Day Hike to Cache Lake, Yellowstone, August 2019

Cache Lake was initially not on my radar on my last trip to Yellowstone in August of 2019. But since I only have a whole list of hikes I could do and no specific day assigned to a particular hike, I randomly pick a trail depending on conditions. Cache lake is a small and picturesque lake at the base of Electric Peak in the Gallatin BMA area of the park, and it is a short, roughly 12-mile round-trip hike to the lake and back.
I started at Glen Creek trailhead, which is just across the busy Bunsen Peak parking area.

After having breakfast at the Sheepeater Cliffs picnic area, I headed to the trailhead and had no issues finding a parking spot. It was still pretty early, and a beautiful sunny day of hiking was ahead of me.

The trail started to head to the northeast for about 2 miles until I reached the trail junction with the Fawn Pass trail. The trail follows glen creek through meadows of sagebrush and amazing views of Electric Peak in the distance, as well as views of Gardner's Hole to the southwest and the prominent peaks of Quadrant Mountain, Antler Peak, and Bannock Peak. To the right was Terrace Mountain. I really enjoyed the views, and the wispy clouds that looked like cotton candy in the sky added to the eye candy that surrounded me.

Electric Peak in the distance

A few Northern Garder Snakes slithered through the sagebrush, but they were too fast, and I didn't get a shot.

Quadrant Mountain and some cirrus clouds

The trail to the first junction was very flat and followed Glen Creek along its way. The first willows along the creek started to turn yellow, and it wouldn't take long, and the whole area would have their fall colors.

Along the way, I got some nice views of Sepulcher Mountain. I hiked it to the top the year before and definitely want to do it again in the future. It was a pretty and very scenic hike, and I have enjoyed it a lot.

the south flank of Sepulcher Mountain

Willows along Glen Creek

Eventually, I reached the trail junction with the Fawn Pass trail to the left and Snow Pass trail shortly after to the right, but I kept going straight ahead for a little while.

The trail eventually started to gain some elevation as it was winding its way up and leaving Glen Creek below.

sticky geranium

leaving Glen Creek

In less than a mile, I reached the trail junction with Sepulcher Mountain and turned left. The trail climbed again and gained more elevation as it finally left the open sagebrush meadows.

A lot of wildflowers still covered the flanks of Sepulcher Mountain, and I could only imagine what I looked like during the peak of the wildflower season.

Wildflowers in abundance

I had to stop every few minutes, so I could take in the beautiful scenery. Wildflowers always made me happy, and here they were in abundance. Around every corner was a new and exciting scene.

A few patchy stands of trees provided some shade on this pretty hot day, and I enjoyed a short break in the shade, looking up the south flank of Sepulcher Mountain.

Eventually, another beautiful meadow opened up, and the views from there toward Electric Peak in the distance were terrific. Up to this point, I haven't seen a single soul on this entire hike. So it was absolutely possible to enjoy solitude during the busy season in the park.

Shortly after, I reached the trail junction with Sportman Lake trail and took the spur trail to the right up to Cache Lake.

A short climb followed as the trail winded its way through a lodgepole pine forest. Now and then, the fiery colors of some Paintbrush dotted the landscape.

I finally reached Cache Lake, which was tucked in a meadow just below Electric Peak. Unfortunately, it was a bit windy today, so I missed the stellar reflections of Electric Peak in the lake. It was a serene and beautiful scene that enrolled in front of my eyes, and I enjoyed every second of it as I immersed in the scenery.

A flock of Golden Eye ducks floated along, and I saw a hawk in the distance.
Luckily there were no mosquitoes or biting flies, and I enjoyed my lunch along the shore of the lake.

The hike back was uneventful. I filtered some water in Glen Creek and enjoyed the scenery of the area. Because there is more than enough water everywhere, I barely carry more than 2 bottles of water on my day hikes and simply filter what I need along the way.

looking back to Sepulcher Mountain

At one point, I have to hike up Electric Peak. When I sat on the shores of Cache lake, it called my name really loud, and I think at one point, I have to follow that call. It was definitely a great day hike with a lot of fantastic scenery.

