A Giant Blue Eye

Yellowstone National Park has more geysers and spectacular, massive hot springs than the rest of the world combined.

Indeed, anytime anyone does an article on the thermal features of Yellowstone National Park, Grand Prismatic Spring always makes an appearance in text and photographs.

As well it should: It is largest and most beautiful hot spring in North America; the dominant feature of the Midway Geyser Basin.

It is roughly oval in shape, about 380 by 250 feet, with temperature varying from 147 to 188 F. Grand Prismatic discharges around 560 gallons per minute from a depth of 121 feet

However, it is not size but color that makes it so impressive. The spring quite literally possesses the colors of the rainbow, hence the name “Prismatic.”

Thomas “Yellowstone” Moran did a watercolor sketch of Prismatic Spring in 1871; a piece of art that was discounted as artistic license until the colors were confirmed by the geologist A.C. Peale in 1878.

Except for the deep blue-green of the center of the spring, the colors are created by different species of algae and other organisms responding to varying temperatures.

One of the photo-worthy features of Grand Prismatic Spring is its Technicolor steam. That is, the various colors of the spring softly suffuse the mist constantly rising off the surface.

Due to the size of Grand Prismatic Spring and the mist, it is almost impossible to get a National Geographic-style panorama of the Spring from the viewing platform.

So how did National Geographic (or Thomas Moran) get the job done?

Well, if in doubt, ask a ranger! However, with the recession and all, there are fewer rangers to ask, so I did the next best thing; I consulted my Lonely Planet guide to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.

Ah! Here is the solution to the mystery on page 125!

“For the most dramatic photos of the Grand Prismatic Spring, drive south to the Fairy Falls trailhead, then take a faint path up the side of the fire burned ridge (itself a lava deposit from the west rim of the Caldera). From above, the spring looks like a giant blue eye, weeping exquisite, multicolored tears.”

Joan and I followed instructions, but were unsure if we could find the unauthorized trail to the spring viewing point.

We needn’t have worried. One of the park’s bison, a bull approaching a half ton in size, was standing in the middle of the Fairy Falls Trail and directing taxpayers up the unauthorized trail with authoritative rolls of his shaggy, horned head.

We took his suggestion. The path is a straight up the hill scramble, complicated by a jack straw puzzle of fallen lodgepole pine. It takes 20 minutes to half an hour, depending on how well you’ve watched diet and exercise.

The result is worth the effort. Lonely Planet is strong on cool, British understatement, rarely bursting into such hyperbole as “A giant blue eye, weeping exquisite, multicolored tears,” but in this case, they are correct!

Now the question is, why doesn’t the NPS make the ridge top viewpoint more obvious and more accessible? After all, it is the most beautiful thermal feature in the park. In short, why don’t they build a trail?

Well, I don’t know. The interpretive bison was no longer on duty when we reached the bottom of the hill, so we couldn’t ask him.

I imagine one reason for not building the trail would be priorities and cost. The construction season in Yellowstone is quite short and there are pressing demands on staff, material, and money. On the other hand, there are the “stimulus” funds, a windfall allotted the parks, as well as the much-touted “Your fee dollars at work” program. No, money should not be an object.

A second, more environmentally sound objection to a trail is the Dread Creeping Footprint.

The Dread Creeping Footprint (or DCF) is simply the expanding man-made infrastructure; buildings, roads, trails, parking lots, RV pads, and so on. It always seems like a good idea at the time, with or without an environmental impact statement. Pretty soon, the man-made fungus of DCF has covered a significant area of the park.

Or would have, if the park administration had not made a strong commitment to curbing DCF. If I correctly recall a long-ago conversation with the Yellowstone superintendent at the time, Bob Barbee, the “developed“ surface of the park was not to exceed 3% of the total acreage, leaving 97% of Yellowstone pretty much as John Colter found it..

So would a trail to the ridge top overlooking Grand Prismatic Spring exceed the 3 % DCF?
Probably not. It would require the decommissioning and reforesting of only one fire road to more than provide the swap for yardage needed to build such a trail.

It would seem that the NPS does not have a great deal of choice in the matter of a trail.

The “unofficial” trail is ten feet wide in places, with myriad offshoots as people find their way across deadfalls, as the trail goes straight up the ridge across easily eroded volcanic ash. Understandably, the fallen trees and steepness make the “trail” a bit hazardous.

Does the NPS have any plans for a formal trail? “When in doubt, ask a ranger.” So I asked one.

Al Nash, Yellowstone Public Affairs Officer, tells me that “staff of the Old Faithful area recently proposed establishing formal trail access to a scenic overlook above Grand Prismatic Spring. My expectation is that this idea will receive serious review and consideration once the current field season concludes.”

Sounds like an excellent idea, as long as DCF is kept in mind.