Waking up to the sound of Cranes is something I don’t typically hear. They are migrating and pair by pair, they are flying across the lake making this beautiful music. On top of that, the glorious sunrise, how can you beat this day?

Hogged Up and Fearless beat us out of camp. Our morning walk was on the lakeshore in gravel. It was flat but walking on sandy ground is one way to wake up every twitch muscle in your feet. I’ve been having a bit of right foot pain and Sabine hooked me up with Lueka Tape last night. I’m hoping that this will retrain my foot to stop turning outward like a duck, and collapsing inward. The jury is still out but the sandy walk this morning was testing me for all I had!

Atsuko and I had a few balancing exercises this morning. Within the first couple of miles, we came across a river with a tree as the bridge. Why this stuff freaks me out, I still don’t understand. It’s only 2-3’ above the water but balance is not my forte. Luckily I made it across and Atsuko did too. I should’ve paid more attention in gymnastics, especially on that balance beam.

We continued past Heart Lake turnoff, and made it to the river. More balancing acts over logs and rock skipping. Then I looked at the map and realized we were off trail. You gotta be kidding me! All our acrobats were for not? We back tracked, and realized our mistake and with 1-1/2 miles extra credit, we were back on the trail.

The day was a fairly flat walk, following Heart River and then Snake River. We managed to cross several creeks and just submerged our feet directly in the river. There are times when I try to keep my feet dry, but today I embraced the cold water and my feet were happy! I must say these past four days walking in Yellowstone have been quite nice. The terrain has been accommodating, the trail is well maintained and the views are grand. I’d highly recommend backpacking this part of the park! Just keep an eye on your map.

But there comes a point when you finally have to climb up and over some pointless hillside. With four miles left, the majority of our elevation was smacked dab at the end of the day. Fearless had been leaving messages in the dirt, which were very encouraging as we were on our last miles to camp. I have deemed her the Encourager because she always seems to have a way to push you in a kind and supportive manner. It truly is a gift of hers!

Once at camp, we found our spots and pitched our tents. Sabine asked about my foot and I must say that her taping job did wonders! My foot after hiking 18 plus miles was feeling the best it has in quite awhile! I think I may invest in this Lueka Tape. It’s stronger and more durable than KT Tape, and did the trick for today. Now she has me doing PT in camp, stretching and manipulating my ankle. She’s a good partner to have on trail and can throw a mean rock bag for hanging our bear bags!

The last bit of business was completing our Scientific Research on Geysers in the park. We had already completed the Junior Ranger Course but we moved on to Scientific Ranger School. This entails creating a hypothesis based on an observations that we made while hiking Yellowstone. Our research was based on why some geysers are active and others are not?

Being uneducated in geology, we could only guess as to what caused certain geysers to stop flowing. Our thoughts were based on the possibility that certain minerals changed in the area and clogged up the vents, that seismic activity could have interrupted the flow of gases underground or ??? After walking through the park, we realized that we have no idea but it was a fun exercise and made us appreciate what we saw. Sabine, aka Hogged Up presented me and Fearless with Junior Scientist Patches which we will both wear with honor and distinction. Thank you Educator!

So once I was able to ask AI, Why do geysers stop being active? This is what I found. Us young scientists were not too far off!

Geysers can stop being active due to a variety of factors, including:

Disruption of the plumbing system:
Earthquakes, mineral blockages, or human interference can disrupt the delicate subterranean plumbing of geysers, leading to permanent extinction of the thermal feature.

Changes in the water source: If the water source is cut off or the configuration of the fractures and cavities is altered, eruption intervals may change or stop completely.

Drought conditions: Severe drought conditions can lead to a reduction in the water supply, slowing or ending the geyser’s flow.

Mineral deposition: Over time, mineral deposits can narrow the throat of the geyser, eventually “repairing” the leak in the crust and stopping the flow. + 1
These factors contribute to the dynamic nature of geysers, which are not permanent geological features but rather fragile “errors” in the Earth’s plumbing.