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October 10, 2015

Upper Geyser Basin and Biscuit Basin

Castle Geyser

Elevation change for the Upper Geyser Basin
Elevation profile and route below courtesy of the HAZ Tracks App

Distance: Varies – up to 11 miles or less than 1 mile
Difficulty: Easy
Best time of year: Year-round

When people think of Yellowstone, they think of Old Faithful. The two go hand-in-hand and it’s impossible to think of one without the other. What most people don’t realize, however, is that there’s much more to see in the vicinity than just Old Faithful.

Old Faithful is part of the Upper Geyser Basin, a massive complex of thermal features that stretches all the way out to Biscuit Basin a couple of miles away. There are some geysers that are even bigger than Old Faithful, and a number of colorful and amazing hot springs unlike anywhere else in the park. The geyser basin is also divided up into sections, so if you don’t have much time, you can make a short walk around some of the interesting features, whereas if you have more time, you can experience the entire area and see all kinds of unique sights.

Note: When hiking in this area in spring, fall, or winter, it is common to see bison. Always give them the right of way. They are much bigger, faster, and stronger than you, and you will not win in a fight with them. Consider getting within 25 yards of them a challenge.

To begin your hike, start from Old Faithful and begin walking along a walkway toward some of the steam. There’s no right or wrong direction to follow, just head toward what looks interesting, but always stick to the boardwalks and walkways. For the sake of simplicity, I’m going to describe the walk that I did, including any options to make it a shorter or longer journey.

Upper Geyser Basin

Begin hiking from the Old Faithful Visitor Center to the west between Old Faithful Geyser and the Old Faithful Inn. As the path winds down toward the parking area, another path will lead off to the right. Follow that to be brought past Chinese Spring and the Firehole River where the path will continue around Old Faithful, merging with another trail where you can fork off to the left. This will bring you across the Firehole River and to a loop circling a large concentration of hot springs and geysers.

If you’re short on time, this is an excellent loop to make with the highlights being the Lion Geyser Group and Beehive Geyser, the latter reaching heights of roughly 200 feet! Check with the Visitor Center for predictions. Eruptions are typically only once a day, but sometimes difficult to predict. A short spur trail off of the loop will lead to Solitary Geyser, well worth the detour. Every 5-7 minutes, it will make a quick burst of an eruption reaching about 4-5 feet high and often much wider.

Another spur trail will continue farther into the Upper Geyser Basin. This will bring you past more colorful springs and another spectacle of the Upper Geyser Basin, Grand Geyser. It can also reach up to 200 feet, but like Beehive Geyser, can have a larger window for its eruption, typically adding up to about two hours on either side of the predicted time. The path will continue past Chromatic and Beauty Pools before crossing back over the Firehole River, and past Giant Geyser before joining the larger, main path extending from Old Faithful. A small detour beyond will take you by Riverside Geyser, and just beyond that is the famous Morning Glory Pool.

Couple at Morning Glory Pool

Morning Glory Pool was named after the bright blue-violet flower, but unfortunately, the hot spring has none of those colors anymore. Early visitors threw a large amount of rocks, coins, and pretty much anything else they could find into the pool. Over time, this has lowered the heat in the pool, allowing the thermophiles along the edges to gradually creep more toward the center. The above photo is from 2015. Compare that with this photo from 1966 on Wikipedia. It’s a tragically unfortunate change that will have lasting effects in the park for years to come. This is exactly why it’s now illegal to throw anything at all into any spring or thermal feature.

Many people turn around at Morning Glory Pool and begin to head back to Old Faithful. If you have more time on your hands, it’s a nice walk to continue on to Biscuit Basin past Artemisia Spring, among several others.

Elevation change for Biscuit Basin and Mystic Falls
Elevation profile and route below courtesy of the HAZ Tracks App

Biscuit Basin

After following the trail through a lodgepole pine forest and past some large hot springs and geysers, the main road becomes visible beyond Artemisia Spring. The spring has actually grown in recent years so much so that the trail was just recently rerouted to avoid some of the runoff. The trail still leads straight to the road, where right on the other side is the parking area for Biscuit Basin.

Biscuit Basin gets its name not from the bison pies that are frequently seen there, but from biscuit-like geyserite formations that used to line Sapphire Pool. A large earthquake in 1959 caused the pool to erupt, destroying the unique formations. As with any of the geyser basins, it’s certainly worth the visit and even has an extra trail for those itching to see more of Yellowstone’s waterfalls.

Jewel Geyser Erupting

A couple of the main spectacles are Sapphire Pool and Jewel Geyser, though there are several other geysers and hot springs that capture individuals’ attention. Jewel Geyser erupts fairly frequently, reaching heights of up to 30 feet. Most people will see it erupt at some point along the walk around the half-mile or so boardwalk.

