Great MisAdventures Summer 2011

Gallatin River and Gallatin Range, 6/30/2011. Joseph Peak 10,441'
David takes a fishing day in the NW corner of Yellowstone.

Indian Paint Brush along Grayling Creek, 7/16/2011.
David takes another fishing day in the NW corner of Yellowstone.

Yellowstone National Park ~ Mystic Falls ~ Biscuit Basin

July 22, 2011

Today we hike Biscuit Basin with Mystic Falls as the destination. This basin is part of the Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful.

This thermal basin is particularly volatile. In August 1959 an 7.5 earthquake had its epicenter just a few miles to the northwest. The Hebgen Lake earthquake affected many of Yellowstone’s geysers and hot springs. When Sapphire Pool began to erupt violently, the large rock biscuits around the crater were blown away. Biscuit Basin was named for those unusual biscuit-shaped geyserite formations.

Before the earthquake, Sapphire Pool was a beautiful, sapphire blue hot spring with minor eruptions of approximately 6 feet. The day after the tremor, the crater was filled with churning muddy water.

A month later, Sapphire began erupting violently, up to 125 feet tall and nearly as wide. It was a geyser with regular intervals for several years. Gradually the interval time lengthened and the force of the eruptions subsided. In 1971 Sapphire stopped erupting and its water finally regained its clarity.

Sapphire before the earthquake with biscuits.

Venturing off the boardwalk, we hike up the Little Firehole River to Mystic Falls, an impressive 70 foot drop as it comes off the Madison Plateau into the Firehole River Valley. Many small hot springs are scattered around the waterfall's edge, giving this cascade a mystical appearance.

Leaving the falls behind, we climb up the Madison Plateau to an overlook offering superb views of the Upper Geyser Basin and the entire Old Faithful area.

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