Top: Looking northwest from the Mt. Washburn lookout tower access road towards the Black Canyon the Yellowstone River and the Lee Metcalf Wilderness Area on the horizon. The United States Congress designated the Lee Metcalf Wilderness in 1983 and it now has a total of 254,288 acres. All of the wilderness is in Montana, and forms a valuable buffer region for Yellowstone National Park. The Wilderness is actually made up of four different sections of wild land, with the Taylor/Hilgard section being the largest at 141,000 acres.

Below, Paul takes in the view from the south side of Mt. Washburn, looking out over the green sprawl of Hayden Valley. Snow-capped Mt. Sheridan, part of the Red Mountain Range, rises against the skyline in the distance, with the Teton Range even further to the southwest beyond Mt. Sheridan. To the left (east and south) of Mt. Sheridan, you can see all the way down to the mighty Wind River Range, also part of the huge Yellowstone ecosystem.
Washburn Meadows, one of my favorite backpack destinations, lies just below the southeast side of Mt. Washburn, with the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River carving a huge gash through the plateau south of the Meadows.