[Day 84] Land of Steam

Today was epic. The mosquitos were unparalleled. The geothermal activity spiced up the landscape. The bathtub was delightful.

The mosquitos around Shoshone Lake turned horrendous this morning after the short cold rapidly turned warm from the rising sun. The density was so terrible, I refused to stop to urinate multiple times. That’s bad. The total clothing coverage and fleece prevented bites (well, the gloves not so much), but the heat was very uncomfortable and near unbearable. I wrapped around the southern edge of Shoshone Lake en route for Old Faithful Village.

Boggy, wet walking defined the day until the Geyser Basin. Exiting the forest, I entered a land of steam — hot pools, geysers, venting pits. Geothermal features get me going.

I stopped at Lone Star Geyser a few paces off trail before entering Old Faithful Village. The geyser provided viewings of both minor and major eruptions, and I nearly had the spot all to myself.

After Lone Star, I cruised my way to Old Faithful Village. My first stop was the health clinic, where the helpful post office employee dropped off my package for weekend delivery. The clinic workers were ecstatic to have a hiker in their presence. I was questioned by them for at least 30 minutes, and they graciously bombarded me with tangerine, granola bars, and Gatorade. I love people who love the trail, and you could tell these poor health workers were craving what I had — freedom and the outdoors.

I headed for Old Faithful Inn to see the historic hotel. An employee of the hotel (who shall remain nameless) hooked me up with the lunch buffet, a spot to charge my stuff, and a bath in the hotels old bear-claw tubs. I tend to prefer showers, but this bath was something else. I felt like an old timer.

I spent my time on the second deck of the Old Faithful Inn, catching a couple eruptions of the geyser, organizing my resupply, and making calls. By 5:30pm, I readied myself to head out. I skipped the touristy geyser board walk — I’ll do that when I’m a lazy, fat tourist, not a hiker.

Hilariously, I had just been chatting with my uncle about how I not seen any wildlife in Yellowstone. On the paved walkway out of Old Faithful Village, a mile bison strutted by me. I almost missed him behind a tree. Other tourists kept their distance. And, I, in bad practice, walked maybe 10 feet away from the bison. He didn’t care, and neither did I. We understood each other.

The trail followed through more geothermal features — too many to count. Yellowstone really is a giant, beautiful, volcanic ticking time bomb.

I made the climbing 10 miles to my reserved campsite at Summit Lake to find groups of other backcountry users there. I hung my food, skipped dinner, and got some rest. I’ll say goodbye to Yellowstone and Wyoming tomorrow, trading the scenery for the Idaho-Montana border.

Signing off,

Zeppelin / fReaK (ON a leash)