Sky Rim Trail Hike

No animals were hurt during this hike, but some might find it interesting anyway .

I finally got some free time this summer so Friday I did a day hike up the Sky Rim Trail to Big Horn Mountain. The Sky Rim Trail borders the NW corner of Yellowstone Park. The normal way to access is from the Park side along the Gallatin River, but I chose to come in from Tom Miner Basin.

The trail looks easy on a map but it wasn’t easy! It followed the ridgeline so it was up and down the whole way and the September sun was brutal even at 9600’. I had been hiking three hours when I turned around and took this photo. I started toward the bottom of the rocky ridge that angles off to the right.

Those familiar with the area might recognize Ramshorn Peak in the background and Specimen Ridge(Tom Miner basin) is the one that angles to the right going away.


Looking the the direction I was headed (South) I could finally see the rocky flanks of Big Horn Peak. Unfortunately, it was still about an hour away. But at least I could see it.


There was more downhill to be had before I would get there. An optimist would say it was downhill both ways.



But following the little spurs on the trail yielded interesting sights.


Trees buried 50 million years ago by tremendous mudslides coming from the flanks of volcanoes in what is now called the Gallatin Petrified Forest.


Another tree: look for the tall orangish stump in the center.


The mudslides carried giant boulders which kept the material underneath from eroding away, leaving hoodoos.



In some cases the petrification preserved great details. Imagine how many people looked and didn't touch so the pieces would still be intact for the next person. That is the nice thing about the backcountry – too far to carry this stuff back and rob the next generation of seeing it.

Another stump tucked in a nook. White petrified wood that has fallen from it is scattered on the slope. If you look up on the hillsides in Yellowstone you can often see these tell-tale white rocks fanning out below a stump.


The eroded landscape was dramatic and hidden with little treats. If you look close at the bottom center you can see a tall vertical tree eroding out of the cliffs.


Interesting flint-like rocks are common. You can tell you are getting into the petrified forest when you start seeing this type of stuff. It comes in different colors ranging from yellow to red.


This stump was right on the trail and was about 10 feet in diameter. The larger trees are supposedly redwoods, but the frequent slides must have kept them from getting really large. The amazing thing is these redwoods were high on the flanks of the volcanoes but the valleys below were tropical. The mudslides carried the high altitude trees to the valley bottom and mixed them with tropical trees. Or God was just playing a joke on us depending on who you talk to.



The flows were usually dark with unsorted stones (clasts) of different sizes. A closeup showing the unsorted conglomerate.


But sometimes they were like cement. This “cement” might be the "welded tuff" from the more recent (1-2 million years ago) "supervolcano" caldera eruptions, not the 50 million year old ones that buried the trees - I don't know.



More of this cement encased rock. This is looking north into Tom Miner basin and into the Yellowstone River Valley.


Another picture looking east into Tom Miner Creek which flows into the Yellowstone River above Yankee Jim Canyon. There was a nice billy above those cliffs and five other goats right above it.

Yea, no water. Thanks for the reminder.


Getting close to the top I got to look into the Specimen Creek drainage, which flows into the Gallatin River.



Finally after four hours the 9899' Big Horn Peak was just a few yards more down the trail.


The trail skirted the south side of Big Horn.


Looking into the Specimen Creek drainage.




Looking back to where I had came – realizing you can only see halfway to the trailhead… The tall squarish peak way back on the skyline is The Sphinx which is on the east side of the Madison Valley. The large peak to the right of that must be Lone Mountain (Big Sky). Bummer I had to deal with all the smoke from the Washington fires.


On the way back down the west side of the ridge looking into the Gallatin drainage was hard to beat.


After seven hours hiking I finally had some shooting light, but I was still an hour from the car on a trail through the timber in prime grizzly territory so I finished the evening with this shot and hiked into the basin and back to my car. Eight hours straight walking – almost as bad as hunting.

Nice pictures Rob.

Outstanding pictures of some amazing country! Thanks!

Love that country.

Thanks for taking us along. My wife and I have ridden many of the trails hooking up to the Sky Rim Trail but we have never actually ridden it. Great country.

Interesting pics and facts Rob, thanks for posting.

Super pics! THanks for taking us along. It's pics like yours that make me have a strong dislike for where I live...

Great pics! Thanks for sharing!

Those are some nice pics of some great country! Thank you for taking us along and sharing.