The Yellowstone River begins its 692-mile-long journey to its confluence with the Missouri River on the snow-covered sides of Younts Peak.  Younts Peak is a mass of rock towering over the Teton Wilderness of northwestern Wyoming.  From the steep heights of the mountain, snowmelt and rainwater dash downward into the South Fork and North Fork of the Yellowstone.  On the northwestern edge of the big mountain, these two streams join to form the Yellowstone proper.  Here, at its origins, the Yellowstone runs clear and icy cold as it cuts graceful bends through alpine meadows and dark-green pine forests.  The far Upper Yellowstone (as the river here is known), and the region through which it passes in the Teton Wilderness, are part of the most remote piece of territory in the contiguous United States.
Continue Reading »