Uncle Tom's Trail

Beginning in 1898, park visitors could descend along a “trail” known as Uncle Tom's Trail to a viewpoint near the base of the Lower Yellowstone Falls in the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. Constructed by park concessionaire "Uncle Tom" H. F. Richardson, the original trail included several rope ladders and 528 steps. As a private enterprise, Richardson guided clients into the canyon, and then afterwards would provide them with a picnic lunch. This photo was taken before 1905:

In 1905, the National Park Service assumed ownership of Uncle Tom's Trail, and then proceeded to make numerous improvements to the route. In addition to removing the ropes, they reduced the number of steps to “only” 328. However, this new trail only went three-quarters of the way into the canyon. Over the ensuing years, the park made additional improvements to the stairway system. In 2019, however, they closed the trail to all visitors, presumably forever. Here’s the improved Uncle Tom's Trail in 1906:

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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• My new and improved edition on hiking history is available on Amazon

How did hikers measure trail distances before GPS?

Prior to the invention of GPS, one of the principle tools used by hikers and trail builders to measure distances between two points was a measuring wheel. Also known as a surveyor's wheel, clickwheel, hodometer, waywiser, trundle wheel, and perambulator, the measuring wheel was introduced by surveyors in England in the 17th century. By the early 1900s, the hiking community was using the instrument as well.

Since its original invention, the device has undergone many improvements. By the early 1900s it had basically evolved into a bicycle wheel attached to a pole. As it does today, the instrument measures the distance between two points by rolling the device along the ground. As the wheel completes a full rotation, a mechanical counter records the number of revolutions. The total distance is then calculated by multiplying the number of clicks by the circumference of the wheel.

Myron Avery, regarded as the person most responsible for the construction of the Appalachian Trail, famously pushed a measuring wheel along the route in the 1930s, and in the process became the first person to hike its entire length (in sections). Here he is along a stretch of the Appalachian Trail in Pennsylvania:

According to an article on the Appalachian Mountain Club website, “For the first edition [of the White Mountain Guide, published in 1907], AMC cartographer Louis Cutter fastened a cyclometer, a device that measures distance based on the rotation of a wheel, to the front half of a bicycle and walked it into the mountains.” Although I couldn’t find any other mentions of its usage prior to this date, there’s a very good chance that measuring wheels were used in the White Mountains (and other locales) prior to this timeframe.

You can read more about the pioneers of trail building in Ramble On: A History of Hiking.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.

The “Blizzard Proof Jacket”

The following is an excerpt from my new book, Ramble On: A History of Hiking.

The first significant improvement in outdoor apparel was made as a result of a near-death experience during a winter fishing trip in 1935. After catching roughly one hundred pounds of steelhead salmon along the North Fork of the Skokomish River on the Olympic Peninsula, Eddie Bauer and his friend began hauling their heavy load up the steep canyon. Though it was cold and snowing, the men removed their wool coats to avoid overheating during their ascent. However, as Bauer neared the top of the climb, he realized that his underclothes had become coated with ice, and his body temperature was starting to drop. In an interview conducted several decades later, Bauer stated that he sat down next to a tree to take a

quick rest. After a short time he realized that he was becoming sleepy, which is usually an early sign of hypothermia, and fired off three rounds from his revolver to alert his friend, who was well ahead of him by this time. Fortunately for Bauer, his fishing buddy heard the shots and returned to revive him and escort him back to safety. Upon returning to his home in Seattle, Bauer immediately went to work on designing a garment that would help outdoorsmen stay warm and dry during harsh weather conditions, while eliminating the bulkiness and weight associated with heavy wool. During the following year, he introduced the “Skyliner,” the first quilted goose down jacket made in North America, and began advertising it as a “Blizzard Proof Jacket” in outdoor publications, such as Field and Stream. The breathable, lightweight coat, patterned with diamond-shaped baffles, revolutionized winter outdoor apparel. Over the next several years, Bauer designed and patented several other down-filled products, such as parkas, ski jackets, pants and sleeping bags. Members of the first American K2 expedition in 1953, as well as the first American Mt. Everest expedition in 1963, wore Eddie Bauer parkas.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.

Avalanche Warning Issued By The Flathead Avalanche Center (updated)

BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING
IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
06:00 MDT Wed Mar 18 2026

The Flathead Avalanche Center in Hungry Horse has issued a BACKCOUNTRY AVALANCHE WARNING for the following areas:

NWS Missoula MT - MTZ001 (MTZ001)...MTZ002 (MTZ002)

* WHAT...Above-freezing temperatures, strong winds, and rain have created very dangerous avalanche conditions.

* WHERE...Slopes above 5,000 feet in the Whitefish, Swan, Flathead Ranges, and the Lake McDonald and Marias Pass areas of Glacier National Park.

* WHEN...In effect from Wed 06:00 MDT to Sat 06:00 MDT.

* IMPACTS...Natural and human-triggered avalanches are very likely. Wet loose avalanches will entrain a dangerous amount of wet debris. Weak layers buried several feet deep may fail, resulting in very large and destructive avalanches.

* PRECAUTIONARY / PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...Very dangerous avalanche conditions. Travel in avalanche terrain is not recommended. Avalanches may run long distances and can run into mature forests, valley floors, or flat terrain.

Consult http://www.flatheadavalanche.org/ or www.avalanche.org for more detailed information. Similar avalanche danger may exist at locations outside the coverage area of this or any avalanche center.



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Check out our online trail guides:

• Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com

• Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com

• Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com

• New, improved and expanded edition on the history of hiking is now available on Amazon

The Austin Sisters

On August 31, 1821, three young ladies from the nearby town of Jefferson, New Hampshire arrived at the Crawfords’ homestead determined to ascend Mt. Washington. In her memoir, The History of the White Mountains, Lucy Crawford noted that Eliza, Harriet, and Abigail Austin “were ambitious and wanted to have the honor of being the first females who placed their feet on this high and now celebrated place.” Although foul weather forced the excursionists to bivouac three nights along the lower slopes of the mountain, the Austin sisters became the first women of European descent to set foot atop Mount Washington. Moreover, this was likely the first mountain of any significance to be climbed by white females in the United States.

Please note: the women in this photo are not the Austin sisters, but are Hazel Peek, [an unidentified woman], and Theodora Beckwith. The photo was likely taken around the turn of the 20th century.



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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On: A History of Hiking explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world.