Mount Washburn full moon trek.
This is a quick overnight backpacking trip with a twist. We will begin our journey at 11 pm in West Yellowstone. arriving at the trailhead at about 1 am. With the moon lighting the night sky, we will climb 3.5 miles to the top of Mt Washburn.
This stretch is all up hill, and our plan is to get to the top of Mount Washburn before the sunrise and moonset. It will be nice to have the uphill portion of the hike in the cool night air with a brightly lit trail by the moon.
The trail is fairly open, and formally a stagecoach road, offering great Yellowstone moon lit views at fairly easy grades up.
We will spend some time taking in the 360 degree view, learning about the fire lookout, and enjoying a hot breakfast at 10,223 feet above sea level. Mornings are most often the clearest time of day for the higher elevations, giving us a good chance for crystal clear skies.
Our goal is a 360 degree view of the stars when we reach the top, and watching the sunrise over the Absaroka's, and the moonset over the Gallatin Mountain Range.
There is no rush today, and once we decide to hit the trail, it is a 2.5 mile downhill hike to our campsite at Washburn Meadows, with great views of the Absaroka mountain range in the distance and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone below.
We will have a long day to nap and rest after setting up camp, and plenty of time to enjoy lunch and relax for the rest of the day. We expect to be to camp well before noon, giving us several hours to tell stories and play games.
We will then enjoy a hot meal around the campfire before turning in for the night.
On day two, we will pack up and continue down the trail and visit the Washburn Hot Springs and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone along with the Silver Cord Cascade, Yellowstone's tallest waterfall, plunging 1200 feet to the Yellowstone River below.
The rest of the hike will have views along the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. We will do a quick lunch before we get back to civilization. Day 2 is about 5.7 miles. We will also see the Glacial Boulder before taking our packs off for the last time.
This trek is $400 per person (2 days 1 night) and includes transportation from Big Sky or Bozeman, guided backpacking trip, all meals on the trail, headlamps and memories that will last a lifetime.
Rental gear is available for $50 per person.
Kids are welcome, we recommend ages 12 and up. They should be able to hike 8 miles in a day without a pack. There is steep uphill and downhill grades on this trek.
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