Lone Star Geyser hike
Labor Day Weekend 2008.
30 August, 2008.
This is a great hike. Short, about 5 miles round trip. No real vertical to deal with. It is paved quite a ways. There is some little creek alone the trail for quite a ways. No idea what the name is, but I think this is what turns into the Kepler Cascades at that trailhead.
We saw few animals. Though there was a lot of scat on the trail - right in the middle of the paved trail - that looked like either Otis from Mayberry had been there a few days before, or my guess a black bear. Halfpenny's 'Tracks and Scat's' book has pictures, for the case of black bear scat. I did not have the book. But, I seem to remember it looks much like what you would expect Otis to produce.
We got to the Lone Star Geyser just before it erupted. A great stroke of luck. The forecast for this geyser was something like 3-4 hours between eruptions.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Mammoth Hot Springs Horsey ride
Horse ride at Mammoth Hot Springs Horse Corral
22 May, 2009
This isn't really a hike. But riding a horse is more work than it looks. I've only ridden a horse something like 6 times. Each time, far enough into the past that I forget two things.
1. From the saddle horses seem huge
2. Though the horse may be doing most of the work, staying in the saddle and not getting the horse aggravated with you is much more work than it appears.
We went out with the very first ride of the season from the Mammoth Horse Corral.
For my two youngest kids, this was their first horse ride. The wranglers at the corral wanted us to identify with our horses. Thus we became known as:
Tex - my horse
Bashful - my wife's horse
Tomahawk - Number 1 daughter
Alfie - Number 2 daughter
Happy - Number 3 daughter
Norman - Number 1 son's horse.
The ride is a one hour, three mile loop. From the Mammoth Stable, out onto the hills below Bunsen Peak and back. The wranglers told of a wolf pack that had been in the area. Of close encounters with a black bear on an earlier ride. In our case it was elk, or an occasional squirrel. We did get to watch a young wrangler get bucked off his horse. The wranglers break in the new horses. They ride them with the established horses until the decide they'll accommodate city slickers, or have to go back and pull carts in Bozeman.
My understanding is the horse that did the bucking would get a few more chances.
The lead wrangler, told me that more of the park and its trails and hikes were closed down than she could remember. When we came in the South Entrance, Thursday the 21st, there was snow piled on the side of the rode to the height of our vehicle. Out past the road side it appeared the snow still was about 4 feet deep. Lewis Lake was frozen over. When we left, on Memorial Day, Lewis Lake was starting to show big patches of blue. Thus, in the space of four days the ice cover showed significant change.
22 May, 2009
This isn't really a hike. But riding a horse is more work than it looks. I've only ridden a horse something like 6 times. Each time, far enough into the past that I forget two things.
1. From the saddle horses seem huge
2. Though the horse may be doing most of the work, staying in the saddle and not getting the horse aggravated with you is much more work than it appears.
We went out with the very first ride of the season from the Mammoth Horse Corral.
For my two youngest kids, this was their first horse ride. The wranglers at the corral wanted us to identify with our horses. Thus we became known as:
Tex - my horse
Bashful - my wife's horse
Tomahawk - Number 1 daughter
Alfie - Number 2 daughter
Happy - Number 3 daughter
Norman - Number 1 son's horse.
The ride is a one hour, three mile loop. From the Mammoth Stable, out onto the hills below Bunsen Peak and back. The wranglers told of a wolf pack that had been in the area. Of close encounters with a black bear on an earlier ride. In our case it was elk, or an occasional squirrel. We did get to watch a young wrangler get bucked off his horse. The wranglers break in the new horses. They ride them with the established horses until the decide they'll accommodate city slickers, or have to go back and pull carts in Bozeman.
My understanding is the horse that did the bucking would get a few more chances.
The lead wrangler, told me that more of the park and its trails and hikes were closed down than she could remember. When we came in the South Entrance, Thursday the 21st, there was snow piled on the side of the rode to the height of our vehicle. Out past the road side it appeared the snow still was about 4 feet deep. Lewis Lake was frozen over. When we left, on Memorial Day, Lewis Lake was starting to show big patches of blue. Thus, in the space of four days the ice cover showed significant change.
Fairy Falls, Firehole Geyser Basin, Wyoming
Fairy Falls hike from the parking lot near Midway Geyser Basin.
22 May, 2009
An easy, almost non-hike. I seem to remember figuring it was 5.25 miles round
trip. But, there is almost no vertical to be dealt with at all. You really can't count the maybe 30 feet you meander up to get to the base of the falls.
Our family of 6 got there very easily. Nobody was wearing flip-flops. But, they probably could have. You can scramble up the sides of the fall if you want. It is a bit steep, and quite loose.
This fall at 196 feet is magnificent. I am not sure what Mystic fall is in height. But I think this is taller. We tried to take a short side hike over to what I believe is the Queen's Laundry. Two thermal features visible from the falls. Fact is they are visible the entire hike. They are also visible from the Midway Geyser boardwalk.
This May however the trail as you near those thermal features is a creek. The entire area was a swamp. Which made me decide to give up. We were all in sneakers, and I did not want to deal with the clean up.
