To the west of Yellowstone River is Hayden Valley, a sub-alpine valley that sits on an ancient lake bed, once filled by an arm of Yellowstone Lake. Today it is one of the best places to view the free ranging bison herds, elk, grizzly bears and wolves. To protect the wildlife, the valley has only two accessible trails and fishing is prohibited in its waterways.
The valley was named after Ferdinand V. Hayden, a geologist and physician who served during the Civil War. In 1871, Ferdinand led the first federally funded geological survey into Yellowstone. His subsequent report was instrumental in the establishment of Yellowstone as a National Park.
Yellowstone River is the last major undammed river in the contiguous United States. Northbound, it flows into the Missouri River and pours out into the Atlantic Ocean. It has a gentle meander until it suddenly plunges into Yellowstone’s very own Grand Canyon, not once but twice. The Upper Falls is the first plunge with a drop of 109ft (33m), then a quarter mile (400m) further is the more thunderous Lower Falls, with a drop of 308ft (94m). Viewing points abound but the best one for the falls is via Uncle Tom’s Trail, down 328 steps to a viewing platform on the side of the canyon.
On the opposite side of the trail is the spectacular view of the canyon and the Lower Falls crashing over the edge. Formed about 150,000 years ago, the canyon wasn’t quite as big as it is today. Hydrothermal activity changed the integrity of the rocks, softening them. These weakened rocks were then eroded by Yellowstone River, carving a much deeper and wider canyon.
With a stunning palette of warm colours, the canyon is a combination of pink, orange, red, yellow and white. Painter Thomas Moran said “…its beautiful tints were beyond the reach of human art”. Thomas was part of Hayden’s 1871 expedition into Yellowstone. Over a two-week period, he filled a sketchbook with landscapes he saw. He was so enamoured with the colours and vibrancy of Yellowstone’s canyon that upon returning home, Thomas immediately set about painting “The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone”. As the largest American painting of the 19th century (12x7ft/3.65x2.1m), the government immediately purchased it for $10,000. It was the first landscape painting to hang in the Capitol Building, Washington D.C.
Turning in for the day, I pulled into a local eatery for a hearty pot roast with mashed potatoes and lemon garlic green beans. Of course, a good chocolate fudge and a hot cuppa was a great way to wrap it up for the night.
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Way before the Grand Canyon became an organised tourist destination, it attracted some very colourful characters but none more interesting than Emery and Ellsworth Kolb. They were brothers, professional photographers, daredevils and major contributors to the Grand Canyon’s designation as a National Park.
On 19 December 1911, the Kolb brothers launched their wooden boats, Edith and Defiance, onto the Colorado River with the intention to photograph and film the interior of the Grand Canyon. Five days later on Christmas Eve, each with their own boat took a chance on the Waltenberg Rapid. Choppy, moody and referred to as “bad” by Ellsworth, the end of that day was possibly the best pre-Christmas Day present ever.
When they approached the rapid, each took a different course – Emery chose the right and Ellsworth chose the left. It didn’t take long for Emery to find himself stuck. He wrote, “I scarcely started when I found myself on a nest of jagged rocks, with violent water all about me, and with other rocks, some of them submerged, below me. I climbed out on the rocks and held the boat…The greatest trouble would be to hold the boat if she broke loose."
Ellsworth on the other hand found himself in a whirlpool “bouncing back and forth like a great rubber ball”. As his boat filled with water it sank and overturned with Ellsworth still holding on. Once he let go, the strong current pushed Ellsworth through the rapid, bobbing up and down, submerging with each breaking wave.
As Ellsworth was barely kept above water by his life vest, Emery pried his boat loose off the rocks. Launching in the centre of the rapid, it wasn’t long before he hit rocks once again. His boat broke “like egg-shells” and left a gaping hole on its side. His rescue effort was done for.
Fortunately, Ellsworth was drawn out of the centre of the whitewater into a calm part of the river. Knowing he had limited time before the current would push him downstream into another rapid, he mustered what strength he had left and dragged himself out on his hands and knees. Emery eventually reached him and helped him out of his frozen clothes and into dry blankets.
Their companion, Bert Lauzon, was spotting the pair from shore. Seeing Ellsworth’s boat caught in an eddy he swam out and rescued it before it entered the next rapid. The next day the trio celebrated Christmas by repairing the gaping hole in Emery’s boat and continuing with their adventures.
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