Yellowstone Adventure: DeLacy Creek

I don't know what happened to the post I made about DeLacy Creek last week.  I got it all ready and scheduled it to publish, but Blogger decided to post my Natural Bridge blog twice and delete my DeLacy Creek blog.  Here it goes again...

 

DeLacy Creek is in a bear management area and just recently opened for hikers.  I knew better than to do this one alone so Elizabeth and Diane joined me.

 

 

As the name implies, the trail follows DeLacy Creek to Shoshone Lake.

 

There were a few water crossing along the way, the one above happened to have a foot bridge.  The others were logs and of course my trekking poles were back in the car.  Luckily, I made it across without falling in.

 

It was spectacularly beautiful just like almost everywhere in Yellowstone.

 

There were also large meadows that had to be crossed.  That's Diane and Elizabeth.  My usual position is bringing up the rear.  I stop a lot to take pictures and these ladies like to move out.

 

Finally a glimpse of the lake.

 

The creek became covered with lily pads.  My camera did not do justice to the color of the blooms on the lily pads--they are amazing.

 

 

There it is...the largest back country lake in the lower 48 states according to the National Park Service.  Shoshone Lake is 8,050 acres with a depth of 200+ feet.  The only way to get here is to hike, canoe, or kayak.  You can't drive here and no motor boats are allowed.  Can you imagine how few people actually get to see this lake?  Another thing to notice is the sky.

 

Before long we felt raindrops so after a quick granola bar and drink it was time to high tail it back to the parking lot.

I stopped for one last picture of the wildflowers before stowing the camera in the backpack to protect it from the downpour.  I don't mind rain, but when the thunder starts I get serious about moving fast back to shelter.

I got drenched because I had neglected to pack my rain poncho, but it was still fun.  We did spot some bear scat on the trail, but luckily no sightings of the furry creatures.  Afterwords we headed back to the employee dining room for a very delicious lunch.

Fun day with new friends!