[Geysers] Geyser Report October 3

[Lynn Stephens]

Selected items from the OFVC logbook for October 3

 

Castle 0353E minor, 0836ie major

Daisy 0138E, 0358E, 0612E, 0819E, 0822ie, 1030ie, 1237ie, 1433

Fan & Mortar 0740 d = 33

Grand 0234E, 1220 T1C

Riverside 0618, 1201ie

Beehive 0811 (Indicator = 0803)

Grotto 0540ie

Lion 1226, 1350

Penta 1232ie

Plume 0838, 1329

West Triplet 1234ie

 

Lone Star 1308 major

 

Till 0944ie major

 

Great Fountain 0802ie (0759E), 1740 p = 7

 

Pink Cone 1050 d = 108 minutes

 

Fountain 1031, 1648

 

Fan & Mortar eruption:  I arrived at F&M this morning in time to see two short cycles before the eruption cycle.  When I first arrived at 0544, everything was off except Angle.  There was no water in Bottom Vent's runoff channel.  River Vent turned on at 0555 with Gold, Angle never Quit, then off at 0610.

 

River Vent was on again at 0626 with Gold immediately, Angle never quit, and off at 0639.

 

River Vent turned on again at 0654 with Gold immediately splashing, and Angle never quit.

At 0706, 12 minutes into River Vent with High and Gold barely splasing, and Angle going Sssfsst, ssfsst, the fun began.  Upper Mortar gave a huff and a puff and showed a little water.  At about 16 minutes into River Vent, Main Vent started huffing and puffing with heavy steam rushes.  I didn't hear any roaring from Main Vent--just saw the steam.

   Main Vent kept puffing away until at 0717 water came up in High such that it was burbling like a steady fountain, about 6 inches high.  Water came up in Gold such that it was splashing, but no pool, and no Gold 2 or 3.  Angle was still sssfsst, ssfsst spritzing away.

  This activity continued until Kitt (and Polly Panos) were coming over the overpass and called on the radio to find out whether F&M had waited for them.  After fumbling around to get the "transmit" radio out and turned on, I answered it had, but something strange was going on with Main Vent puffing away 25 minutes into River Vent, High going about 6 inches, Gold not doing much, but Angle was already turning to steam.

   Kitt and Polly pulled into the parking lot and were getting ready to bicycle down as I was giving minute by minute updates.  Water levels were interesting because High just wouldn't give up and the Main Vent puffing was now being punctuated by occasional weak splashes of water, but couldn't be called good because Gold wasn't doing much at all, still no pool and no Gold 2 or 3.

   At 0726 Frying Pan came on and Main Vent continued puffing and occasional splashes.  High hadn't given up but Gold hadn't joined in, although Angle had changed back to water.

   At 0729 Kitt arrived at the bridge, followed closely by Polly.

   At 0732 Main Vent gave a heavy splash.  At 0733 Angle was in steam.  

   At 0735 Upper Mortar huffed and Gold had finally joined the action.  High was now going 4 to 6 feet high and Gold was steady at 2 to 4 feet with Angle in steam.

   At 0736 Main Vent again gave a solid splash of water.

   At 0738 High was 6-8 feet, Gold 2-4 feet and I called a lock.

   At 0740 Main Vent filled, then East Vent lifted and the eruption was on--46 minutes after River Vent had started.  Fan's water barely cleared the boardwalk, but Upper Mortar at 0742 was HUGE.

   The wind was blowing away from the boardwalk, which was a good thing for me.  I had gone down with a thermos of tea, my logbook, radio, camera, and Yellowstone clone "Crazy Creek" type chair, but no ponchos.  I expected to either find the marker gone or I would babysit for an hour or so until Kitt and Polly arrived, so I wasn't prepared to get wet.

   No rainbows because there was plenty of fog covering the sun, but with the wind direction we could see the base of High, Gold, Angle, and Main Vent quite clearly.

   The first pause in activity came at 0752, 12 minutes in, somewhat earlier than the typical 15 to 16 minutes.  Last water was at 0813 for a duration of 33 minutes.

   The three of us missed Beehive, but I think we all gladly traded the Beehive for an eruption of F&M.

   Once again, a nontraditional start--no pauses, no Main Vent splashing before the River Vent start that became the eruption cycle.  Thankfully Kitt and Polly could hear the urgency in my voice as I was reporting strange activity from Main Vent and came on down, although they did arrive with 11 mintues to spare.  I kept thinking about Tara's saying "A geyser divided cannot erupt" but this time the system apparently was primed enough that the Main Vent puffing and then splashing that started 16 minutes AFTER River Vent was not a negative sign.

 

Steve Eide reported Great Fountain's eruption at 0759E must have had a superburst.  The parking lot was soaked.  When I came through at 10:30 am, there were still puddles of water in the parking lot and on the road.  During this afternoon's eruption, someone said the water running off Great Fountain's platform sounded like horses clopping.

 

I was told the eruption of Penta had beautiful rainbows in it.

 

After Fan & Mortar I spent most of the day in the Pink Cone group and got 108 minutes of rainbows in Pink Cone.

 

Fountain's eruption this afternoon had many, many intensely blue bursts at the base and one of Morning's Thief's eruptions had a blue bubble.

 

The weather forecast for Sunday (and Monday) is 100 percent change of snow with accumulation of 3 to 4 inches.  Kitt decided to go home this (10/3) evening while the road from West Thumb to Bridge Bay was still open.  The Beartooth Highway is closed, but at the moment the park roads are all still open.

 

Lynn Stephens

 

 

 

 
 		 	   		  
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