Category: Activity Report

Got out as far as an erupting Castle when Grand started. Decided to watch the One Burst Grand from there, although I did wander down the the bridge when Sawmill started toward the end of the Grand eruption. Was amusing to see that there was still some debris that could be pushed along at the head of the runoff. Also, Castle sent nicely into steam.

Despite the poor weather, decided to head on down to Artemisia. Sitting under the tree at the south, I had just seen an eruption of Atomizer. In the Artemisia fog, I could hear the bubbling in the vent before the water column was visible. So I was surprised that right after, off to the left/south, I could hear rumbling. The radio had announced that Beehive had just started, and I was hearing the eruption. When I mentioned it, a bit later Suzanne could hear it too. After a few minutes, it disappeared and i didn't hear it again.

Must be some unusual "whisper gallery" effect, where the sound is amplified at some locations by the reflections and echos. It was an overcast, damp day, so conditions might make a difference. Something to consider the next time someone gets a radio call of a Beehive eruption there.

Left before the eruption, because was starting to not like being so far from dry shelter. But decided a little side trip was in order, and needed to see what East Sentinel looked like.

At first, I thought it didn't look all that encouraging, although more active than last year when the pool was completely calm. Then I noticed all the dead vegetation. The large mound of grass just to the left of the formations was brown and all bent upstream. Farther beyond, in the alcove to the let, was more dead vegetation and what even appeared to be water flow marks. Some of the dead plants are about 10 meters from the vent. On the cone, a couple of catch basins had water in them.

About 36 hours ago, we did have strong rains, and the catch basins could be still holding that. But the dead plants seemed fresh. In any case, East Sentinel needs some observing this season.

Arrived at the early afternoon Grand just in time to see the boops of a delay Turban interval well over 35 minutes long. It took seven more Turban eruption intervals before we finally got the One Burst Grand eruption. During that time the crowd grew bored with the wait, which ended well outside the NPS window. It didn't help that the weather was much nicer than the forecast said. (We didn't get rained on.)

With the rain supposed to come in, and nothing much expected, we didn't go back out. Turns out the rains really didn't start until it was time for the next Grand eruption, after sunset.

At dawn it was foggy. The Sawmill Group was high enough that Slurp was being drowned, with little noise and occasional droplets that were visible. Grand was at the twelve hour mark, and I expected a wait and an opportunity to do some reading. THe eruption was less than ten minutes later. Started with a boop in the fog that sounded like Turban, until we realized that it was not followed by more sounds. Grand finally erupted about 15 seconds later.

It was a good day to leave the Upper Basin, so did a loop through the Lower Basin. Got to Fountain and discovered I'd left the notebook pouch back in the truck. Did see a Jet before I headed back. Got back and as I passed Silex, Fountain started. Did see the second Morning's Thief eruption, and it turned out Jet was frequent during the whole eruption. And then quit when Fountain did.

When it was time for the next Grand eruption, came out to find Sawmill and Rift in eruption. The Sawmill Group was high, with Belgian full and Crystal overflowing into and drowning Slurp. The Turban eruption I saw was the start of a Delay interval. Unlike the other day, there was only a two Turban eruption wait. During this time, Rift continued to erupt, and Sput D joined it, erupting with Rift until it ended later. The Grand eruption was a nondescript short one burst. Rift ended sometime during Grand.

Before we could leave Grand, water in Beehive's Indicater was called. Got over in plenty of time for the eruption. I did not see the little sput at the base of Beehive's cone that I saw back in May, but the Close-to-Cone indicator could be seen to be active once the Indicator proper ended. This bubbling continued after Beehve ended. Sawmill was still erupting as we went back for the bikes, a duration of at least 2h20m.

Late afternoon Grand was a short wait of a couple of Turban eruption intervals. Sawmill was erupting again, but I was also seeing Tardy erupting during the wait. The Grand eruption had a long second burst, followed by an immediate quitting by Vent and Turban.

