MT/ID/WY TRI-POINT UPDATE
Planes, Boots, Bikes, & Automobiles

Repeating from a previous post...tri-pointing is not for wusses! Read on: (contributed by Greg Weiler)

Jean & I finally bagged this one on 4Aug05. As Jack Parsell said, this is a difficult site to reach. Also, we referred to Bob Whitney's suggested route (HP Newsletter #69) and found the barricaded road, almost completely overgrown. Two miles further, we came to a gated road on the left which appeared to be the beginning of Black Canyon Loop FR066. Bob had e-mailed me input on this alternate southern route but, since we attempted this 3Pt 2 years earlier, we opted for Jack's northern approach, more familiar to us.

Past Big Springs, ID, we located FR066 and followed it 9mi to the gate. From our previous exploration, we knew to reserve bicycles in West Yellowstone where the renters tied them to the back of our also rented Chevy Malibu. At 930AM we began pedaling FR066 - not steep, but long, gradual upgrades for aprx. 6mi. - calling for a pair of hardy legs. We reached the Big Thirsty trail head at 1020AM when we went on foot and headed toward the "4th drainage ditch."

For 90min we had to continually skirt around dead trees. Once in the ditch, even more of these obstacles blocked our path. After an hour we decided to climb out and just straight line it to the TP using the GPS. More dead, burned trees were encountered for the next 1 1/2hr until, at 145PM, we spotted the yellow bearing tree signs and, just beyond, the cairn TP post. The GPS had led us directly to it! The day ended at 830PM when we reached our motel and went horizontal. Ahhhh....

Note: This Yellowstone NP area is very isolated and desolate with standing and fallen burned trees that offer no reference. Be prepared for a min. 6-8hr hike (gwhiker@ix.netcom.com).

Both Greg and Jean have visited 30 TPs which includes a 5-Dakotas TPs trip last summer (no bikes required). HPs: Greg, 46; Jean, 43 - she has also done Mt. Fuji and Kilimanjaro.

POST HOST TREKSTER TREADWAY "HARVESTED"
Tripp's remains found after seasonal cultivator work...

Trekster Tripp Treadway, Post Host of Blogger/Google's The Trek Stop blog, was found Monday, October 29th after not reporting to work for several autumn weeks. Local farm children, playing near the cornfield, where he had been literally harvested, reported finding Treadway. His Trek Stop associates believed he simply left on a whimsical trek, as he often did, and were not concerned when he last disappeared. Trek Stop staff and trekkers from the U.S. and abroad attended Tripp's cremation in the backyard burn barrel. His ashes were scattered over the local fields and hills he loved to trek. He was survived by no one in particular and he will not be long-remembered for his Straw-for-Brains misjudgments.

Trekster Tripp will be replaced by Trekster/Climber William Amos Goat, known in his younger, wilder days as simply: Billie Goat. On the blog staff, he has been most active in the Toons department as "The Old Goat," but has served as an important mountaineering/trekking advisor also. His family, O. americanus, has come to call their wizened mountain guru, Beardzy, as will we, alternating with "The Old Goat" of Toons fame. His lot are known as "King of the Mountain." For sure....

More developments/updates coming.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_goat