Yellowstone: Fawn Pass
We had a long weekend open up last minute and wanted to head into the backcountry. The only hiking we had done in the Gallatin Range up to this point was Sepulcher, Electric Peak, and Beatty Gulch, so Fawn Pass area sounded like a cool new area to explore. We set off from the Glen Creek TH and walked past a single day hiker, the last person we would see in three days. It was VERY hot and exposed hiking into Gardners Hole, we had to take a beat once we hit the trees to cool off and refuel. Once in Gardners Hole it's a flat hike to hook up with Fawn creek. The hike from there is a slow and steady climb to the pass with beautiful views.
The following day we decided to hike up to the pass and check out the views. There's a small pond at the top of the pass, where Fawn Creek originates. From there we followed the trail a little further until the views opened up to the west. We were overlooking the Big Game Pass Trail and the Upper Gallatin River drainage.
After a nice lunch and rest at the pass, we turned back to head back to camp. We were a little past peak wildflowers, but there were still plenty of late-season blooms.
That night there was a HUGE storm that blew over Mammoth and glanced us, but we could hear the thunder roaring up the valley all night. The following day on the hike out, it was a little wet, which made it somewhat humid once the sun came out.
We stopped for a snack in the trees in the same place we did on the way out. This time bull #24 walked pretty close to where we snacking to get some food of his own. On the hike out, he actually caught up to us and we had to move off the trail to give him space to pass. Side note: this is the dominant bull in Mammoth during the rut, and he showed up the following week to start the rut. Kinda cool to see him in his summer range.
We made short work of the last part of the trail and were back at the car around lunch.
Trip notes: We hiked around 26 miles in 3 days with just shy of 3200' of elevation gain. With very few campsites, and the pass about 12 miles away, there's not a ton of people out there. The trailhead is close to the North Entrance too, which means the drive to the trailhead is only like 20 minutes. One of these days we will have to hike it through to 191.
