[Geysers] Heart Lake

[William Moats]

Karen,

You must go a short distance further from the Upper Group and at least hike
to the Fissure Group to be worth the effort.  The hike to the Fissure Group
is about 5 miles one way.

Given your knee problem, I would recommend staying on the trail until you
are adjacent to the Fissure Group, then cut cross-country to the hot
springs, thus avoiding most of the steep slopes. You can easily see the
Fissure Group from the trail.  The trail switchbacks up/down the mountain,
so the trail is only moderately steep.  It is much less steep than the trail
up to Monument Geyser Basin.

As for taking an 8-year old child, it depends on the kid.  My son did an
overnight hike to Shoshone Geyser Basin when he was 7 years old.  He did the
Fissure Group at 8 years old. My daughter climbed Handies Peak, a 14,000
feet peak in Colorado when she was 6 years old.  I've also seen kids that
can't walk a mile.  I recommend taking your child on some practice hikes (or
walks), and see how much distance he/she can comfortably handle.  If they
can easily hike 5 miles, then they should do OK.  Just be sure and rest
about 10 minutes every hour of hiking, and take plenty of water to drink.

Once at the Fissure Group, you can hike upstream on Witch Creek to the Upper
Group, a distance of only a few hundred yards.  Your child can do this
easily going in from this way.

Finally, I hope you have someone else to go with you to make a bigger group
of hikers.  Else, make lots of noise going in (take a whistle and blow on it
often).  Also, don't forget your bear spray no matter your group size.

--Will




----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karen Webb" <caros at aros.net>
To: "geyser observation reports" <geysers at wwc.edu>
Sent: Saturday, June 11, 2005 6:25 PM
Subject: [Geysers] Heart Lake


> Karen Webb
> I have a question similar to Miller's but was wondering specifically
> what anyone's take on Heart Lake would be for a vigorous 8yo (also for a
> mom who's had knee surgery).  If we just go the 3 miles till you reach
> the Upper group and don't go all the way to Rustic, is it still worth
> the trip?  I've heard different things about how severe the altitude
> change is -- are we talking Monument or 7 Mile Hole here (up doesn't
> seem to bother my knee, but a steep enough incline down is pretty bad),
> or the gentle parts of Observation Point?  Thanks!
> Karen
>
>
>
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