Detour

Risk assessment is a big part of life. Sometimes, we assess the risks, determine the logical course, and elect to act in opposition to that acuity. This story is one such episode. I knew the risks, took a chance, and it it didn't pan out. I submit it for your potential amusement.

On this, my second, trip to Yellowstone, I had two 'must-see' places to visit, Mount Washburn and Artist Paint Pots, both on the north side of the park. Having entered into the southern half of the park, two factors conspired to complicate my efforts: road construction and a forest fire. A loop road connects the two halves of the park. Road construction closed the western leg of this loop for the season; a forest fire intermittently closed the eastern leg.

I managed to depart early in the morning on my second day in the park, hike Mount Washburn and return to the critical junction to find the road still open. There, I considered taking satisfaction in a partial success and returning to the southern part of the park. This option would bypass Artist Paint Pots, but it would also leave me closer to Jackson, Wyoming, and my bunkhouse for the night. I opted for against it and spent the afternoon exploring Artist Paint Pots and nearby Norris Geyser Basin.

Hours later upon leaving Norris Geyser Basin, I spotted a ranger set-up in the road ahead, and had a pretty good idea the news she would deliver: the road to Jackson was closed. So instead of a 127 mile, three-hour drive, I had a 324 mile seven-and-a-half hour drive, an extra 200 miles and four-and-a-half hours, ahead of me.

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Two months later, I recognize my losses were minor: a few hours (most of it in the dark when you can't do much else but sleep), added driving fatigue, and some gas money. In return, I achieved my two 'must sees' for the trip, spent a wonderful few hours in Norris Geyser Basin, drove through Montana's picturesque Paradise Valley in the waning hours of the day, and stopped along the road to hear the some nighttime geyser eruptions and elk bugle calls. All that considered, maybe it wasn't such a bad risk to take. Not that I wouldn't decide differently if I had it to do over again.