At the back of the Biscuit Basin boardwalk is a trail that leads into some of Yellowstone’s backcountry. One of the trails leads to Mystic Falls, only a one mile hike out from the boardwalk, and a pretty easy hike at that too. The trail leaves the boardwalk where a sign informs people about the trail. If you weren’t carrying bear spray, turn around. Bear spray is always recommended for any hike in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. Beyond the sign, the trail begins winding through the young lodgepole pine forest, burned from the 1988 Fires. A short distance into the trail will bring you to a fork, branching off to Summit Lake much deeper in the Yellowstone backcountry and beyond. To reach Mystic Falls, continue straight. Soon the trail joins the Little Firehole River, which ultimately brings you to Mystic Falls, a spectacular waterfall pouring 70 feet over a large cliff that is decorated with thermal features surrounding the falls. This creates a rather “mystic” look as the mist from the falls interacts with the steam from the thermal features.

Mystic Falls

Spend as much time as you’d like, then either head back the same way you came, or take the overlook loop which will add an extra mile and a great overlook to your return trip.

Returning Through the Upper Geyser Basin

Before reaching the boardwalk back at the Biscuit Basin, another trail past the Summit Lake Trail will spur off to the right. This is a separate loop trail that will bring you back to the Upper Geyser Basin via Daisy Geyser and a couple of other thermal features. The other option is to head back the same way you came. Both will bring you past Grotto Geyser and Castle Geyser, two of the more uniquely shaped geysers in the Upper Geyser Basin.

To see more images from the Upper Geyser Basin, check out my Yellowstone National Park Gallery here.

Getting there: From the Old Faithful Visitor Center, start walking.

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October 8, 2015

Lone Star Geyser

Lone Star Geyser Eruption

Elevation change for the Lone Star Geyser Trail
Elevation profile and route courtesy of the HAZ Tracks App

Distance: 2.5 miles (one way)
Difficulty: Easy
Best time of year: Spring, Summer, Fall

Lone Star Geyser is a popular hike for many different reasons. It’s a unique geyser located slightly off the beaten path, it has a massive cone at its base, it’s one of the most punctual large geysers in the park, it’s accessible for bicycles, and it’s a very easy hike, making it accessible for nearly anyone.

Over the course of 2.5 miles, the trail very gradually ascends a mere 50-60 feet in elevation as it meanders along the Firehole River. The trail crosses the river early in the hike and subsequently pops in and out of meadows along the way, breaking up the forest cover from time to time.

At 2.5 miles, a small natural barricade prevents bikes from proceeding any further, and just beyond is Lone Star Geyser. The geyser erupts every three hours, nearly on the dot. Information on its predicted eruption times can be obtained from the Old Faithful Visitor Center, or others along the trail if you want to chance it, or have the time to spare. Eruptions can shoot as high as 40 feet and the cone itself is over 10 feet high! Keep in mind that on average, cones are built up from the “siliceous sinter” in the water 1/2 to 1 full inch each century. That makes it an extremely old cone geyser!

After the eruption, stick around for a while. Once the main water eruption occurs, the geyser enters into its steam phase eruption, rapidly ejecting huge amounts of steam into the air. It’s quite the sight to see…and hear.

To see more images of Lone Star Geyser and its trail, check out my Yellowstone National Park Gallery here.

Lone Star Geyser Steam Phase

Getting there: From the Old Faithful Visitor Center, merge onto the main highway heading southbound. Follow the main highway south for 2.75 miles and you’ll see the Kepler Cascades turnout on the right. On the far southern end of the turnout, there will be an additional parking area loop where the trail begins.

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October 4, 2015

Less Common Slices of the Tetons:

Smaller & tighter captures compliment the big vistas.

I’ve been collecting a bunch of images that didn’t seem to fit in the Daily Updates pages very well. I managed to squeeze a few in along the way. The subjects on this page caught my eye and prompted me to stop to capture them. They might not be “wall hangers”, but I enjoy photographing them.

Knots and Aged Timber: These little gems are abundant in the park. This is a split from one of the big limber pines found around the String Lake junction area.

Sand Bar: I shot down into the water from the bridge over Pacific Creek for this one. There’s roughly 4″ of water flowing over these underwater sand drifts.

Exposed Roots: This was taken along the water of String Lake on an overcast morning.

Pine Boughs and Water Drops: Rainy days add one extra dimension for a very common subject.

Cabin Details: There are lots of historic old cabins around the valley. This detail was taken at the historic old Bar-B-C dude ranch.

Rusting Vehicle: Also taken at the Bar-B-C ranch. This is the only such vehicle in the Park, however they are common around the country.

Instrument Panel: Same vehicle.