During the eruption, a deer appeared from the trees behind Rift. It seemed to completely ignore Grand erupting, and disappeared behind the water column from my vantage point, only to appear again behind Turban. The marmots on the hillside seemed to object to its being there, as they put up a bit of racket. The deer continued to graze on the hillside after we left the area.

With nothing much else going on, went out to Great Fountain, arriving with it well into overflow. Only waited a half hour for the eruption, that started with a large burst and flood of water. Not much else happened after that, although the third burst started with a nice explosion.

Got the full long Grand treatment. First a Turban delay interval of well over 35 minutes (didn't see the Turban start, just in eruption.) Followed by at least two more series of the strong, vigorous Turban eruptions that are themselves followed by no overflow eruptions. A total of eight Turban intervals, stretching the Grand interval to almost 8-1/2 hours. The eruption itself was short, and we had almost a minute of the pool trying to refill, only to lose out to Vent & Turban, who immediately quit.

But the long interval had a good effect. Many saw the Grand eruption from Sawmill, as Uncertain was splashing frequently and fairly heavily all during that time. As I left Grand, saw a couple of those surges as passing by Bulger. So stuck around and was almost immediately rewarded with the first observed eruption of Uncertain since the dormancy started. It seemed the duration was shorter than I remember, only about 2-1/2 to 3 minutes, depending on how you measure the end (and that I spend so much time fumbling to get the camera running I didn't get a good start time.)

Stuck around after as Sawmill was still rising, as were Spasmodic and Penta, but after twenty or so minutes, suddenly Sawmill's water level dropped, at least 30cm, and out of sight.

There was a call for Fan & Mortar event as I was leaving Castle, so headed down there to see lots of Fan's Main Vent splashing, and then twenty minutes of Bottom Vent erupting. When the fan vents finally started, they weren't all that interesting.

Headed out to the late afternoon Grand with the expectation of getting rained on. So was wearing my raingear when the eruption started, with the wind coming right at the benches area. Another non-descript one burst eruption.

That's when the rain started up, but let up enough to let us get back to the cabin without getting wet. Started fixing a dinner when another report of Fan & Mortar showing signs of life came in. Because the rain was getting harder, tried to ignore these reports, until it was too late and we realized we were in the wrong place, and should've headed out earlier.

Started the day in a foggy Grand/Sawmill Group. Was out because it was a longer than average interval for Grand, but arrived right at the end. Did get to see the Sawmill Group in a deep drain mode, with Oval erupting down deep from the north vent, and Slurp a noisy fumarole I could hear walking up past Scalloped.

Came in to get more organized, and got back out to see my first Sawmill eruption in years. The group was still well below overflow otherwise. Tardy started about ten minutes after I arrived, quitting a few minutes later. Within a couple of minutes, Sawmill did the same. That is the sort of behavior I remember from the Group when Sawmill was having short low pool eruptions.

Saw another Sawmill eruption before the next Grand wait. That eruption featured activity by Percolator, Sput D and West Triplet leading into an eruption of Rift. The duration of West Triplet was short, only about one half hour, with the start of Rift around the 23 minute mark. That is much shorter than I am used to seeing. Then we got a Turban Delay interval.

Grand erupted two Turban intervals later. It was an eruption that lasted over 13-1/2 minutes. Sawmill started, again, just before Grand. It appears that Sawmill is quite frequent.

Got the call to go down at Fan & Mortar. Got to see strong, intermittent activity from the High vent, with steady overflow from Gold, but nothing much came of it. It appears this year it's not unusual for the Mortar frying pans to be quite active, and for Upper Mortar to surge but not build at the end of a good cycle like this one.

The rains kept threatening during the late afternoon, but we never got more than a sprinkling or two. Finally, after the six hour mark, I decided to risk getting wet and headed out to Grand. There we got a short, strong and vigorous Turban eruption which acts as if there was a Delay interval. That was followed by a Turban interval with no overflow from Grand, which pretty much confirmed things. It ended up being two more Turban intervals before Grand started.

It was an explosive start from a pool that had small waves, but no booping. In contrast to the earlier eruption, this one was short, just over nine minutes. At the end, Turban and Vent were exceptionally strong, but we never saw any evidence that Grand even tried to fill back up.