Garnet Hills Loop, Yellowstone, August 2019

I'm really slow in working on my pictures due to school, but I finally found some time to write up another trip report from Yellowstone.
Garnet Hill is a rarely used trail in the northeastern part of Yellowstone, close to the Tower Junction, and the turn off to Lamar Valley. This hike was on my radar for quite a while, and the views seemed to be amazing from there. Because my foot was hurting a lot from my 17-mile hike the day before, I just wanted to do something easier. At this point, I did not know that my foot was broken, and I had a bit of a rough time hiking long miles. Since I had my basecamp at Madison campground, I always had to drive up north each morning, so I could do some of the hikes planned. Breakfast usually happened along the way, either at the Yellowstone picnic area nearby or at Sheapeater Cliff picnic area, which was also a fun spot to watch small critters like Pika and squirrels.
After this morning's breakfast at the Yellowstone picnic area, I parked my car at the small pullout just past Tower Junction. I was the only car here this morning.

the trailhead sign provided a lot of information

Garnet Hill loop primarily loops through rolling hills and meadows of sagebrush and would have some nice views of the Yellowstone River and Buffalo Plateau to the north. So I was sort of excited to see it. The first half mile or so was shared with trail rides, so there were the typical horse droppings along the way. But the sagebrush scenery was amazing right from the beginning.
As soon as I started hiking, I saw my first snake!! And then soon after a few more, wow!! I was more than happy about it.
The entire area was full of wildflowers, and butterflies were out in abundance.

After I saw my 8th snake, I finally got a quick shot of the Northern Garter Snak before it disappeared into the sagebrush shrubs. I was more than happy about it.

After about half a mile, I saw some Sandhill Cranes in an open meadow. Since I'm usually a wildlife repellant, I walked really slow and quiet, so I wouldn't scare them off and had a chance to take a few shorts. I was surprised at how big they were.

Sandhill Cranes

In some of the moist mud on the trail, I saw some fresh bear tracks. It had rained last night, and those tracks were very fresh. They were pretty impressive to see, and within the next half mile, I would see a lot more of it. I was definitely okay to see the tracks as long as the bear did not show up on the trail.

Placed all over the rolling hills were huge boulders, glacial erratics that told the past history of the area when massive glaciers covered the area.
It was pretty cool to see all these glacial remnants here in this part of the Northern Range.

Glacial Erratic

The trail dropped slightly down into a valley, and I enjoyed the views of the Buffalo Plateau to the Northwest and the ever-changing landscape. A herd of pronghorns was resting underneath a huge tree, and I got a view of one of the females and her two young ones of the year. Mama Pronghorn was very alert and watched me closely as I walked by about a quarter of a mile away.

A bit later, after the trail dropped further down into a valley, I saw more pronghorns. It definitely was not a bad day with all the wildlife I've already seen today.

And then, after hiking for about 3 miles, the trail started to skirt the Yellowstone River, and I enjoyed the views of the river below me.

On the slopes was a lot of fireweeds, the first sign that fall was not too far away.

I enjoyed a nice lunch break high above the river and listened to the sound of the water. It was so peaceful out here, and I still haven't seen a single soul today.
Soon after, the trail climbed up to a plateau and left the river. The views stayed terrific in all directions.

Yellowstone River and landscape to the Northwest

The clouds definitely made my day as well with all the interplay of shadow and light dancing on the rolling hills.

And of course, I found a lot of garnet minerals embedded in the shist along the trail. Garnet Hill was named after the minerals that can be found in abundance, I guess. It was nice to see the garnet minerals in all sizes growing out of the metamorphic shist rock samples. I love all the geology all around here.

Garnet Shist

A bit later, I encountered the remnants of a carcass; it was just the bones that were left in the field. Yellowstone is definitely a tough place for animals to survive, especially during the winter.

A bit later, the trail came close to the Yellowstone River again, quiet and peaceful this time, with not many steep gradients and rapids.

amazing scenery all over the place

Eventually, I reached the trail junction that leads to the Hellroaring trail. From here, I could take a small detour to the Suspension Bridge, which I gladly did. The bridge itself was worth seeing, and the raging Hellroaring River below was pretty impressive.

The water had carved a steep canyon by downcutting and roared and rushed through the steep and narrow canyon below me. It was quite the sight, and I took a little snack break in the shade and enjoyed the sights and sounds.

After back on the main trail, the trail went through a forest of lodgepole pines and followed Elk Creek for a while before a wide meadow opened up again. The trail went through Pleasant Valley before skirting back to the trailhead. The entire time I never saw a single soul and had it all on my own. Not too bad for a busy day during peak season in Yellowstone. I definitely enjoyed the trail a lot, and with only 580 ft of elevation gain, it was a really easy trail.

the trail through Pleasant Valley

Rolling hills all the way back to the trailhead

I was pleasantly surprised by this trail and the scenery, I'm pretty sure I'll hike it again in the future.