To celebrate our first day off for the season we decided to put our cross-country skiing ability to the test and hit the 5-mile Biscuit Basin trail. It was a little longer than we planned on doing but we decided the array of thermal features along the path would help to distract us from the effort we would have to put into it.
The thermal features also meant we would get a few breaks, because their heat coupled with the lack of snow we've had this week meant there were quite a few bare spot. Some breaks were just a plain ol' asphalt walkway where we had to take off our skis for 20 yards or so. Other times, we were able to use the astro-turf that has been put down by the ski shop to keep the geyser route skiable despite the warm ground.
The path continues over and around the Firehole River. Because of thermal water heating the river, rainbow trout spawn in the Firehole this time of year as opposed to the spring (when they spawn in other rivers) so I kept an eye out for redds, or nests, but didn't see any. And we're not taking for granted that this is our backyard.
We did a good job getting up a decent sized hill and the sun even came out as we continued on through the Upper Geyser Basin past Morning Glory pool and a variety of other hot springs.
Making it to Biscuit Basin, we were greeted by a group of bison. Herds (or obstinacies as we have learned a group of bison is called) like to hang around the thermal features this time of year to stay warm and get an easy meal.
Taking off our skis, we toured the boardwalk around the basin which got its name from biscuit-shaped craters that were destroyed in the 1959 earthquake that effected lots of the thermal features in the park (and created Quake Lake, close to where I like to fish on the Madison River in Montana). On this day, the hot air from Sapphire Pool combined with the cool afternoon breeze to create quite the smoke screen.
Skis back on, we headed back home. The hill proved a little much for me, but Wendie took it like a young Hermann Maier.
Even with the downhills on our side it took us a little longer than we expected to get home and we were quite happy not to have to go work that night.
The thermal features also meant we would get a few breaks, because their heat coupled with the lack of snow we've had this week meant there were quite a few bare spot. Some breaks were just a plain ol' asphalt walkway where we had to take off our skis for 20 yards or so. Other times, we were able to use the astro-turf that has been put down by the ski shop to keep the geyser route skiable despite the warm ground.
The path continues over and around the Firehole River. Because of thermal water heating the river, rainbow trout spawn in the Firehole this time of year as opposed to the spring (when they spawn in other rivers) so I kept an eye out for redds, or nests, but didn't see any. And we're not taking for granted that this is our backyard.
We did a good job getting up a decent sized hill and the sun even came out as we continued on through the Upper Geyser Basin past Morning Glory pool and a variety of other hot springs.
Making it to Biscuit Basin, we were greeted by a group of bison. Herds (or obstinacies as we have learned a group of bison is called) like to hang around the thermal features this time of year to stay warm and get an easy meal.
Taking off our skis, we toured the boardwalk around the basin which got its name from biscuit-shaped craters that were destroyed in the 1959 earthquake that effected lots of the thermal features in the park (and created Quake Lake, close to where I like to fish on the Madison River in Montana). On this day, the hot air from Sapphire Pool combined with the cool afternoon breeze to create quite the smoke screen.
Skis back on, we headed back home. The hill proved a little much for me, but Wendie took it like a young Hermann Maier.
Even with the downhills on our side it took us a little longer than we expected to get home and we were quite happy not to have to go work that night.
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