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| Hiking | 7.36 Miles |
1,447 AEG |
| | Hiking | 7.36 Miles | 3 Hrs 4 Mns | | 2.55 mph |
| 1,447 ft AEG | 11 Mns Break | | | |
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| partners | | After a stop at Midway Geyser Basin in the morning, we drove north and got one of the last available parking spots at Dunraven Pass Trailhead, where some hipsters had a six-person game of hacky sack going near their vintage Chevy van while we packed up. The trail is a steady climb most of the way and follows an old road with patches of asphalt, but it's a beautiful hike with improving views along the way.
About two-thirds of a mile in, the trail makes a sharp turn, and the lookout tower on Washburn comes into view. We started to see occasional groups on the trail beyond that point, but it wasn't overly crowded. Higher up are a series of long switchbacks that climb up through some darker rock, then it's a straight shot a little over a mile to the peak before the trail curves around the back side. Along that straight stretch of trail, we had nice views to south toward the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and Yellowstone Lake.
The peak had a spacious open area with 270° views to the west/east/north, and the south-facing lookout tower has an indoor observation area with a telescope and signs labeling the many landmarks visible in three directions. It was clear enough that we could (barely) see Grand Teton off in the distance, 75 miles away. There was a second-level outdoor observation deck in the lookout, but the door was locked.
[ youtube video ]
Back near the trailhead, a group of four tourists asked me in broken English, "Are there bears?" I told them I hadn't seen any, but it didn't seem like they really understand how wildlife works...just because you haven't seen any doesn't mean you won't see any. It didn't look like they were carrying bear spray (or much of anything, for that matter), and Washburn is a popular area for bears, so hopefully that turned out well for them  .
Overall, I enjoyed this one more than I expected. Through the trail itself wasn't particularly exciting, the summit had better views than anticipated thanks to the observation deck, the weather was very comfortable again with some nice clouds, and it wasn't terribly crowded. |
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