Yellostone - Geysers and Delacey Creek

Yesterday was our second day in Yellowstone. We did a lot of shit, but I will try to cover all the highlights.

Driving in along the West Entrance Road, we stopped to see a bald eagle perched on a tree next to the river. They really are huge birds. I got some good looks with my binocs and Melissa took some good pictures. It was very cool, even if we did not get to see it fly. Next we stopped for a buffalo that was only about 10 yards from the road. He then started walking towards the car, so we got back in, and he passed withing less than 10 yards off us - again, Melissa got some good pics. I think we've decided at this point to no longer stop for elk or buffalo - we see them next to the road about every 5 minutes. We still need to see moose, bighorn sheep, bears, and wolves, though.

The hike we went on is past lots of big geyser fields, so we stopped at several of them. The geysers are very cool, but they all tend to run together in your mind - lots of bubbling pools of water, colorful drainage areas, boiling mud, spurting water, and tons of steam. I'll have Melissa post some pics. We also did see Old Faithful erupt from about a third of a mile away - it certainly is big and cool - very few of the geysers spurt the water more than a few feet into the air - but I dunno if it is worth all the hoopla. The geyser fields we saw today were, the Fountain Paint Pots group, Firehole Lake Drive, and Lower Geyser Basin. We skipped a few geyser fields, including the one with Grand Pismatic spring, so we have to go back to see a few more geysers sometime this week.

Our main hike of the day was a 6-mile (round-trip) there-and-back along the Delacey Creek Trail to Shoshone Lake, Yellowstone's second largest lake. We didn't exactly have the trail to ourselves - we passed several other hikers along the trail, but compared to the geyser fields we had just been at, we felt pleasantly alone. The trail is mostly flat with just a few small rolling hills, and very well marked and easy to follow. The only slight hitch was finding the trailhead - there is a turnout on the north side of the road about a quarter mile west of the picnic area (where we ate lunch) - the trailhead is on the opposite side of the road across from the western side of the turnout area. Basically, the trail itself is just a pleasant walk in the woods. It basically just cuts a path through the lodgepole forest just to the east of the meadow valley created by the rather small Delacey Creek. The first half of the trail is almost entirely forested, while the second half is mostly along the edge of the meadow - it makes for a good mix of forest and meadow scenery. At about the half way point, you can see the start to see the lake through the trees. Shoshone Lake itself is beautiful, completely ringed by forested mountains. There are lots of washed up logs to sit down on to enjoy the view. It was noticeably colder and windier by the lake - we hadn't brought our fleeces, so we resorted to rain jackets. All in all, a nice, relatively short hike.

Yellowstone! - Artist Paint Pots

We're finally here - in Yellowstone! We just flew in this afternoon, so after dropping off our shit at the hotel and eating dinner, we just wanted a quick little trip to get a taste of what this place has to offer. So, went to see the Artist Paint Pots. It was about a 25-30 minute drive from the park border - getting around this park is going to require a TON of time in the car. Along the way we stopped and got within less than 10 yards of an elk, then a random geyser spewing sulfurous steam right of the road, and then again for a nice view of Gibbon Falls. We then went up the little side road that leads to the Artist Pain Pots trailhead and parked. It's just a 5 minute walk through regrowing burnt lodgepole to the boardwalks that take you around the thermal features. It's a short loop, maybe only half a mile, but we took our time and Melissa lots of pictures and it probably took us half an hour. There are several very cool features, including a small geyser continuously founting (I might have made that word up - but you get the idea) hot water at the base of the hill, lots of small colorful steaming holes all around, a big pot of boiling, spurting, gurgling mud up on top, some neat red holes in the ground filled with steaming milky blue water, and lots of other cool shit besides. All in all, I think it was a good choice for an easy hike on the first night. Seeing geysers and thermal features for the first time is truly impressive and awe-inspiring - nature is so much cooler than we can ever imagine!

I am probably way behind on this blog as far as gear purchases, pictures from hikes this summer, etc, etc. But now it's Yellowstone - it's kind of the this blog's reason for being and the impetus to start hiking in the first place. So all the undone shit from before takes a back seat.

I promise to post LOTS of Melissa's pictures!