hiking to Electric Peak in Yellowstone NP

Avalanche Peak has the best views in the park, but the most demanding and strenuous peak (with a trail) is, bar none, Electric Peak.

This is one of the most physically demanding hikes in the park:

I will get to the “peak” issue later in the blog, but first, this is a hike that needs to be hiked early in the day if you suspect thunderstorms in the area. The top is obviously exposed and you can guess why the peak was named “electric”.

Park in the parking lot for Bunsen Peak and then cross the road and pretend you are hiking towards Fawn Pass or Cache Lake:

At that point there are signs telling you which trail to deviate to, you keep going along Glen Creek towards Cache Lake. You are going to hike along Glen Creek for a while.

So, time to fess up, I did not plan to hike Electric Peak that day; it was a 20 miles hike and a third of it was going to be on a slope, exposed to the sun. When I started the hike I noticed a group coming behind me and when I reached Glen Creek once those side trails were behind me I ran into a family of deer on a trail and I stopped. We all stopped to see the deer on the trail and then they went ahead of me, but we had the same pace so they were not from my eyesight.

There is no elevation at this part of the hike and once in a while a meadow will open up and then back to the forested area.

But the forest is not dense so you can scan left and right for critters with certainty that you will see them if they are there. Then you reach another fork:

This is where I was supposed to go to Cache Lake, but that group was resting at the Y and I asked them where they were going and they said Electric so I took stock of them and realized I was in the same shape as them and decide to go for it.

Once you leave that intersection the trail starts going up and there starts to be sun exposure. I eventually passed that group and ran into another group: these guys were backpackers that I guess were doing a day hike to the peak. And then I was fully exposed to the sun, I added sunscreen and wished I had hiking poles (they did, and that helped a lot).

Then you start getting peeks of the peak:

And it is very strenuous going up and up because there are no switchbacks, you just get the trail up. You are getting closer:

I passed the backpackers and reached the official end of the trail and here we need to explain. Take a look at the image below:

The trail ends at a bench area and I am going to show images and videos from that area:

I mean, it is AMAZING. You can see Cache Lake down below:

So back to the map with the trail and markers (1) and (2): The flat area ends the trail but you are not at the summit, you are still about a mile away (maybe half a miles, I can’t tell). From the bench area you will reach a hump at (1) and, I am not kidding, the slope is beyond brutal. You have to have hiking poles to alleviate going up and alleviate not falling down on the way back. The other groups went ahead and reached that hump. I decided that without hiking poles I would have a real problem going down (I had a bad experience going up to a volcano in Oregon without hiking poles and going down I ruined my knees).

Once you reach (1) you rest and then get to the top at marker (2), the real summit. That part didn’t look that bad, it was still a slope but a lot better than the slope to reach marker (1).

So I turned around after resting for a while. I didn’t see any other hikers on the way back going up, so this was a light day on the trail for hikers. I think my mileage was about 18 miles that day and even thought it was hard, it did not feel that bad to me. Going to markers (1) and (2) were feasible for me, but not without hiking poles.

In conclusion, this is a great hike for those with the stamina (remember, parts of this hike are in prime grizzly territory) to hike a full day. I was very glad that I decided to hike to the peak instead of just going to Cache Lake. I really underestimated my strength (I read a lot about how this hike was brutal), so this will be a return hike the next time I am in Yellowstone and I will go up to the summit.

Enjoy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!