48 wanderlust.co.uk October 2019
immensecalderaresultingfromonemega
eruption640,000yearsago.You’vegotta
rememberthatunderusrightnowisaviolent
super-volcanothatwill–notmight–blow
againoneday.Heyho,welcometothemotherof
allloadedguns,”shetoldus.
NicexplainedhowYellowstone’ssnowmelt
andgroundwatersseepthroughtheearthand
vaporiseinsubterraneanchambersofmagma.
Asitsuperheats,pressurebuildsuptocause
theviolent,periodicexplosionsofsteamand
boilingwaterthatwecallgeysers(pronounced
guy-zers,stateside).Eacheruptioncontinues
untilthechamberisempty.Itthenslowlyrefills
andtheprocedurerepeats.Somegeysersare
regular,whethereruptionsarefrequentornot;
othersarelesspredictable.Geologyrocks
Westoppedtoclimbagiantsnowdriftandwaitfor
a‘fountaingeyser’–thetypethateruptsoutof
apool.Afterarumbleofwarning,itsuddenlyflungout spirals of scalding water creating clouds of fog,
frost and ice as they froze. By the end of the day we
had met some of their eccentric geothermal
relatives too: smoking fumaroles; burping and
bubbling mudpots; and permanent hot springs
wafting sulphurous gases into the air.
After crossing the invisible rim of the
Yellowstone caldera, we reached the Upper
Geyser Basin. Our Scandi-style, log fire-warmed
lodge was bang next to Old Faithful, the most
celebrated old geyser of them all. It erupts
predictably (hence the name) every 90 minutes
or so. At first I found myself rushing outside for
every blast of 40,000 steaming litres shooting
60m skywards and lasting a few minutes each
time, but I reminded myself that the basin is
home to more than half of all the major geysers in
the world (yes, including Iceland).
The next day I rented cross-country skis and set
off on a groomed trail connecting a cluster of them
along the aptly-named Firehole River. Some were
boilingcauldronssurroundedbydanglingicicles,
otherscreatedpoolswhichbetweeneruptions
stoodghostlystill.Igazedintotheaquamarine
depthsoftherust-colouredsinterrimofMorning
GloryPool.AtCastleGeyserIexaltedintheroars
andexplosionslikeanoceanstorm.Everywhere,
theearthseemedtobeexhalingandhissing
remindersofitsviolentpower.Aheadofthepack
Snowshoeingwasanotherwaytogetoutandtaste
theflavourofthewildbackcountrybeyondthe
basin.Withsomeothersofourgroup,Istrapped
ontheracket-likecontraptionsandshuedinto
forest-blanketedhillsides.Windshadswirledand
rippledthesnowtocreateextraordinaryartworks:
giantwindblowncornices;sensuouscurves;and
cottonwoodtreeswithfrostcrystalgrowingonthe
barebranchesliketinyfeathers.
Woodpeckersdrummedonthetrunksof
Douglasfirsaswesurveyedtheforestforsmall
mammals.Wehopedtocomeacrossasneakof
weasels,orarompofottersunderthewooden
bridgethatourtrailtraversed.IthoughtIspied‘I stood by the rust-
coloured rim of the
Morning Glory Pool
and gazed into the
aquamarine depths’
Letting o steam
(clockwise from top)
The introduction of wolves
has helped create habitat
for otters; there are
upwards of 5,000 bison at
the park; the extreme
colours of the beautiful
Morning Glory Pool
Naturepl; AWL Images