13 APR 2001
By Joe Hartney
What started out to be just another leg of our ski tour (Cooke City to
Livingston), eventually became not only a major turning point but also a
historic journey. In the days of old, the route we skied was once a
drivable summer road and more recently a commonly traveled snowmobile
route. We even skied past the abandoned mining camp of Independence.
Towards the end I became increasingly excited at the realization that we
would be completing the northerly jaunt we'd been working on since January
and skiing south back to Jackson.
Joining us for the tour was our second guest, Torsten Prahl, a stuntman/cinematographer
currently based in Jackson, Wyoming. Although not quite
the backcountry gourmet that we found in our last guest Melanie,
Torsten's vast experience and resources in the northern Yellowstone region
were crucial to the success and enjoyment of the entire leg.
Day 1 — Its good to be back in Cooke City. Though only gone a week, I
already began to miss this quaint little town at the end of the road. Our
original plan was to head out yesterday for Livingston but we decided it
best for the team to spend a day acclimatizing to the increased altitude
and soak up some of the funky culture only found in The City. This
morning we made our way into the mountains, literally skiing right out of
town. We only made it a few miles before a gracious snowmobiler offered
to pull us the remaining couple of miles up to Daisy Pass. The pull
seemed like a good idea until I found myself hanging onto a water ski rope
behind the sled at 50 MPH.
"The fear of wiping out at that speed with a
large pack onto the hard trail haunts my imagination much more than the
thought of avalanches or grizzly bear attacks."
Day 2 — We skied down Lake Abundance Creek all day into the Slough Creek
drainage. By mid-afternoon the sun had baked the snow into a virtual
chicken pot pie. The only hope for survival was to try and keep the ski
tips above the breakable crust while plowing through the heavy slush
beneath. Win muttered something about this technique being harder to do
with the alpine touring gear he chose to use on this leg. I think it was
just a ploy to inspire me to break more trail, being the lone free-
heeler. Torsten is probably wishing he never met us or got conned into
this voluntary torture. Luckily I was able to cool off when we reached
Slough Creek by stepping through the ice and filling my boots with frigid
stream water. Fortunately it is a sunny warm afternoon and we decided to
make camp.
Day 3 — Morning came with a wet snow storm. Morale was a bit low around
camp after our heinous trail breaking experiences of yesterday. Somehow
we managed to ski up and over Slough Creek Divide many miles later and
found a beautiful snowy meadow to camp in. Spirits are high as we will be
heading downhill tomorrow into the Boulder River.
Day 4 — Although the snowpack is thin and opportunities for good ski
descents are scarce, we are all having a good time and enjoying this wild
scenery. The site of fresh bear tracks inspired me to ski dangerously
fast across the few inches of snow that cover the trail and even sections
of bare grass and mud. We reached a summer road which we followed for
several miles before deciding to camp. Torsten found a stack of cut
firewood near camp which I quickly set ablaze. There's nothing quite like
a campfire after a long day in the hills.
Day 5 — Twenty five miles from anywhere close a town, we began our day in
morning blizzard. We set out down the Boulder River towards Livingston
formulating ideas for some kind of exit plan. The snow became so scarce
that we had to carry our skis and walk down the road. Just as I started
thinking about how we hadn't experience a good death march in a while,
some local mountain men pulled up in a massive truck. They gave us a ride
to the town of McCleod where Torsten was able to sequester us a ride out,
from his mother. Mrs. Prahl came to our rescue just in time for Torsten
and I to pull Win out of the Roadkill Café before he had established
residency in the infamous Montana eatery. Livingston at last! Time to
head south.
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