Grand Prismatic Spring, Second Try

In general, Craig and I are very careful to stay on marked trails, not park in restricted or no-parking zones, and usually follow the guidelines that keep our parks in pristine condition.

We always put money in self pay envelopes, we don't pick wildflowers, and if we had a pet would certainly clean up after it.

But on this day we ignored this sign and went off the marked and maintained trail so that we, like many before us, could get a "from the top" view of the Grand Prismatic Hot Spring.








After reading my post about how we were disappointed by the steamy eye-level view we had gotten at Midway Geyser Basin, Donna sent me the URL of a post she had written about how she had gone up a trail that went up the hill from the Fairy Falls Trail to the rock overlook, from which the view of the Grand Prismatic is spectacular.  

Thank you Donna, especially for the advice about going on a warm afternoon when there was less steam.

We followed the cinder gravel Fairy Falls Trail for about  a half mile and then went up one of the many unauthorized paths.  Although it was not very far, I found it was a rather difficult climb, in part because since it was not a developed path, it was blocked by fallen trees and slippery rock falls. 

I was very excited to see the bright pool thru the trees as we climbed.

We could hear the voices of other climbers who were already at the rock overlook.

When we reached the top there was an Asian family just leaving. 

While we were there a few other people came and went. At one time there were only seven of us up there, but over a hundred people on the boardwalks around the spring below. I wondered if they could see the color since there still was a bit of steam rising.

I don't understand why the Park Service doesn't build a staircase and a viewing platform on the side of that hill. They built stairs down to the waterfalls, and up around some of the mud pots and geysers. This place is so fantastic and in the visitors center they show pictures from up high. But unless you get up to this point, you will never see it. People are going up any way they can, and in the process causing erosion and damage that could be prevented with a maintained trail.

The Grand Prismatic Spring viewed from the hill above the Fairy Falls Trail

I didn't realize we were wearing the colors of the Grand Prismatic until after we were there, but here we are, me in turquoise and Craig in rust-orange!

After scrambling back down the hill, we decided to hike the rest of the five mile (round trip) trail to Fairy Falls. 

Except for a few boggy spots, the path was very flat and free of obstacles like rocks and roots. There were no mosquitoes in the pine forest, but there were a few large deer flies.

The trail was not very crowded. Craig thinks that is because as soon as a hike gets longer than a mile, many people will pass.

But we walked it, and found the falls well worth the effort.

  

It appeared to us that the falls was a double.

The higher falls coming straight down from the cliff, and the second falls coming from a recessed shelf area just below the lighter colored overhanging rock. Which is to say, there seemed to be a lot more water coming down the lower part of the falls.  It was quite enchanting.

By the time we were almost back to the Jeep the shadows were getting long and we didn't have much energy left.

And as this perky fellow might say: "Thats all for now, catch you next time."

Grand Prismatic Spring

The weather here has been very changeable. Clear and sunny alternating with dark, cold and rainy. We had plans to go to nearby Harriman State park for a hike on Saturday, but changed our minds due to a morning temperature of 43° with a 50% chance of rain. 

Instead, Craig finished a small repair project on the back grill cover of the Alfa.

At about two in the afternoon it still hadn't rained and the sky seemed less threatening. We decided to take a ride over to Yellowstone and go see one of our bucket list features, the Grand Prismatic Spring, located in the Midway Basin.

The Midway Basin is quite large and one of the fascinating features are fast running cascades of hot water pouring down into the Madison River. 

As we walked along the boardwalk on our way to the spring, we passed a large geyser crater that was filled with bubbling blue water. This geyser was known to have erupted in the 1888 and again in 1985. It is now considered a hot spring.

As we approached the Grand Prismatic Spring we expected to see a very colorful large pool. We had seen images of it in the Visitors Center and in several books and pamphlets about Yellowstone. There was a ranger on the boardwalk when we were there. He told me that the famous picture everyone sees of the spring was taken from a helicopter.  

This is what we saw: 

There was so much steam coming off the spring, and blowing towards us,  that we could barely see the water. 

We did see some large areas of very colorful algae mat. 

And interesting textures below the shallow run off.

The picture below was one of many on the Web. We are not sure where it was taken from. We may try hiking the Fairy Falls Trail if we get a clear warm day with minimal wind in the next two weeks. 

Photo from Web, Photo by Dave Russell

We will be checking the weather forecasts, and if right we will be looking for this view. Wish us luck!