Yellowstone Adventure 2017 - Day 21

  First day off and got up semi early for breakfast. I decided to hike to lone Star geyser. It is a local hike that begins behind the Old Faithful Lodge.  Having breakfast with Jack gave me the opportunity to ensure my bearings of where I was headed were correct. He set me straight on some directions and shortly after breakfast I had my day pack ready for the hike.
  I left the dorm and headed across the parking lot to the beginning of the trail. As I said it was behind the Old Faithful Lodge. I found the start of the trail but there was a troll guarding the bridge over the Firehole river. As I approached the bridge I noticed a guy sleeping on the bridge in a sleeping bag. His shoes and other items were strewn out on the bridge. I stepped up on the wooden bridge and pretty much stomped to get the guys attention. He groggily looked up and around and said "I guess it is time to get up." I said whatever bud and walked on. By the look in his eyes I think he was coming off a bender. My guess he is a Xanterra employee. I soon found the usual sign warning of bears and an explanation of what trails are around. Yep trails veered off from here. One to Mallard Lake and the other to Lone Star geyser.  I will hike to Mallard Lake one day, but for today it is Lone Star.
  The hike began with a lot of uphill trekking. It put my legs and lungs to the test for sure. After about two miles of uphill I reached Kepler Cascades. I posted pictures of the Cascades on Facebook. These Cascades are created by the Firehole river going over several drops in elevation. Very pretty.
   Leaving the Cascades I picked up the trail to Lone Star geyser again. Basically the trail runs right next to the Firehole river and heads north. The walk was pretty straight and level, which my legs and knees were grateful for. The hike next to the river was very pleasant and since it was through the woods it was very cool also.  I was hoping to see some wildlife, as I was the only one on the trail. But alas the only wildlife I saw was ground squirrels and birds. It sure was peaceful and it gave me time to talk to God about several people in need of healing and those that have lost love ones.  I took several pictures of the river and uploaded them to Facebook.
  After about 2 miles I heard a roaring up ahead. I figured it was lone Star geyser going off and I increased my gait. I rounded a bend and came out of the woods to seeing the geyser erupting. It was beautiful and it was creating several rainbows as the sun was behind me. I got my phone out and took several videos and pictures. I uploaded them to Facebook too. The Geyser kept on erupting and I got closer and closer to it. Unlike Old Faithful with it's barriers this Geyser had none. You could approach this Geyser from many angles and just need to avoid the soft thermal areas. This is one of the reasons I like hiking. You can get up close and personal with Geysers and rivers and falls.  I watched the Geyser for about 15 minutes and then it started to go into it's steam phase. I read the plaque at the Geyser that indicated it finishes it's eruption with a steam phase. The Geyser erupts every three hours and it resembles old faithful in that it is a cone Geyser. It's eruption indicates to me that in several years it will probably close up on itself. As the minerals it spews may one day close it off completely.  The Geyser erupts every three hours. I planned to eat on the trail if the Geyser took long to erupt, but since it erupted around 9am I just looked around the area some and then planned to head back down the trail to the dorm. I walked around the lone Star area for awhile and found that the trail continues on toward Shoshone Lake.
   I hiked back and ran into several hikers heading to the geyser. They were not very happy to hear that the Geyser just went off. I guess I was just lucky. The hike back to Kepler Cascades was uneventful. My knees were really telling me that the hike was a little long. I stopped several times on the way back to give my legs a break. Sitting by the river was a very nice place to relax.
  One I reached Kepler Cascades I had cell coverage so I called Norma Elliott and wished her a happy birthday. Her and Don were heading out to a nice birthday lunch. I decided to skip the trail through the woods back to the dorm and choose to just walk the highway until it crossed the Howard Eaton trail. From there I could just cut across the Old Faithful area and be back into my dorm.
  After two more miles of walking I reached the dorm and decided to eat my PB&j in the EDR. I think I hiked somewhere between 7 and 8 miles today. Just a few miles more than I wanted. Well I think for the rest of the day I will rest my legs and take a good nap.
   It is after dinner now. During the afternoon it hailed and rained pretty good here. Glad I got my hike in early. Got some laundry done and did some reading, then took a nap. My roommate Brandon injured his leg somehow and had to go to the hospital in Idaho. His leg calf swelled up and they wanted to rule out a blood clot. Thankfully it was not a clot. They gave him a compression sock for his leg and I would imagine some medication. He has been sleeping all day and I have said a prayer for him. I hope you will also.
  I may go read in front of the store or turn in early as my legs are still beat. Tomorrow I hope to go to church in West Yellowstone and then head to big springs and the Johnny Sack cabin to see if I can see any moose.  You all take care and thanks for reading. Been praying for you Debbie and for you Sam and for you Brian and for you James.