YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. – A Winona man who set out September 12 to scale the remote and difficult 11,000-foot Eagle Peak in Yellowstone National Park missed a rendezvous with a boat to take him back to civilization. Austin King-Henke, 22, was alone on what he planned as a seven-day backpack adventure. It would be a finale to a summer job at the park, he told friends. It was known that he made it to the summit. He called family from the summit Thursday. He described fog, rain, sleet, hail and harsh wind. This was five days after he departed from a boat landing at the southeast arm of Yellowstone Lake. It was expected he would be descending to the lake, camping one last night on the be way back.

Wilderness. Eagle Peak is in the Absarokee Range, which divides Paradise Valley in the Park and the Bighorn Basin in northwest Wyoming. The Absarokees Are remnants of tectonic forces that pulled the geography apart 50 million years ago.

Eagle Peak profile

At 11,367 feet, Eagle Peak is the highest point in Yellowstone National Park. It  is the most remote place in the Lower 48. It is a 15-mile hike from any road in the park. Most experts do not recommend scaling the peak itself.