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The old railroad
bed dating from the 1800's, now a bike & hiking
trail from Ashton to Yellowstone |
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We reluctantly passed the Cave Falls Road heading
to the east. The Cave Falls Road lines across the high country
to the forgotten southwest entrance to Yellowstone Park. The
road dead ends within the park and is a jumping off point
for hikers and riders who wander through Bechler Meadows beyond
road's end to see the park's lonely backcountry. It seems
that only the locals have discovered this corner of the park
in spite of rumors of big fish in Bechler Meadows.
We stopped where the road drops into the canyon
to meet Henry's Fork. A small parking lot was crowded with
locals launching drift boats. We chatted with a couple fishermen
who hadn't caught much. I thought of a long glassy stretch
a half-mile downstream, one of my favorite fishing spots.
I fished it often and knew it well enough to know where the
heavy rainbows were lying. Winter was my favorite time. The
river is low and clear as the crisp air in the winter. Warm
springs seep across the banks, melt the snow, and keep the
margins green. Ducks and geese winter along these green edges,
eagles cruise the airways, and deer from the high country
winter along the river. Occasionally, a wintering moose wanders
to the water.
There is a place where warm water drizzles off
a cliff, seemingly suspended away from the rock. On a cold
day, when the fly line is freezing in the rod guides, I often
walk to the drizzle, wash the fish from my hands, and warm
my hands in the water.
Three streams come together just upstream from
the parking lot. Henry's Fork emerges from the deep canyon
crease in the Yellowstone caldera. Robinson Creek rambles
from the east and Warm River gracefully floats in from the
northeast--three sizable streams all with very different characters.
The local kids love to float the Warm River from above the
campground in the heat of the summer. I tell Robert and Roberta
how I had hiked far into the backcountry along Robinson Creek
until there was no remaining sign of man and how I had caught
fish effortlessly with small dry flies and watched for signs
of bears.
Reluctantly, we passed the road that turned right
to the headwaters of Warm River, another gravel road. The
Warm River isn't really warm but it's a big spring and in
the wintertime, it's much warmer than the air. In the cold
air, steam rolls off the river giving the appearance that
it is warm. A road winds to the river's origin where the river
gushes from a hole in the mountain. There's an old house and
the remains of a fish hatchery there. The house is now rented
to travelers by the Forest Service. The description is intriguing
enough that Robert reconsiders the fine print in his contract
but decides to stay on the pavement.
The road passes spectacular overlooks of both
the Warm River Canyon and the canyon of the Henry's Fork.
We pull into a parking lot that overlooks Lower Mesa Falls.
Much of the western portion of Yellowstone Park and the Island
Park area lies within the giant caldera of an ancient volcano.
The Henry's Fork of the Snake River, a sizable river, wanders
across this caldera to plunge over the lip in three magnificent
falls all within a mile. Lower Mesa Falls is the last of these.
As we took pictures, we saw tiny colorful dots--people wandering
along trails through the green below. Even after 11,000 miles,
Robert is moved by the view.
In the distance, we can see Upper Mesa Falls.
Sheep Falls is above that. I explained to Robert that one
day -- a very ambitious day -- my son Ben, my son-in-law Ben,
and I hiked downed to the river below Sheep Falls. The setting
was incredible with the roar of the falls as a backdrop and
mist hanging in the air. We carried our fishing rods and caught
fish but not the lunkers we had imagined. I explained to him
that the canyon walls were steep enough that even the locals
stay away and we had the canyon to ourselves.
[Continued
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