The hike to the bottom of the Tower Creek canyon and the base of Tower Falls in Yellowstone National Park has always been one of our favorite hikes. It’s been a fascinating place for people to visit for many, many years. It was named by the Washburn Yellowstone Expedition in August 1870 and Nathaniel P. Langford described it in The Wonders of the Yellowstone. (I’ve published part of that description at Haw Creek Out n’ About.)
Unfortunately, this year, we were not able to make it to the base of the falls. We had gone most of the way down when we came to a sign that said that the trail was closed. Apparently there had been a slide in 2006 or before and the trail was blocked. We were a little upset about hiking all of that distance only to find that the trail was closed. There should have been a sign at the top saying that it was closed or the trail should have been closed higher up. There are a lot of people who have used the trail over the years and many probably remember it fondly — though climbing back up can be rough, especially if it’s hot, you didn’t bring water, and you’re wearing the wrong kind of shoes.
I send a complaint to the park service about the lack of posting higher up, but, of course, there’s been no response.
That was just part of a day that didn’t go the way we intended which I posted about in Today sure didn’t go as planned, and I didn’t get some of the photos I thought I had — but that’s okay!
