What we’re about
This is a Yellowstone National Park activity group, with a decided emphasis on education. Activities include day hiking, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, photography, wildlife watching, and educational events. Some activities may be thematic, with a focus on botany, fire ecology, geology, history, zoology, and whatever other subjects draw interest from the community. Unlike some Meetup groups, this one will not be soliciting donations to defray the membership fee. The primary purpose of this Meetup is to give those who are new to the area or visiting from afar the opportunity to engage in an activity that they would otherwise be apprehensive about doing on their own. In Yellowstone National Park, which is grizzly bear country, there is safety in numbers, which is one of the primary reasons for group hiking. Having a group of 4 or more also makes sense in the event someone suffers injury. Two can go for help, while the third member stays with the injured hiker or skier.
For newcomers to the Bozeman/Livingston area (as well as Cody, Jackson, or any of the gateway communities, and even seasonal employees of Yellowstone National Park), this Meetup serves as a vehicle for promoting social connectedness in addition to the obvious benefit of experiencing Yellowstone National Park in the company of someone familiar with the area. Since I, Ballpark Frank, will be organizing many of the activities until such time as we weave others into the mix, you can trust that group speed will not be cheetah-like. My speed burner days are long gone. This is why I will welcome anyone who wishes to organize more aggressive activities, providing they commit to group safety. The last thing I want to see is one or more participants left behind because a couple of "gazelles" took off at high speed, and left other group members by themselves in grizzly country.
Since we will often be using complicated transportation arrangements, like one-way hikes or ski/snowshoe outings, where we start at one trailhead and exit at another, or do the same thing off-trail, I need to know in advance who is participating, whether they are bringing a vehicle, and the passenger capacity of that vehicle. This is why I will only be providing meet point and meet time information to those who sign up in advance. I have used this mechanism for safeguarding group logistics for decades, and, while not foolproof, it is the most reliable system.
One word of warning that merits inclusion in this introduction: Please do not participate in a hiking, skiing, or snowshoeing activity if you have other plans that same day or evening that require you to be back to the trailhead or your hometown by a certain time. It is not fair to other participants to have someone force their social schedule on the group. If you do it once, you will be reminded of this stated policy, and be stuck adhering to the group's schedule. If you do it a second time, you will be prohibited from future participation in this group. Part of the magic of the Yellowstone backcountry is that there are so many variables, be that a very special wildlife encounter or a rare geyser deciding to erupt while we are nearby. Having an arbitrary return time serves to ruin those opportunities.
Members will be asked to provide their cell phone number to the Organizer prior to their initial Meetup. The Organizer will provide their cell phone number to the Member to facilitate 2-way communications on the day of an activity. This enables notification of any last minute changes due to unexpected developments, like accidents, carcass closures of trails, illness, road closures, vehicle malfunctions, weather-related problems, etc.
We always use "2:00 a.m." as the meet time for activities in Yellowstone, and we are deliberately vague about the meet location, in the Meetup announcement. This is done to insure that only Members who have pre-registered by RSVP'ing "Yes" have this information.
Effective 7/26/2023, we are incorporating a formal policy regarding leadership of ANY backcountry activity, including day hikes, cross-country skiing, and snowshoeing. It is a violation of this Meetup's stated policy for any Member or Guest to proceed ahead of the Organizer of the Meetup while the group is traveling on foot, unless the Organizer has clearly authorized the exception to this rule in full view and earshot of ALL Members and Guests in attendance! Members and their Guests vest responsibility for leadership in the Organizer via their participation in a Meetup. Anyone other than the Organizer who arbitrarily assumes a leadership position at the head of a column of Members and Guests may unintentionally jeopardize group safety and assume civil liability in the event of a post-Meetup civil litigation action. Given the gravity of potential downside complications of violations of this policy, Yellowstone 365 Meetup leadership has unanimously authorized a "Two strikes and you're OUT" penalty for repeat offenders, meaning "slow learners" will be summarily kicked out of the Yellowstone 365 Meetup!