And shortly before Grand, Sawmill started again.

Didn't have to wait for the morning Grand eruption. Cold and steamy, but calm. The first burst lasted 9m11s, which is often enought for a One Burst eruption, but not this time. Instead we got a short pause and a short second burst before Vent & Turban reluctantly quit.

After that, I was able to go to Geyser Hill. There was another eruption of Little Squirt, and I wanted to see how the frying pans next to the boardwalk reacted. I didn't get over there until after Little Squirt had been finished, and it was mostly dry. But the frying pans were sizzling a bit, which is the activity I would have expected.

Visited Artemisia for the first time this year. Got to see an Atomizer minor eruption and a jerk on a bicycle. Went over to catch Daisy and got the call for the start of Beehive's Indicator. Made it as far as the trail junction in front of the Inn.

Midday, Grand had a series non-Delay Turban intervals that caused a long interval. This is the first wait of this time this visit. The eruption itself went into Big Sawmill mode fairly early around the 8-1/2 minute mark with a false pause. From there, it slopped around for over five minutes. There was another significant false pause just before 13 minute mark, and the total eruption duration was 13m07s. Vent & Turban quickly died down.

Since the Lower Basin opened up yesterday, decided it was a good time to see the obligatory, annual Great Fountain eruption. Arrived after overflow had started, so at least didn't have long to wait. The eruption itself was described as being "Great Flounder", and it was all my fault for my being there. I also had to wipe down the windows of my truck to get rid of another set of stains.

Stopped in at Fountain Paint Pots, where Fountain started right as we stopped. The wind was strong, so the steam and spray was being carried horizontally across the walkway and across Jet Geyser. Had to walk through it to get a view of the eruption, and it was very warm and humid, but no spray for my passage through.

Finally went out for a post-sunset Grand eruption. Instead got a Turban Interval Delay of over 33 minutes when Grand suddenly erupted. The pool didn't look great, but it was hard to tell with the lighting and steaminess. This was another long One Burst Eruption, with a false pause at around 11 minutes into an eruption that lasted 12-1/2 minutes. Vent & Turban were off within seconds of the end of the eruption.

The Sawmill Group showed no signs of any changes today. Sawmill was always well below overflow whenever I passed by.

Another three hours at Norris to confirm that things really haven't changed, that any reports of improvements were temporary. The winds picked up as we left, and were excessive the rest of the day.

Back in the Upper Basin, on the way out to Grand, I noticed that Churn was just below overflow, like it appears after an eruption. The rest of the group was dropping. Several hours later, at a time when Spasmodic was below overflow, Churn was only overflowing out the left/west part of the rim, and just wet to the north. The One Burst Grand was chopped off by the wind.

Quick checks at Fan & Mortar, and hanging around Sawmill Group, along with Castle and Beehive eruptions filled in the rest of the day. Missed the Indicator radio call, so didn't get to Geyser Hill in time to see Beehive up close.

Went out for the evening Grand, and got a 35m two Turban eruption interval delay. The sun had set by eruption time, but the lighting was still good and the wind had died down to only be "breezy".

At Norris, the situation was even worse that yesterday. It really does appear that New Crater/Steamboat is stuck in a mode where which hasn't been seen these past few years-- one where there is no progression, or "looking good", or with activity that can get the crowd (such as it has been) excited.

Got back in time for the mid-day One Burst Grand eruption. The start was simultaneous and explosive from both. It had been showery up to the eruption, but afterwards, the rain started hard. Always nice to bicycle back in rain.

Didn't find out until mid-afternoon that Little Squirt had been active earlier in the day. So went out and confirmed that the little bubbling gravel areas near Little Squirt were noisily active.

The rains stopped for the evening, although the wind was cold and damp, and from the north. Grand waited until the sunset Turban interval, and that made for a wonderfully lighted eruption, nicely visible thanks to the wind. It started with a big blue bubble. The second burst started as the sun was already dropping below the ridgeline. After about 30 seconds into the second burst, Grand went into Big Sawmill mode for another 30 seconds. Then Vent & Turban got our attention as about a minute after the end, they increased in power much more than normal. Looked for an afterburst attempt, but nothing out of Grand's vent.

