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Yellowstone closing


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39 minutes ago, VBistro said:

They say they are stuck in Gardiner until who-knows-when!

There are still some very nice hikes/day trips either north or south via Route 191 out of Gardiner.  In fact - if the travel south on 191 towards the town of West Yellowstone there is a very nice and fairly easy hike on Big Horn Pass Trail.  I believe that the GPS is 44.928235, -111.049544 but they should check that before venturing out.  Actually this hike is in Yellowstone National Park but you don't go through any gate or Ranger Station - it is right off 191 just north of Divide Lake.  If they do this hike they should be absolutely certain to have bear spray for both the bears and the moose that hang out around there.

And/or - they could turn north on 191 and head up to Big Sky Resort for a nice lunch at the ski resort or in the town of Big Sky.  The drive is easy but very nice with the Gallatin River right along side the road.

Bill

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49 minutes ago, topgun2 said:

HERE is a video showing some of the flooded areas.

Bill

Thanks for posting! 
Ultimately Mother Nature will have her way.

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It has been raining around here for days and weeks. Yankee Jim Canyon is now completely flooded or nearly so some parts of the road are gone. The road up to Mammoth is washed  away in large parts, Tom Miner bridge completely gone and washed away. Rock Creek is flooding Red Lodge as we speak. The Gallatin River is close to breaching its banks in parts, its very full and running fast. Its my understanding Gardiner is completely cut off from the outside world at this point unless you have a helicopter. Paradise Valley from the north is partly flooded and I suspect it will only be time before Livingston will be partly under water too. 

It might get worse because it supposed to hit 87º on Thursday which means a huge amount of water will be coming out of these mountains at those temps. SW Montana today has been in the 40's to 50's but when a flip flop in weather like this occurs, its Katy bar the door with possible flood conditions. Snow Pack in the mountains this year has been either way above normal or above normal depending on the mountains range. 

I would not advise anyone to travel to this area for the next few days maybe weeks. Those roads in and around the park will take a very long time to repair given their damage and getting worse by the hour. 

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More on the flooding in YNP and surrounding areas.  The park Superintendent announced a reopening of the park on Thursday, but obviously that won't include the north gate through Gardiner.  Even a Thursday reopening for the other gates seems like a push in my opinion.

Huge Flooding Forces Evacuation Of Yellowstone National Park; Wild Videos Show Destruction | Cowboy State Daily

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Agreed, seems a bit early to me as well. Not the best year to visit YNP in the first place. Of course this could change if it keeps raining but the real worry is the flip flop in temps on Thursday which will release a torrent of more water out of the mountains. 

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Personally, I wouldn’t be too quick in canceling my plans to visit SW Montana this year if you were planning on going there.  Things always seem like the end of the world is coming when you’re in the middle of the storm, as the prior posts here seem to portray, but when you look back after the storms have passed by they often don’t seem so bad.

Sure, there was plenty of severe damage in the northern part of Yellowstone Park earlier this week, and that part of the Park will be closed the rest of this year, and perhaps beyond.  It may take a year, or perhaps longer until a new road is built from Gardiner to Mammoth at the northern entrance, and the Lamar Valley and out to the Northeast entrance will also be closed for sometime as well.   However, I wouldn’t expect other entrances to the closed for very long so you’ll still have access to the southern part of the Park.  You might also need some type of advance reservation to get into the Park when it does open, but that’s a good thing regardless of the events that happened earlier this week, to limit the Park’s overcrowding.

Water levels there have receded significantly over the past couple days, and although still high, they are now at manageable levels.  Even with the warm weather now forecast for the next couple days  I don’t believe you’re going to see any more significant flooding there this year.  (My personal opinion, from an optimistic fisherman’s perspective.)

John

p.s.  I spent 20 years on the banks of the Yellowstone River in Paradise Valley north of Yellowstone Park.  There will still be some great fishing there this summer, and hundreds of other enjoyable outdoor activities to do.  

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For those who are still planning a trip to SW Montana below is a link from the Yellowstone National Park website. You might find this helpful. As I understand it, they are still assessing the road and bridge damages which appear to be extensive depending on locations within the park. The northern section will be completely closed off for an extensive amount of time. The small town of Gardiner will obviously share the brunt of the economics of this situation. Understand too there is still some awesome country to see, experience and explore in and around SW Montana yet outside of Yellowstone. Last year there was 4.86 million visitors to YNP, I can't imagine what that many visitors this year with only half the park open would be like. Crowded would be an understatement. Good luck finding a camp spot. 

Additionally the Livingston Hospital was evacuated a few days ago due to flooding. Not sure whose idea it was to build a hospital close to a a free flowing river but its there apparently. By now I've seen at least two complete houses flowing down rivers one on the Yellowstone the other on the Stillwater River to the east which flows out of the Beartooth Mountains. Its entirely possible other streams and tributaries (such as the Boulder both west and main) have also had extensive flooding which we have not heard about yet. As of yesterday it was my understanding the Billings Municipal water works was shut down as well. 

True the rivers are receding to some degree but the damage as far more widespread than just YNP. Hopefully this will help to some degree for planning carefully and cautiously.

https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/news/220613.htm

 

 

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 We were based in Gardiner and a bit in Mammoth from May 20-27. Lots of great restaurant staff just getting back on their feet.  

I also think of the Mammoth CG host we met. Full-timers that had just scored the whole season at Mammoth, two days on, four days off, with two other couples.  While I expect they might be able to stay, that highway to Gardiner is the lifeline up there and it's out of action for the foreseeable future. 

We were at the Yellowstone RV park on the river, which is shown just downstream from the house everyone watched wash away. I'm guessing it was the park owner's house...right on the outside bend of the river, unfortunately.

 

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Frankly - from the video and pictures I've seen - this is remarkable progress.

When I posted alternative places to visit and see (see post towards top of this thread), I was unaware of just how severe the damage was.  Totally glad that there have been no known injuries from this event.  Surely as bad as it is - it could have been so much worse.  YNP is a very special place and it obviously has some very special people working there.

Bill

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