is a very popular trail that walks past the Grand Prismatic Spring on its level way to a wonderful waterfall. If you continue on the trail, you can encounter Imperial Geyser and turn it into a wonderful loop through a broad meadow and add Goose Lake. **A…

  • Starting Grand Teton National Park

    Starting Grand Teton National Park

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    Jake Bramante

    Any time I’ve mentioned that I’m heading down to Grand Teton National Park, the response is always, “It’s so beautiful there!” As we drove into the park and the mountains came into view at sunset, we felt like we were driving into a surreal painting. This week begins the hiking that I need to do…

  • Mallard Creek, Mallard Lake, and the Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful)

    Mallard Creek, Mallard Lake, and the Upper Geyser Basin (Old Faithful)

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    Jake Bramante

    The Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park contains the most famous hydrothermal feature in the park, Old Faithful. Surrounding this iconic geyser are a vast array of spring, pools, and geysers. I hiked up from Mallard Creek to nearby Mallard Lake, then dropped down to the basin and explored around, including a visit to…

  • Climbing Mt. Siyeh

    Climbing Mt. Siyeh

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    Jake Bramante

    Mt. Siyeh is one of six summits in Glacier National Park that is over 10,000 ft. It is the easiest of the 10,000 ft peaks to reach and has fantastic views all the way around! A big shout out to Blake Passmore and his Climb Glacier National Park books which are incredibly helpful in finding routes to summits. If…

  • Sentinel Meadows & Queens Laundry

    Sentinel Meadows & Queens Laundry

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    Jake Bramante

    The hike to Sentinel Meadows and Queens Laundry gives you a level trail with wide open meadows, hot springs, ponds, birds, and a little bit of Yellowstone National Park history. The trail can be done by hiking directly to Queens Laundry and back or made into a little loop that’s a bit longer through another meadow.…

  • Gunsight Pass 2016

    Gunsight Pass 2016

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    Jake Bramante

    The long and wonderful hike over Gunsight Pass in Glacier National Park is traditionally done as a two day backpacking trip (or a nice stay at the alpine Sperry Chalet), but we decided to tackle it as an incredible day hike. It was a perfect day full of blue skies, stunning lakes, waterfalls, wildflowers, and…

  • Siyeh Pass 2016

    Siyeh Pass 2016

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    Jake Bramante

    Hiking Siyeh Pass in Glacier National Park in July and August inevitably leads to incredible amounts of wonderful flowers and this trip, under a cloudless blue sky, did not disappoint. I was hiking with some friends Mary and Baker who had won a hike with me during the annual Backpacker’s Ball that the Glacier Conservancy puts…