Yellowstone backpackers usually experience lots of crisp clear weather in September, with warm days and frosty starry nights. But not in 2017! Our September Southwest Yellowstone trip, guided by David Ellis, was a wet one, with nearly unprecedented amounts of rain. Normally easy stream crossings became a raging challenge, but trusty old David got everyone through it in good shape, despite the wet elements.
Later that month, the Northern Yellowstone Autumn trek proved to be an equal meteorological challenge, as mother Nature again decided to ignore the September norms. She chose instead to dump over a foot of snow on our group! I was the lucky guide for that one, and instead of climbing to the beautiful Buffalo Plateau for our scheduled two-night layover, we instead had a backcountry base-camp in Coyote Creek, which is about 1500 feet lower in elevation. We probably would have encountered at least two feet of fresh wet snow up on the plateau!
As it was, the 12-14 inches that dumped on our camp was plenty! Fortunately, we had a hearty bunch: 5 clients who were well-prepared (by following to the letter our clothing/Personal Gear List) with warm clothing and adventurous attitudes! This group was fantastic at collecting large quantities of firewood for warmth and drying out wet gear, and we plowed through the snow on a couple of great day-hikes: one was to upper Coyote Creek, just outside Yellowstone in the adjacent Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness, and the other was up the forested side of the Buffalo Plateau, until the snow got too deep to safely navigate the steep slope. There were great views of this Yellowstone backpacking winter wonderland in September! Late in the week the weather began to clear, and we hiked out to the trailhead under sunny skies on dry ground with golden autumn colors framed by the snow covered mountains and plateaus of the incomparable Yellowstone backcountry.