Broken Glass: The Bar-B-C ranch is loaded with small detail shots like this one.

Fall Aspens: Taken along the Moose-Wilson Road. Fall is always a great time to capture images like this. The window of opportunity is usually small.

Burnt Bark: Textures from old trees are a work of Mother Nature and years of exposure. There are lots to go around!

Bark Texture: Most trunks are round, and as a result, create a few focus issues. This old tree along String Lake has a flat side, allowing me to keep the texture in a single focal plane.

Stuck Leaf: This aspen leaf was stuck to the window on the back of my van.

During the Fall, leaves fall to the ground and turn brown. This layer of leaves fell into a small puddle of water, preserving them at least temporarily and giving me a unique look. I shot this one with the aperture stopped down to attempt to keep all of the leaves in focus. I also shot it at F/2.8 at an angle and moved the focal plane around in the scene. I liked them, too.

Warped Window Frame: Taken at Bar-B-C Ranch. This one highlights how the structures have twisted and shifted over they years.

Millionaires and Poets stayed at the historic Bar-B-C. That’s what the kiosk sign says anyway. Many a famous derriere probably sat on that porcelain pot!

Steam Valve: This pipe came out of some sort of old boiler tank at Bar-B-C ranch.

Teton Reflections: Taken on the back side of the Chapel of the Transfiguration.

Door Knob: This was taken at an old cabin along the Moose-Wilson Road. The buildings were torn down a few years ago.

Mormon Gate: Taken in front of the Bed and Breakfast on Mormon Row.

Morning Mailboxes: Taken near Jackson Hole Golf and Tennis on a very early winter morning. Common subjects can be appealing with the right light.

The Collection: Taken from the road with a telephoto lens of a wall in Kelly.

Winter’s Grip: Many Teton visitors will never see opportunities like this.

Shane Cabin Fence: Not long after this photo was taken, the old fence was replaced with a new buck rail fence. Long shadows and snow change this familiar scene.

Backlit American Flag: This flag waves most days over the park entrance station at Moose.

Bubble: Large drops of collected rain water were falling into a small pool at String Lake last September. They created large bubbles that lasted only a minute or so each. I got up close and personal to capture a few unique shots.

Fall: Many people head to Oxbow Bend during the fall, but there are lots of other colorful opportunities. This was taken along Slide Lake last year.

Fireweed and Freeloaders: Wildlife comes in all sizes and shapes.

Flowers and Leaves are always appealing “small subjects”. They start changing into their fall colors in September and can be found well into October.

Longhorn Skull and Snow: Some specific shots last only a day, or less. The fresh snow on this skull would have melted within hours. It was on the side of a cabin in Kelly, but I haven’t seen it in a long time.

Captured Leaf: Season’s can change abruptly and occasionally offer up some unusual combinations.

Owl Head: A few years ago, I was taking photos of Great Gray Owls. One flew to a post directly in front of me and continued hunting. This is the back of its head. This delicate texture found me!

Comments: I could add hundreds or even thousands of images to this page. Some photographers specialize in big game and predator wildlife while some specialize in landscapes. There are days when neither are cooperating. Tight images are great for filling time and can offer opportunities for experimentation and practice. Textures and small subject matter are much more prevalent in the park — and everywhere for that matter. I seldom print these images, but I like knowing I have them in my catalog.

Check out these earlier related posts:

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October 4, 2015

Randy’s Experience – The Challenge of Getting Motivated to Learn

I’m hesitant to sound too academic in the blog but a comment by a reader recently reminded me of an idea I think I should share that may point out a real difference between some of us. It is common for us to assume other’s motivation is similar to ours and we wonder: why others choose to join challenging workshops; or why others don’t get out of bed in the morning for a great shoot; or why others get defensive or have hurt feelings about our feedback. Let me share a story I told the students in my class on educational motivation.

Imagine you are a fourth grade teacher and you are concerned about one of your students. Bobby never participates in class and when you ask him questions he always says, “I don’t know.” He has never turned in a homework assignment. On tests he simply puts his name and doesn’t answer any questions; he just puts his heads down on his desk. What do you think is Bobby’s problem? Why doesn’t he do any of the required work in your class?

If you are like my students you probably are thinking Bobby isn’t motivated. When I asked my students how Bobby’s behavior led them to that conclusion, they said it was because he didn’t do anything in class. When I suggested that maybe Bobby was motivated but that his motivation was keeping him from getting involved for fear of failing, they didn’t believe me. But as long as Bobby didn’t try in class, his lack of effort was the excuse for his “failure.” And when he didn’t answer questions his classmates wouldn’t say he was stupid, rather they would say he was lazy or hated school. Bobby didn’t want to put himself in a situation where he would look bad and the best way to do that was to disengage from class as his excuse.

