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Hi. I’m Ben Benton from Flagstaff, Arizona. I believe that you will enjoy my daily journal from Yellowstone National Park during the summer of 1999. I left downtown Flagstaff with my saddle and duffel in early July and lighted in the horse corral at Mammoth Hot Springs. My journal will continue through September 20th, unless the weather shuts us down earlier. You’ll read about adventures on the back country trails, Yellowstone history, people I meet, and anything else I can think of to write about. I’m the author of “National Park Employment Data,” a guide to working in national parks, which is available for purchase on my web site at www.gorp.com/nped/. I’ve been working in national parks and ski areas off and on for over twenty years. Because I want the data in my book to always be fresh, I continually test the concepts, employers, and tips that I provide. Right now, I’m working for Amfac Parks and Resorts. They are a top notch concession company because they place employee training, morale, and amenities first. |
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Tuesday, 7-27-99Today is my first of three days off (I work four “twelves” Friday through Monday) so I saddled Apple and went for a six hour ride in the Yellowstone back country with wrangler J.C. We left at noon and followed the one way road around Bunson Peak to a brisk mountain stream and ate lunch. The employee cafeteria packed me a box lunch which was big enough for both J.C. and me. We crossed the Mammoth to Norris highway and found the trail to Snow Pass. Snow Pass is about 7,000 feet and has a small cirque lake. Mammoth is around 6,000 feet, so we climbed about a 1,000 feet. I rode Apple into the lake and he splashed around to cool his belly but wouldn’t drink. Snow Pass descended to the west into Glen Creek park and we followed the Sportsman Lake Trail along Glen Creek to Golden Gate on the Mammoth to Norris highway. We crossed the highway and followed the one way road around Bunson Peak and were able to see the Sheepeater Cliffs in the Gardiner River canyon, and Osprey Falls. By then it was late afternoon, so we stopped and ate the cheese and crackers in the box lunch. The employee cafeteria gave me three blocks of cheese and lots of crackers. Very nice lunch, thank you. Our trip covered about twenty to twenty-five miles. Bunson Peak is named for Bunson of Bunson Burner fame. Most people think he invented the Bunson Burner, but actually his students did and named it in his honor. Sheepeater Cliffs are named for the Sheepeater Indians who were an offshoot of the Shoshones who refused to take up firearms or horses as most other Indians of the West did. They were sort of the Amish of Indians. As a result, they lived in the Gardiner River canyon in Yellowstone and lived on Bighorn Sheep and rarely ventured out. They didn’t survive. |
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