About midway through five hours at Norris New Crater/Steamboat finally did something that looked like it might want to try to erupt. For about 1/2 hour starting at 11:00, we got some strong activity with a flood of water coming down from the South Vent. Then a reversion to the activity we've been seeing all along for the next 1-1/2 hours. Then it was time to leave.

Did catch the evening One Burst Grand eruption. Nothing much of interest in it or any other activity. West Triplet continued to be inoverflow every time I look at it.

A trip to Norris after missing a day seemed in order. It wasn't until we passed the Gibbon Picnic area that the road became slushy. At Norris there were several inches of snow, and several trees across the boardwalk just beyond Emerald. Spent an hour and a half there, but while some were seeing some flashes of life, we saw more of the same.

Rest of the day was pretty ordinary when it wasn't wet. Saw a couple of One Burst Grand eruptions, walked down after one of them to check Fan & Mortar and confirm that they have not erupted. Going out for the second Grand, we got the call for Beehive's Indicator just as we were leaving. Beehive itself had a full double rainbow as seen from the north.

The area of bubbling ground along the boardwalk is now completely dead. It's just a series of discolored patches of gravel, although the strongest one has a silted basin.

The NPS entertainment of the day was a long power failure. Must've started just before we left for Norris, and power came back about four hours later. Shortly after, there was a fire alarm at the Visitor Center. Seems that the noisy generator was overheating, and there wasn't a real fire. Oh, well, better luck next time.

Woke up at just around the time to head out to Grand at dawn, so I did.

As I approached Castle, it started erupting. About three minutes later, it starting having pauses, and after about 10-1/2 minutes, it didn't recover from a pause.

I saw Turban erupting while I was at Castle, so no need to hurry over. As it turned out I only had to wait 10 minutes for the steamy, fog-shrouded eruption. During the eruption, West Triplet's overflow strenghtened to the point where it started erupting, ending right after Grand did.

Considered going to Norris, but the conditions didn't look great, and the forecast didn't look there would be much improvement, and yesterday was enough of that type of driving for now, so decided against it. Turns out it was the right decision, as we would have encounter the rockfalls at Gibbon Falls. They eventually closed the road to traffic, at about the same time that the other two roads out of Norris got closed due to weather/road conditions. The roads did eventually open by the afternoon.

During a gap in the weather, went down to confirm that it appeared that Fan & Mortar didn't erupt overnight. Didn't stay long, as the gaps in the weather aren't very long.

Decided to go out to Grand by way of Geyser Hill, as the walk isn't much longer than that from the Lower Ham's parking lot. Little Squirt was active, and right next to the boardwalk we noticed a patch of ground that was steaming and bubbling. I've never noticed warm ground in this area before, it was all new to me.

Once again, Grand cooperated and we only had to wait a single Turban eruption interval. The pool wasn't visible, but moments before Grand started, we could hear the boils and boops. I wasn't able to see any other details of the start because of all the steam. There was an attempt to stop at around eight minutes, then several more minutes of activity that at least wasn't Big Sawmill mode, but obvious there wasn't going to be a second burst. This time West Triplet didn't try to erupt.

On the walk back, the area of bubbling ground seemed a bit more active. One area, about 10cm across, had gravel being churned up and it even appeared like a vent was forming, or at least a rim in the ground.

When headed out for the next Grand, Little Squirt was no longer erupting, and the bubbling ground area was dry. It was possible to hear some sort of sizzling from some of the area.

The Sawmill Group had Spasmodic overflowing heavily although mostly quiet. Sawmill itself looked like it might actually be putting water into one of the shallow catch basins. After a Turban eruption, I came back that way and found Sawmill down to the high level I've seend the last few days.

The Grand eruption was steamy, but the weather broke just in time for the start of the second burst. West Triplet, once again, was in overflow while we were out there.