So what does that have to do with amateur photographers? How can Bobby’s disengagement in school be related to the photography challenges you are facing? Why do you have problems getting out of bed in the morning to go to a photo shoot? Why don’t you want to bring your photos to the photo club critique or enter your photo in a competition? Why were you so crushed by the “mean comments” that a skilled photography friend made about your photographs?

Let me share my own example of my fear of “not being good enough.” The biggest change I’ve had in my photography occurred in January of this year. When I learned about the Teton Photography Group and the Informal Critiques I was worried that my photos were terrible. I knew I should have brought my best photos to the meeting but I was scared (yep, scared is a good way to describe it) that people would rip my photos to shreds. So I went to the meeting without any photos and even considered lying if they asked why I didn’t have any photos. I hate to admit it but I was afraid of failing, just like Bobby was afraid of looking stupid. Ever feel that way? Have you ever avoided trying something new ‘cuz you might look stupid, or clumsy, or lacking artistic skills? Almost all of us avoid putting ourselves in situations where we will look bad. Unfortunately, that avoidance typically keeps us from learning.

So what did you do Randy? I was very fortunate at my first Informal Critique to watch a number of other amateur photographs get really constructive feedback on their photos. Many of the people around the table were very skilled “amateur” photographers (they seem like pros to me) who were very constructive in their comments. The gave positive feedback to each person (e.g., “I like the contrasting colors.”) with suggestions that were constructive (e.g., “I think this photo would be improved by cropping out the tree on the left.”) I left the meeting feeling comfortable and convinced that the leaders at the meeting were there to help us improve our amateur photography. So the next month I brought some photos.

So how do others impact our motivation to improve our photography? For many of us our concerns about looking bad may get in the way, unless we trust those around us. I left that first Teton Photography Group meeting feeling that I could trust the people who were there; their comments focused on what the amateur photographers could do to improve their photos and they had positive comments about each of the photographs. Their support and “gentle critique” brought me back with my photos for the next meetings.

Since some of you have suggested that adding photos to the blog made it bit more interesting, I’ll give you an example. But I must add that these are not the first photos I brought to the critique. I know, some of you are probably thinking that I am ashamed to show them but the truth is my original thumb drive is broken (I know that sounds like “the dog ate it” excuse.) So here are the two photos I shared at the Informal Critique at the next critique and the feedback I received.

This photo of a pair of pronghorns was received quite well. The feedback I received was the pronghorn on the left (in sharp focus) and the pronghorn on the right (not in focus) moved the viewers eye to the sharp pronghorn and his eyelashes, which is what I wanted to do. They also said that the brush between the two pronghorns was distracting and could be removed in Lightroom, which led me to want to learn more about Lightroom.

This photo received a lot of feedback and all of it was very helpful. I can’t remember the exact comments but we discussed whether this should be a photo of a sunset or one that was more abstract. We talked about it for quite awhile and I felt I really learned a lot about composition, color, and ideas I never thought of exploring.

Some Suggestions to Consider for OUR Blog

That leads me to suggest a few things WE can do with this blog. I am pleased to see that we have about thirty followers of FirstanAmateur.com and that each post is receiving some comments. I hope that this post will encourage more of you to make some comments. I suspect that I’ve got some of you to think about what might be holding you back from improvement (e.g., Are you hesitant to share your photos with others because they may shoot you down?). I also hope that if you realize that those concerns are getting in the way that you may share more of your photography IF we can build a supportive community of learners.

So here are a couple of suggestions.

First – What if I can add a page to the blog where you can share your photos with all the readers so they can give you some feedback? I know, for some of you that would be quite threatening, just like that first TPG Informal Critique was scary for me. If there are a number of you that are interested, I think I have someone that can help me create a webpage for the blog that will allow you to share your photos. Please note, I am admitting I cannot do that myself so I hope our FirstanAmateur.com community will be patient with me.

Second – What if I were to offer a Peer Mentor Photography Program? The Informal Critiques were very helpful to me and I think something like that could be helpful to many of you. What I’m thinking of doing is creating monthly informal critiques that include identifying a partner that you can work with for both the critique and a monthly photo shoot. You could identify your own partner (maybe someone you know who is also interested in improving their photography) or find someone at a group meeting. Lots of possibilities here and I am certainly open to your suggestion.

And one last request for comments. Does it help for me to share my experiences (successes and failures)? Has it helped you to read that I left the scene early at Little Redfish Lake when staying would have resulted in getting great photos? Or that I was fearful that my photos weren’t good enough to be critiqued by members of the Teton Photography Group? It feels a little awkward sharing my mistakes, but I’m thinking it is good for me to share my mistakes since we are all First an Amateur.