[Geysers] Final Trip Report (Stephens)

[Lynn Stephens]

THIS MESSAGE IS FOR THE PERSONAL USE OF THE READERS OF THIS LISTSERV AND IS NOT TO BE REPRODUCED FOR ANY OTHER PURPOSE, INCLUDING PUBLICATION IN THE SPUT.
 
One final geyser behavior tidbit:  I spent much of my last week in Yellowstone watching Atomizer.  I was able to see five major eruptions from June 18-25 (plus one on June 6.)  Of the six eruptions that I saw, three were "quick comeback majors" that started 5-20 minutes after a minor, and three happened about 1 1/2 hours after the preceding minor.  When I looked at the last 100 entries for Atomizer on geysertimes, there were 11 quick comeback majors (including the three that I saw, 9 majors about 1-1/2 hours after the preceding minor (including the three that I saw), and there were 10 majors where there was not enough information to determine the type of major.  I suspect more of the "unknowns" are "1-1/2 hour type" rather than quick comeback type since people generally don't record how long they had been waiting before the observation occurred.  It is more likely that people will see a minor 5-20 minutes before the major and will record a quick comeback major than they will see a minor 1-1/2 hours before a major.  Using the last 100 observations for Atomizer in geysertimes (back to the end of July 2014), I was able to calculate 6 closed intervals (3 in June 2016, 1 in September 2015, and 2 in August 2015).  Calculations of closed intervals treated ie times as start times.  The closed intervals varied from a minimum of 18h50m to a maximum of something under 23h1m (involved an ie time).  The mean was 21h10m and the median was 21h21m.  When I included a quintuple in June 2016, 1 quadruple interval, four triple intervals, and two double intervals with the 6 closed intervals, the overall mean was 19h49m.  The overall mean decreased due to a triple interval that averaged 16h44m in August 2014 and a triple interval that averaged 18h33m in August 2015. There are a few "initial" minors recorded in geysertimes.  Since none of them have the preceding or succeeding major reported, there is no way of measuring whether the increase in interval length over the past few years includes an increase in time from the major to the first minor.  I suspect the increase in interval can be attributed to the 3-4 hours between minors rather than an increase in the time from the major to the first minor, but other than documenting waits of 3-4 hours between minors I have no way of proving my theory at this time.
  
Non-geyser notes: On Friday afternoon, 6/24, I went to Black Sand Basin, intending to time some full pool to full pool eruptions of Cliff Geyser while listening for a radio report of events at Fan & Mortar.  The parking lot was full.  As I pulled around the south end of the parking lot I noticed three individuals--two males and one female--standing on Whistle Geyser's mound.  I parked illegaly where the faded yellow line is along with a few other cars.  As I got out of the pickup I used my frs radio to call the OFVEC, hoping to get the attention of the interpretive ranger who was at Black Sand Basin.  (Although she heard the call, she see the individuals.)  With help from Will Boekel law enforcement rangers were dispatched to Black Sand Basin.  Ordinarily I might not have done anything, except that one of the men had knelt down on top of the mound and was using his hands to splash water all over his head.  That, I decided, warranted action.  As soon as the three realized I was taking some action they all came running off the mound.  Two of them jumped into the van before I got close enough to clearly identify them.  The third man, the one with soaking wet hair and water running down his front, stayed outside the van.  When he heard me call in their license plate number and realized I had positioned myself so the van couldn't leave, he came over to explain to me why he had done what he had done.  I quickly stopped him and explained he could wait until the law enforcement rangers arrived and give his explanations to him.  By the time they arrived the wind and sun had almost dried his hair.  I didn't get pictures but his admission of his actions were sufficient for the law enforcement rangers to issue him a ticket.  Part of his explanation was he hadn't seen anyone around (other than a parking lot overflowing with cars) so he decided it was OK to go use the water!  After giving my statement to the law enforcement officers, I decided I should probably just head on back to West Yellowstone to load up the pick-up, do laundry, etc., so I could get an early start home on Saturday.  Congratulations to all the people who saw Fan & Mortar at 1853.  Scott Grisso's picture of Mortar was outstanding! The front page of the June 24, 2016 issue of the West Yellowstone News, a weekly newspaper, contained an article "Beating the huge summer crowds while visiting Yellowstone, National Forests."  NPS spokeswoman Charissa Reid suggested ways of getting away from the crowds to have a peaceHer suggestions included "hike from Old Faithful to Biscuit Basin via boardwalks to weed out the crowd (p1, 3)."  She also suggested visting "in the early morning or late evening."  I have grown accustomed to the fact that the first Asian tour bus arrives at Fountain Paint Pots about 6:45 in the morning.  I was, on the other hand, totally surprised when a group of 50 Asian visitors plus a stroller (presumably containing a baby but I've seen plenty of strollers with little dogs also) came trekking up to Artemisia from Biscuit Basin this morning.  I first heard their voices at 06:46 just as an Atomizer minor had ended.  The apparent leader of the group apologized to me for disturbing my peace and quiet.  It took him 12 minutes to finish collecting the last straggler, the woman with the stroller, and move them on up the hill.  One positive note--Any bears in the area probably heard them coming so I was able to put away my bear spray.  (Chris and Gideon Daubert saw a black bear between Morning Glory and Artemisia Friday morning.  And there are almost daily reports of the grizzly spotted at Daisy, Grotto, Riverside, Fan & Mortar, and/or Artemisia.)
Lynn Stephens

 		 	   		  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: </geyser-list/attachments/20160625/b47c5821/attachment.html>