I try to write up a day's posting at the end, even though it may not get posting until midday the next day. I also then not change it even if subsequent events make some of my speculations or information out of date.
So as I'm trudging over the bridge and up the slope to Sawmill, I decide to take my own guru geyser gazing advice from the previous posting. If Grand appears that it's in for a long, then go check on Giant and Grotto. Usually it seems I end up waiting for Grand for hours, then go down and check Grotto. If I go there now, I can head in right after the eruption and the three hour wait preceding it.
So I get to Grand, and Percolator is quiet, West Triplet is empty. Turban starts almost immediately. I know from past experience that I can do the round trip to Grotto in just about one Turban interval, so at worst, I get to see a Grand start from Economic or Chromatic. Besides, the steam down there looks odd. I've been fooled in the past by Grotto, so even though I think it's on, I can't be be sure. Plus I need to go down and see if Giant has erupted already, as if it has,it makes a difference in my plans for what to do for the next Grand. Off I go.
I cross the bridge at Oblong, and by then am sure that Grotto is erupting. But is it a new eruption, or a marathon? Gotta get closer. At this point I vaguely notice that the Giant platform seems awfully steamy, too, just as Giant takes off. (At 02:16) Now that's a cheap thrill and an instant wake-up call.
It turns out I was perhaps in the best position to see the start, with what little breeze was blowing toward the platform. I couldn't see anything out there until minutes later. The platform itself was soaked in a torrential rainfall, quite impressive considering how close the source, but even the main walkway was in the rain. So I can't claim to have really "seen" the start, only experienced it. I do know my outer jacket got soaked by the time I was done.
Grotto was erupting, but it quit about a half hour later. And the Variable Pool showed no drop in water level. So no marathon, just a short Grotto interval. Based on the times, it would appear the hot period started as I was still at Grand, and there was no Mastiff function, as the amount of steam and noise coming from Giant before the start wasn't great enough. (I wasn't that out of it to not notice that much commotion.)
Eventually the steam and wind started cooperating, so I could MagLite the watercolumn from various locations. It was okay, but nothing like daylight. But I must admit, just being there and hearing all the noise was worth the experience. (And the selfishness of knowing that no one else was out there made a difference, too.)
No nighttime in the Upper Basin is complete without its little bizarre moment, and this night had one. I can't claim to have been the only person to have seen Giant, only that I was the only person who cared. Because about 45 minutes into the eruption, I noticed a light that seemed to be well north of Grotto. Now I'd been illuminating Giant off and on all eruption, so expected that I'd attracted attention. But that was an odd place, as how did they get there? I could hear voices, so there must have been at least two people. The light moved on south, passed on by Grotto, and kept going up the trail. Now Giant was still putting out a lot of steam and noise, but the light never seemed to take notice of all the commotion but once. I was relieved, as the last thing I wanted to deal with at that time was a bunch of drunken insomniac Amfac louts.
I guess I should say that I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get my wish of seeing a start from Grand, as this would have been the perfect opportunity. Perhaps, but I'd much rather see it in daylight, and this way I didn't have to make a mad dash down basin. Maybe next time.
So what about the guru geyser gazing that got me down there? Grand erupted on the next Turban. I think I'm going to amend my formula to say that Percolator is not quite so important, as that was what made me decide in the first place. I did catch the very end of a West Triplet eruption on my way back, which was obviously triggered by Grand's eruption.
Think this afternoon I'll visit Geyser Hill for the first time and see if I can get Beehive up close.
Update 14:00
Went out in the morning and took some photos of the sign locations. Also, the walkway was still wet, especially back in the trees between Grotto and Giant, where it wasn't ice.
And I wonder if the illlumination of these past two eruptions appeared on the webcam, or are MagLites just not that bright?