[Geysers] Geyser report- Geyser Creek

[Mario Durrant]

I returned yesterday from a 3 day trip to the Park with Brad Mower, Bart Hamblin, and my son AJ.  Instead of our annual backcountry excursion, we stayed at Madison campground and did several day hikes instead, saving my right knee from much of the discomfort it usually gives me every year.  

On Friday morning August 18 we bushwhacked our way into the Geyser Creek Group, and many thanks to all those who provided directions a couple of years ago, especially Gary Novak whose description of how to get there we followed and found most helpful.  We experienced both the dense younger forest and the marshy mature forest on our hike in, and AJ, who is 11, named the dense younger area the Impenetrable Forest of Doom and it reminded us of the Old Forest where Tom Bombadil lived, for any Tolkein fans out there...

In the Geyser Creek Group we found Bull's Eye Spring, Avalanche Geyser, Big Bowl Geyser, and (I think) Tiny Geyser to be active; Subterranean Blue Mud Geyser did not erupt during the 2 1/2 hours we spent in the area.  Avalanche Geyser erupted at 10:58ie, 11:08, 11:18, 11:27, 11:36, 11:45....12:03ie.... 12:32, 12:42ie.  There were missed eruptions between 11:45 and 12:03 and between 12:03 and 12:32.  Durations were consistent around 2 and 1/2 minutes.  We found the crack where the bats live at Bat Pool with the help of the droppings in front of the crack, but sadly, no bats were visible.  I will be sending a picture of what I think was Tiny Geyser in a couple of weeks-- Brad has the photos on his digital card and he will get me a copy when I see him on Labor Day.  The feature matched the description in T.S. Bryan's book, but was acting as a perpetual spouter for the entire 30 minutes it was under observation, erupting a few inches high into a small pool with a red algae floor just to the south of the geyser.  Hopefully when I send the pictures, those who have been there before may be able to identify it.  

Early morning August 19, we hiked to Spray/Imperial Geysers.  Both seemed to me to be more impressive than in the past, but it has been several years since I have been there.  I timed only six cycles at Imperial, although we stayed there for probably 20 or 25 minutes-- 

Duration        Interval

29 seconds   15 seconds
95 seconds   15 seconds
30 seconds   19 seconds
35 seconds   14 seconds
28 seconds   15 seconds
31 seconds   16 seconds

The 95 second eruption seemed about to stop around the 30 second mark like the other cycles, but then kept going, building quickly again to the same height and strength as before.  Other than duration and the brief slowing at the 30 second mark, it was identical to other cycles.  Nor did it affect the following interval.  Some bursts would reach at least 50 and possibly 60 feet high.  

Spray Geyser has definitely become more impressive than I have seen it before.  One jet in particular probably reached close to 20 feet, probably double what I had previously seen.  

We spent an hour afterward in the UGB and almost got a photo of a Lion initail (13:05) and Beehive (13:14) in concert, but Lion ended within just minutes of Beehive's start.  

Bison and elk were about the only wildlife we saw, and they were very plentiful.  Thursday a young male bison snuck up behind us at Jewel and we didn't see him until he was only a few feet away-- he then proceeded to jaunt around the basin causing some panic among tourists on the boardwalk.  

Weather was perfect-- nights were very cool, upper 30's but days were mostly sunny and minimal wind most of the time.  Bugs were even cooperative, we didn't have to use bug spray once, even on the way into Geyser Creek.  After last year getting eaten alive on the way to Shoshone GB that was a really nice plus!

Mario Durrant
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