22 May, 2009
An easy, almost non-hike. I seem to remember figuring it was 5.25 miles round
trip. But, there is almost no vertical to be dealt with at all. You really can't count the maybe 30 feet you meander up to get to the base of the falls.
Our family of 6 got there very easily. Nobody was wearing flip-flops. But, they probably could have. You can scramble up the sides of the fall if you want. It is a bit steep, and quite loose.
This fall at 196 feet is magnificent. I am not sure what Mystic fall is in height. But I think this is taller. We tried to take a short side hike over to what I believe is the Queen's Laundry. Two thermal features visible from the falls. Fact is they are visible the entire hike. They are also visible from the Midway Geyser boardwalk.
This May however the trail as you near those thermal features is a creek. The entire area was a swamp. Which made me decide to give up. We were all in sneakers, and I did not want to deal with the clean up.
Specimen Ridge, Yellowstone Park
Specimen Ridge hike, Yellowstone National Park
23 May, 2009
The family did a short version of this hike, maybe 2.5 miles out, same back. Started at the picnic spot on the southwest side of the Lamar Valley road, about 3 miles from the Roosevelt horse corral.
The trail takes off up the hill heading southeast. You do almost all the vertical you have to do in the first mile. Then you are up above the Yellowstone river. The signs on the trail give the idea it follows the river and this ridge for many miles. We got to the ridge line. Followed it to a large tree and a rock face. Figured we had been on top of the ridge the entire way.
My youngest daughter and I kept on for a ways after everybody else had enough. We encountered a coyote that came trotting down the trail to us. This coyote clearly was used to people. It also seemed rather miffed that we had no food to offer. Further on, it caught up to rest of our group who apparently got panicked figuring coyotes might have a taste for human flesh. Not quite.
My daughter got several good shots of the hike and the coyote. The next day I inadvertently reformatted the memory stick. This is where I will insert an advertisement for Broadway Camera in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I was able to call them, get advice, and then on Memorial Day bring in the camera. They had a software system that was able to recover the images and restore our mementos.
23 May, 2009
The family did a short version of this hike, maybe 2.5 miles out, same back. Started at the picnic spot on the southwest side of the Lamar Valley road, about 3 miles from the Roosevelt horse corral.
The trail takes off up the hill heading southeast. You do almost all the vertical you have to do in the first mile. Then you are up above the Yellowstone river. The signs on the trail give the idea it follows the river and this ridge for many miles. We got to the ridge line. Followed it to a large tree and a rock face. Figured we had been on top of the ridge the entire way.
My youngest daughter and I kept on for a ways after everybody else had enough. We encountered a coyote that came trotting down the trail to us. This coyote clearly was used to people. It also seemed rather miffed that we had no food to offer. Further on, it caught up to rest of our group who apparently got panicked figuring coyotes might have a taste for human flesh. Not quite.
My daughter got several good shots of the hike and the coyote. The next day I inadvertently reformatted the memory stick. This is where I will insert an advertisement for Broadway Camera in Jackson Hole Wyoming. I was able to call them, get advice, and then on Memorial Day bring in the camera. They had a software system that was able to recover the images and restore our mementos.
Mystic Falls, Firehole Basin Wyoming
Labor Day Weekend 2008
29 August, 2008.
My family, two adults, four children, did a wonderful hike in Yellowstone National Park. We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn. From the Inn, you can get up out of bed,
put on your shoes, and head out for an 8 mile round-trip. Down the paved geyser
basin paths, on out off the trail to Morning Glory pool. From there, you just keep heading north-west. We encountered several small thermal features on the
short trail from the end of the pavement at Morning Glory. Very pretty, and easy to forget you are so close to the Inn and the roadway. After crossing the road, you go through Biscuit Basin. At the back end of the board walk, you exit off onto the path
that takes you to Mystic Falls. It is about a mile to the falls. Near the falls the trail splits. The lower branch approaches the falls near the base. The other, climbs to the top of the falls. To the falls is 4 miles (some maps might say less). The elevation gain is less than a 1000 feet, going up on the trail that will get you near the top of the falls. It was a great day hike. My youngest was 7 the first time we did this, and he handled it very well.
29 August, 2008.
My family, two adults, four children, did a wonderful hike in Yellowstone National Park. We stayed at the Old Faithful Inn. From the Inn, you can get up out of bed,
put on your shoes, and head out for an 8 mile round-trip. Down the paved geyser
basin paths, on out off the trail to Morning Glory pool. From there, you just keep heading north-west. We encountered several small thermal features on the
short trail from the end of the pavement at Morning Glory. Very pretty, and easy to forget you are so close to the Inn and the roadway. After crossing the road, you go through Biscuit Basin. At the back end of the board walk, you exit off onto the path
that takes you to Mystic Falls. It is about a mile to the falls. Near the falls the trail splits. The lower branch approaches the falls near the base. The other, climbs to the top of the falls. To the falls is 4 miles (some maps might say less). The elevation gain is less than a 1000 feet, going up on the trail that will get you near the top of the falls. It was a great day hike. My youngest was 7 the first time we did this, and he handled it very well.
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