[Geysers] Trip report Oct 4-9

[Stephen Eide]

Greetings and Salutations,

There haven't been too many trip reports lately, but here is my short one
for my trip of Oct 4-9, 2011.  The only gazers in the basin for most of this
time were Bill and Carol Beverly and me.  After a long sunny hot September
the first week of October was  cold and wet.  They did close all the roads
one evening to plow, but most were opened by 10:00 in the morning and the
South entrance was open by the afternoon.  I found out the Firehole loop
road cannot be plowed because the bridge past Pink Cone cannot take the
weight of the plows.  So they just lock the road and open it if an when the
snow melts off.  In this case, it was opened a couple of days later because
I think they forgot it was closed.  What data I have on the loop road
geysers is limited.  It appeared Great Fountain did several long interval
eruptions but you could also explain the data with several very short
eruptions.   Pink Cone appears to have an interval of just under 24 hours
for an average but I am unsure just what the range was.  It slipped from
crack of dawn eruptions to done before dawn eruptions while I was there.
Gemini had at least one series of eruptions (before the road was closed) and
the water in Pebble was higher but still below overflow.  White Dome was its
usual self.  I did catch an eruption of Spire, the new or reactivated geyser
in the Tangled Creek Group.

In the White Creek Group Botryodial, A-0, and Logbridge were seen.  Lemon
Spring was also active but I did not catch the active periods.  I saw it
full and quiet, then down about a foot, then down a few inches, then full,
and finally I drove up and it was overflowing in the right hand channel, in
the old left hand channel, and a small overflow out from the road.  But as
soon as I got out of the car the water level started to drop.  I was just a
few minutes too late.

Fountain appears to have an average interval of about 6 hours 45 minutes and
did appear to be stable on that for the week.  Durations are in the 32-36
minute range.  Twig still appears to show up during every other Fountain
eruption.  Sometimes Morning's Thief will erupt prior to the start of
Fountain, I didn't get to see it but Maureen, Bill, and Carol did.  Spasm
sometimes erupts before Fountain.  Jet is active about half the time and
when Super Frying Pan erupts it usually but not always shuts Jet off.
Nothing from Morning, Jelly, or Sub Geysers.  Bearclaw did make it above
ground for one eruption at least.

I only saw Biscuit Basin from the road, what little I saw looked like what
it was doing this summer.

In the Black Sand Basin my last visit was the first week in September and
everything was about the same as that visit.  Ragged and Jagged are still
active but appear to be somewhat subdued,  I saw no big bursts out of them.
Cliff Geyser and Spouter both appeared to be normal from my short
observation period.  BSB-2 was quiet with not even a bubble.  Green Spring
was not bubbling/boiling and there is a build up of bison droppings around
the pool that have not been washed so I doubt it had any recent activity.
BSB-3 is still a perpetual spouter.  Handkerchief Pool, Handkerchief Geyser,
and the third feature in that line were all quiet when I visited.  Sunlight
Geyser was giving a 1-2 foot splash a few times a minute.  Black Sand Pool
was just like it was the first week in September.

Fan and Mortar was not nice, First erupting overnight Oct 4/5 and then after
I left the park again erupting overnight.  There was a good event cycle the
afternoon of Oct 7 and at least two events cycles a day after that but
no eruption.  One cycle was exciting with frequent roars from Upper Mortar
and big splashing in Main Vent but all for not.  O, well. For East Sentinel
there is still some water flowing around it (and so into the vents in the
channel) and it is only boiling weakly.  Artimesia was active but I had no
closed intervals.

Riverside did mostly longs for the time I was in the park.  Daisy was in the
2:30 to 2:50 range.  On the 4th and 5th Grotto spend a good chunk of the day
in a marathon eruptions but after that I saw no other marathons for the
week.  There were a few Rocket Majors each day when folks were down at that
end to see and report them.  Bill Beverly told me the pushes on Oblong were
about 15 minutes apart.  Several Oblongs were seen but I did not catch any
closed intervals for the visit.

Chromatic still has most of the energy and all of the overflow.  It looks
great, a much better pool than Morning Glory currently.   Economic, East
Economic, and Wave Spring are all cooler with mats building up.  Even the
unnamed spring behind Wave Spring is below overflow and growing a mat.

I did catch Topsoil Spring thumping.  I walked by several times and it was
either full or about a centimeter down, but on one pass it was full and the
pool was rocking so I stopped.  I heard it thump a few times, like Doublet
Pool only quieter.

Grand did only single bursts for the few eruptions I saw, and of course most
of the eruptions I heard of that I did not see were two bursts.  There was
one Churn reported but no Penta's.  Mostly Sawmill was in control of the
Sawmill group.  Bulger just did minors when I was watching and Bulgers Hole
never did erupt for me on this visit.  The most I saw out of it was a little
water in the bottom of the hole.

Castle did several minor eruptions during the week so it was unpredictable
most of the week.  There are now electronic monitors on Castle, Grand, and
Daisy (replaced) but they are not downloaded every day.  Tilt's Baby was not
active for me this week, but I did see it the first week in September.

Little Brother is now quiet.  I am unsure when it quit erupting, I forgot to
look at it in September.

On the main hill I saw nothing from Bronze Spring, Silver Spring or Little
Squirt.  But I did spent most of three days on F & M so I could have missed
them.  The Anemones were active as usual.  Plume had intervals of about an
hour except those few times when I told someone it would erupt in the next
5-10 minutes, then then interval appears to be about an hour and fifteen
minutes.  Beehive appeared to have intervals in the 13-18 hour range.
Depression was in the 2 hr 30 minute to 4 hour range from the data I have.
The Lion series I saw all appeared to have at least 4 eruptions.   I think
Aurum is now in winter mode but I spent too much time at F & M and the Lower
Basin to be sure.  SIGH... no Giantess.  Dome was active for the 4th and
5th.

I will write later with a Norris report.

Stephen Eide
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