Backpacking in Yellowstone: Heart Lake to South Boundary

Bear track on Heart Lake trail in Yellowstone

You know it’s going to be a good trip when you encounter fresh bear tracks not far from the trailhead. We followed them for miles, deeper and deeper into the backcountry, the pad markings fresh in the soft dusty dirt. Maybe a grizzly, or a giant black bear…. It could have been a black bear from the arrangement of the toes, but the sheer size made me think grizzly. For some people, the not-insignificant chance of encountering bears is a good reason to stay out of the wilderness. But that’s part of what we come for, to be able to walk in the footsteps of grizzlies, to spend time in a place where the wildlife are in charge. And that’s why a group of girlfriends and I set out for five days to hike from Heart Lake to the park’s south boundary, a 25 mile swath of wilderness. We scheduled a leisurely pace, with time to hike nearby Mount Sheridan. Here’s a glimpse of our adventure!

Day 1: Hiking In to Heart Lake

Somehow, 8 miles in with a full pack was more than plenty for me on the first backpacking excursion of the summer. Although we passed beautiful fields of fringed gentians and walked along the lake, I was exhausted and my feet were pretty sore, and it sounds like the rest of the group felt similarly. But there’s not much that relaxing on a backcountry lakeshore won’t cure! Our site was right on the shore of Heart Lake, in a patch of thick spruce and fir trees that opened up on a gravel beach. After the hike in we relaxed in our camp chairs on the beach, reading, working on dinner. Once or twice we saw people walking on the other side of the lakeshore, but otherwise we felt like the only ones there.

Heart Lake and Mount Sheridan in Yellowstone

Fringed gentian flower Heart Lake Yellowstone

Day 2: Climbing Mount Sheridan, and the Heart Lake Geyser Basin

We rose at 6:30 am to climb Mount Sheridan, 10,299 feet and 2,800 feet in elevation over 3.6 miles. The trail wound through a hillside burned in the 1988 fires, before winding along a ridge of white bark pine and smooth grey snags, with beautiful views back over Heart Lake. Finally we made our way to the top after much huffing and puffing, and were rewarded with views of Yellowstone Lake, the Snake River, the Tetons, and of course, Heart Lake. It was fantastic. After a hot descent, we took a swim in the lake, which surprisingly wasn’t brain-freezing cold. We emerged with that delicious, tingly feeling you get after swimming in cold water on a hot day.

Heart Lake from the Mount Sheridan trail

After dinner we did a bit of off-trail exploration to find a spot high above the nearby Heart Lake Geyser Basin to try and catch Rustic Geyser.

Rustic Geyser in the Heart Lake Geyser Basin

Day 3: The Solitude of Wilderness..Sunrise at Heart Lake

It’s sunrise, and I’m the only one on the lake (photo at top). A bunch of loud splashes and “kerplunks” woke me up, so I got out to investigate. I found a bunch of baby ducks cavorting right off shore, and an eagle of some sort fishing (no doubt for baby ducks), down the beach a bit. I also found the sky in mezmerizing shades of pink and purple, speckled clouds over a heavy mist on the edges of the lake. I grabbed my camera to watch the day begin, feeling like the only woman on earth.

This is what I come for – the solitude, to witness wilderness on it’s own terms, and to be swallowed up by the silence which is not really silence – but is actually bubbles and splashes and creek sounds and chipmunk chattering and the gentle twittering of songbirds. I come to find the pieces of myself that belong here, where the sounds of the mountains drown out my own thoughts. This morning, the lake is still, only the gentlest of undulations on the surface to reflect the mood of the sky. Sitting here on the beach, shivering a little, sun beginning to warm my face and legs, I feel as if I’m only scratching the surface of this vast, wild, and wonderful wilderness. Today we continue on the trail south of Heart Lake, to a campsite near Basin Creek Lake. Our route is filled with copious bear sign, although not much of it super fresh (we think….)

Backpacking in Yellowstone Heart Lake to South Boundary

Day 4: Snake River and the South Boundary Trail

We wind through meadows and lodgepole pine forests and fecund backcountry marshes to the Snake River. The sky becomes eerie from a forest fire somewhere blowing the smoke that settles in the river valley. There are bear tracks in the sand on the gravel bar near camp and lupine and paintbrush in the rocks where an eddy used to be. A thunderstorm threatens, so we lay in our tents listening to the rain on the tent, sheltered by a giant, sprawling, fir tree. Lighting flashes, we count: one one thousand, two one thousand…six one thousand…and then the boom of thunder ricochets across the canyon walls. Despite the thunder and lighting the rain is gentle, and there is little wind, as if the argument in the heavens has nought to do with the earth. Another rumble rolls up the valley. I lay awake listening to the different voices thunder makes; waves crashing, rocks rolling in the river, paper ripping, a metal ball in a tube….and hope it goes on forever. I am deeply happy.

Day 5: Yellowstone’s South Entrance

We hike out to the south entrance to Yellowstone, through deep woods, past fireweed and monkshood flowers taller than our heads, and past the Snake River Hot Springs. The trail is fairly flat, and easy, and we see no-one, despite the obviously well-used trail. In five days, we only saw a handful of people while hiking between Heart Lake and the south entrance of the park. While the press of crowds on the roads and parking lots and main attractions in the park reaches a fever pitch, there’s almost nobody in the backcountry. The heart of Yellowstone is out there….but sometimes you have to work for it.

Indian Paintbrush Heart Lake Yellowstone

Want to read more about Yellowstone’s backcountry? Check out Five Classic Yellowstone Day Hikes, Backpacking and Fishing the Beartooths, and Time Flies In the Backcountry: Flyfishing Through Generations.

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Photos: Jenny Golding