8/13/14

It rained most of last week, so we didn't get out to do any touring. This week was much better though.

Monday evening we went to West Thumb Geyser Basin after work. We hadn't been there for many years. They have replaced the asphalt walkways around the thermal features with wooden boardwalks, which allows better viewing of the scenery. West Thumb is on the southwest end of Yellowstone Lake where you get some spectacular views of the lake.

 

The thermal features are also interesting

Tuesday we went on a 12 mile hike to Shoshone Lake, with our coworkers that we hike with so often. It was another one of the free guided tours that the company provides for the employees. We met the bus at the Old Faithful Inn. Near where we parked there was a male bison "courting" a female bison. There was quite a bit of bellowing coming from the male bison as he tried to make the female know that she was his. There were also visitors within 20 feet of the pair. We were expecting a good goring of one of the visitors but the male bison was more interested in the female than the visitors.

There were four young women who worked in the Old Faithful Inn and the four of us 50 to 70 year olds on the hike. The young hikers finished the hike long before the four of us. For us, the hike took from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, with a 45 minute lunch at the lake.

Less than 1% of the visitors to Yellowstone ever make it out to this lake. It's the largest alpine lake in the lower 48 states that has no road access to it.

Along the way we found loads of wild strawberries and even more huckleberry bushes, full of not quite ripe fruit.

We walked a loop trail that took us through forest that was burned during the 1988 fires, but has recovered nicely.

Along the way was a pond where a mother duck was leading her brood of nine ducklings through the lily pads.

There are very few places along the trail, where you can see any part of the lake as you make your way out to it. Finally, as you approach to within 100 yards of the lake, you start to see it through the forest.

 

The photos below are a panoramic view of the lake from the end of the trail.

 



 

There is a small ranger station by the lake that allowed us to sit at a picnic table instead of the sharp rocks on the lake shore.

 

On the way back, we took the other trail that runs along the channel between Lewis Lake and Shoshone Lake. There were groups of canoes making there way out to Shoshone Lake, but the channel is so shallow that they had to pull the canoes over the rocks. They probably didn't get to paddle half the distance between the lakes. 

Lewis Lake is another beautiful alpine lake.

 

By the end of the hike Penny and I had blisters on our feet and we were dead tired. Our lower legs were ready to fall off at the end.

We rested all day Wednesday and were almost able to walk normally.