Lone
Star Geyser, Mystic Falls, & Fairy Falls/Solitary Geyser/Imperial Geyser:
Trail start time for
Lone Star Geyser was 7:35 a.m. We had no idea what time the geyser was supposed
to erupt, just that it erupts every three hours. Our roundtrip distance was
five miles, which included a side jaunt to Kepler Cascades.
The morning was cold,
about 39 F. Bob was so cold, he changed from a T-shirt to a long-sleeved,
warmer shirt. Starting out, we walked fast. I kept my hands inside the fleece
jacket sleeves to warm them up. We covered the 2.4 miles to Lone Star Geyser in
50 minutes. The trail was easy and relatively flat, following the Firehole
River for most of the hike.
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Easy trail. |
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Firehole River. |
When we arrived at the
geyser area, Lone Star was puffing steam. We know it erupts every three hours.
I checked the geyser log book. The last time someone had recorded an eruption
was at 6:00 p.m. the day before. That meant it was going to go off again around
9:00 a.m. So we sat and waited.
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It started off with some puffs of steam. |
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Then some little teases to keep us interested. |
At 8:45 a.m., 9:00
a.m. and 9:05 a.m., the geyser was having minor eruptions. We figured the major
eruption to 45 ft. would happen within the next few minutes. Sure enough, at
9:12 a.m., up it went. The major eruption lasted about three minutes. We loved
that we were there just in time to see it.
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Bob gettin' goofy waiting for it to erupt. |
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Minor eruption...prelude to the main event. |
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Thar she blows! |
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Lone Star Geyser...worth the wait. |
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Loved the show. |
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Scenery from the trail. |
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Squirrel having breakfast. |
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Firehole River--love the morning light. |
When we arrived back
at the parking lot, we took a short side hike over to Kepler Cascades to view
the waterfall and canyon. We have not been disappointed by a waterfall in
Yellowstone or Grand Tetons! Full flow, powerful, dramatic rocks, great sound.
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Kepler Cascades |
Our next hike of the
day was to Mystic Falls out of Biscuit Basin (2.5 miles roundtrip). The first ½
mile of this hike is on the boardwalk at Biscuit Basin, and then it heads
through forest along a stream. The trail stays with the stream up to Mystic
Falls. For some reason I had it in my mind from a past trip, that this was a
steep, hard trail. It wasn’t.
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Someone put helpful notes on the trail sign. |
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A hot pool in Biscuit Basin. |
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Leafy arnica. |
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Mountain bog gentian?? |
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Mystic Falls. |
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Me at Mystic Falls. |
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Leafy arnica against the river. |
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Scarlet paintbrush. |
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Western blue flag (iris family) |
For our last hike of
the day, we took on the Fairy Falls/Solitary Geyser/Imperial Geyser Volkswalk
(7 miles roundtrip). We started at noon and finished at 2:30 p.m. All in all, this
is an easy hike…no major ups and downs. I would recommend that this hike be
completed in the morning as there isn’t much shade along the way. Make sure to
go all the way to Imperial Geyser. It’s worth the trip.
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Fairy Falls trail. |
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Wildflowers line parts of the trail. |
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Still on Fairy Falls Trail. |
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Fairy Falls--a nice, cool, misty oasis. |
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Heading toward Solitary and Imperial Geysers. |
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One last pic of Bob at Fairy Falls. |
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The way to Imperial Geyser Basin. |
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Solitary Geyser. |
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Minerals in river, encapsulate branches in river. |
Imperial Geyser erupts
pretty much continuously out of a turquoise-colored pool. If you watch the
geyser carefully, you will notice it whirlygigs out of the water, starting
almost from a whirlpool and shoots up to heights of about 40-50’. We were
mesmerized by it. We took time to eat our protein bar and continued to be
amazed by this little-visited geyser.
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Imperial Geyser |
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Imperial Geyser--a continuous show. |
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The pool at Imperial Geyser when the geyser rests. |
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Imperial Geyser dancing. |
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Imperial Geyser leaping out. |
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Firehole River with hot springs rivulets entering it. |
By the time we
finished this hike, we had walked 14.5 miles today, longer than a half marathon
(13.1 miles)! My feet and hips felt it. By the end of the hike, my legs and
feet felt like lead. Ugh. Couldn’t wait to get back to the car.
As soon as we returned
to the 5er, I took off my shoes and socks and laid down on the bed. Ahhhhhh!
Relief. Spent about 20 minutes relaxing, then showered and got ready for
dinner. Bob took me out to the Lake Lodge, our home away from home.
Lake Lodge is set up
cafeteria style where you get a tray and go through the line to choose what you
want for dinner. I was hungry enough to eat a horse, but settled for turkey,
stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, steamed veggies and a
whole wheat roll for $12.95. (I got the regular portion. There was also a small
portion for $8.95.) Bob ordered chicken which came with rice pilaf and steamed
veggies. He also helped me eat my turkey and stuffing. We finished it all.
That’s what happens when you hike 14.5 miles on an oatmeal breakfast at 6:00
a.m., an apple and some trail mix. You get hungry. We had dinner at 6:00 p.m.,
12 hours after breakfast.
A very good day!
Travel Bug says,
“Lights out!”
We’re going to try to
be at a viewpoint to spot wolves at 6:00 a.m. in Hayden Valley. (A number of
wolf spotters are out with spotting scopes and will let people have a look.)
We’ll follow that up
with hikes at North Rim of Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone and a hike to
Natural Bridge. Then it’s time to clean up the 5er, pack stuff away, and head
to Cody, Wyoming on Friday morning.
Good night all.
Love the pics! Looks like you're having a great time.
ReplyDeleteThank you. We absolutely love Yellowstone. This was our fourth time there.
DeleteHave you been?