Expedition ManBearPig, Ready for Take-off! Or Hike-off, in this Case....

JULY 11, 2007 (Taken from an actual journal entry)

In the tradition of others before me (chiefly among them Geyser Gary, Wendy, and possibly other Loons....), I am endeavouring to record our adventurous and ghastily daring trek to FAIRYLAND BASIN. Heck yeah! We leave tomorrow around 9:00 am if all goes well.... Indeed. The members of our brilliant expedition include myself, (obviously....) a C-Area housekeeper, Zach Davies, a Resident Coordinator here in Grizzly Dorm, and Tim Moloney, a fellow C-Area housekeeper. We three are employees in Canyon Village, YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK!, and have the immense pleasure of working for Xanterra Parks and Resorts. Yeah, good for a year… or for that dreaded career, if one really sucks at life and can only obtain solid employment mitering beds for a living. The horror.... Anyway.... Eva, my awesome roommate, was supposed to come but has sadly opted out. So have loads of other people, like the lazy Shane, and Nick, who decided 2 days ago that he was goin’ to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I’m ridiculously psyched to get out there and see what’s what. I recall the night that I first became interested.... and couldn’t sleep cos Geyser Gary’s account had me riveted. Nice…

Zach and I got the coordinates for 4B1 yesterday, and it was surprisingly easy. Last year the old lady backcountry ranger freaked out at the mention of Fairyland, told us about a guy who got attacked by a bear in the canyon, and declined to comment further. Yay.... That's definitely heartening....

I actually just looked at Geyser Gary’s account and pictures 2ish minutes ago (Canyon employee dorms sadly have internet now) and took another look at that cliff that needs to be descended.... Yeah, pretty sure it’s the stuff of nightmares to a 5’2” chick afraid of heights. But it’s all good. Risking death is totally worth it, cos if Death is avoided, FAIRYLAND is the reward, and I’d be all right with that. During a drive through Hayden Valley tonight, it suddenly hit me that I’ll be attempting Fairyland tomorrow. Sweet!! And never mind all those horror stories that describe guys watching their best friends plummet 4,000 feet down the sheer side of a cliff. I’m just not gonna think about stuff like that.... Instead, I shall drift asleep to visions of dormant and incredibly rare and brilliant geothermal areas....

FAIRYLAND, HERE WE COME!!