What we’re about
** Please read this entire group description before joining the group. **
⛰️This is a Yellowstone National Park activity group. Activities include day hiking, backcountry skiing, snowshoeing, photography, wildlife watching, and educational events. A virtual book discussion has also been added.
🥾The primary purpose of this Meetup is to enjoy the surprises and joys Yellowstone has to offer with an emphasis on safety. In Yellowstone National Park, which is grizzly bear country, there is safety in numbers, which is one of the primary reasons for group hiking.
⛔You'll see a number of "don'ts" below. That's because someone before you behaved in a way that negatively affected the entire group, not just the event organizers. Please read everything below. We have fun on our outings; the rules we have are for the benefit and safety of everyone.
🥾The primary rule of this group is we hike safe or not at all. If you arrive at an activity ill-prepared in a way that could put you or others at risk, event organizers reserve the right to turn you away from the event.
💰To defray the $300 annual MeetUp subscription fee, members are asked to make a financial contribution to the group at least once per year. Any funds received that go beyond covering the subscription fee will be donated to a Yellowstone nonprofit. 💰
🦬 All hikes/events are moderately paced. If you like to see how fast you can complete a hike, this group is NOT for you. We stop to enjoy flowers, wildlife, views, etc. We engage in conversations with other participants.
🚙 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. The MeetUp app generally doesn't work in the park, so we rely on texting for communication.
🕰️ 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 back country 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. This group has multiple organizers so you should always provide your cell number when RSVPing to an event.
🕰️ 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.
📅If your plans change and you can no longer attend an event, update your RSVP and let the event organizer know. Multiple no-shows will result in being banned from the group.
❗❗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 on the trail. The group will stay together for safety. Keeping track of participants during an outing is akin to herding cats. Violation of this rule can and will result in being banned from this group. ❗❗
Upcoming events (3)
See all- 📚Book Discussion: Haynes Guide by Jack Ellis HaynesLink visible for attendees
This one will be a bit of a challenge to find, so start now locating a copy.
I found a 1966, 64th edition at a used bookstore in Bozeman. This book is along the lines of the Wylie guide we read earlier. It's a visitors guide to the park with photos and other interesting information.
Whichever of the 64 editions you locate, it's fine. Our discussion will be that much more interesting as we compare editions. Happy hunting!
Sources to find a copy(links already have the search criteria for the book):
Abe Books
Ebay
Amazon
Isle of Books (Bozeman used bookstore who lists their books on Abe and Amazon). - Book Discussion: Restoring Presence: American Indians & Yellowstone Nat'l ParkLink visible for attendees
Placing American Indians in the center of the story, Restoring a Presence relates an entirely new history of Yellowstone National Park.
Although new laws have been enacted giving American Indians access to resources on public lands, Yellowstone historically has excluded Indians and their needs from its mission. Each of the other flagship national parks―Glacier, Yosemite, Mesa Verde, and Grand Canyon―has had successful long-term relationships with American Indian groups even as it has sought to emulate Yellowstone in other dimensions of national park administration.
In the first comprehensive account of Indians in and around Yellowstone, Peter Nabokov and Lawrence Loendorf seek to correct this administrative disparity. Drawing from archaeological records, Indian testimony, tribal archives, and collections of early artifacts from the Park, the authors trace the interactions of nearly a dozen Indian groups with each of Yellowstone’s four geographic regions.The book is available at Amazon or your favorite bookstore or used bookstore.
- Book Discussion: Fort YellowstoneLink visible for attendees
Written by Yellowstone historians Elizabeth Watry and Lee Whittlesey, read about the fort that was built by the US Army when they took over management of Yellowstone.
On August 17, 1886, Capt. Moses Harris and the troops of Company M rode into Yellowstone to take over guardianship of America's first national park. Receiving orders thereupon that the company was staying indefinitely, Captain Harris ordered the construction of Camp Sheridan. Seeing no end in sight for this "temporary" duty, the US War Department established Fort Yellowstone in 1891. For 32 years, ceremonial splendor of the US Army filled this era of Yellowstone with booming cannons at sunrise and sunset, crackling rifle-range practices, flashing saber drills, exacting military maneuvers, and dashing dress parades led by the regimental band. With the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, the Army began a two-year administrative transition and formally abandoned Fort Yellowstone in October 1918.
New and used copies of the book are available at Amazon. Be sure to check your favorite new and used bookstores.