A couple of inches of snow starting last night, so the roads were slick where all that got packed down. But mostly sloppy, and no problem getting to Norris. Little to no traffic, and besides, I haven't driven much in winter conditions the last few years, so the practice was good to have.

Not much different there from last visit. In the two hours there, it did seem like there was noticeably more water coming down from South Vent (and not just from snowmelt), but North still seemed to be dominating the play. Emerald finally looks more green than blue, too.

On the way back, heard over the NPS radio that there had just been a non-fatal encounter between a vehicle and an elk. Both the elk and the car were still mobile, but then a wolf appeared, interested in an easy dinner. Fortunately, there had been a ranger at Fountain Paint Pots dealing with a drone pilot, so by the time we got there traffic was being moved along. But after we got back to our cabin, things there got worse. Seems a grizzly decided to join in on the fun, so traffic was (and for good reason) not wanting to move. It wasn't until early evening before Bear Management was on scene and did something to move the elk away from the road (at one point "about 10 feet from fog line"). I would expect it will be eaten tonight when no one is around to disturb the preditors.

Update: Here's a link to a video of the incident. I hadn't heard on the radio that the elk was being chased, which explains what happened.

(I will eventually do a posting with a summary of some of the more interesting radio traffic during this trip.)

Mid afternoon was when I finally got over to check out the Sawmill Group. All the features were up high, but no bubbling visible in Tardy, and Spasmodic was mostly quiet while overflowing.

Down at Fan & Mortar, watched over an hour of Garbage Mode-- Fan vents turning on and off, with no activity from Main or Mortar.

By then it was time for Grand. A walk through the Sawmill Group showed everything well below the highwater or overflow levels.

A Turban eruption interval after arriving got us a Delay. At around the 22 minute mark, Grand looked good with small waves. It mostly stayed that way for the next 14 minutes, when it finally dropped and we got Turban erupting for an interval of 36m48s.

But for the next interval, Grand rose quickly, and started overflowing around the 16 minute mark. A couple of minutes later, with water pouring out of the vent, Turban started abruptly, and 40 seconds later Grand joined in. The burst lasted 9m10s, and despite the steamy conditions, it was easy to see the pool still had water and was filling.

The second burst went into Big Sawmill mode fairly quickly, so it was no surpise when it just kept on erupting. There was even a false pause lasting a second or two. Two and a half minutes later, I had to wait a few seconds to confirm that the eruption was actually over.

Also of note is that earlier this week the NPS removed all the old benches near the trees at Castle. There are new benches, but they are still in a pile near the old road alternate trail junction, with their packing material in place. I guess they'll stay that way for a couple more days.

Went out at dawn to check the Sawmill Group. Appeared to be unchanged from the evening before. The only changes that have persisted, observed over 45 minutes, were an occasional collapsing bubble in Tardy's vent, and Slurp was quiet. Sawmill was just below overflow, but there was no change in water level. Rift also erupted overnight.

Four hours later, headed to Grand, things still didn't look much different. Slurp was noisy, but Crystal and Belgian were way down (3cm or so). During the One Burst Grand eruption, Sawmill did briefly rise up enough to wet some of the catch basins around the vent, but no overflow.

The One Burst Grand eruption was another one of those that lasted a long time (11m30s here) because the last two or three minutes or so are in Big Sawmill mode, where there are frequent periods of low jetting, and quick pauses followed a sudden rocket to resume the eruption.

After that, the weather got wetter as the day progressed. When it was time to head out to Grand again, it was a steady rain. Based on what Turban did while I was waiting, I would say that I arrived on the first eruption after a Delay interval, and Grand finally erupted on the fourth. It was another One Burst Grand Eruption, one that lasted just under 10 minutes. During the eruption, the rain got heavier, and then turned to snow as I left the area.

During that wait, I checked the Sawmill Group between Turban eruptions and observed the rise in Sawmill's water level and Spasmodic starting to overflow. The group really didn't look much different than from the morning observation. Again, nothing happened in Tardy, although the rain made it harder to tell if there might have been a bubble or two. I didn't wait around after Grand, which I would have done if I hadn't been getting wet for over an hour.