The Helmet, the Sphinx, the Existential Question

The Helmet and the Sphinx
Madison Range, Montana
11.5-miles round trip, strenuous
"What the f--- are we doing here?"  Those words pierced the brisk morning air, and the gratuitous profanity (after all, isn't profanity almost always unnecessary?) only served to heighten the intensity of the moment.  Certain facts seemed clear.  The kill appeared to be fresh, no more than a few days old.  We were several miles from the trailhead.  And we had not encountered anyone on the trail that morning.  This was no sidewalk stroll with hundreds of candy-ass national park visitors.  We were a bit... out there.

Beyond that, we could only speculate.  Yes, there had been bear scat-- plenty of it at times.  A few tracks as well, although our ability to distinguish grizzly from black bear was limited.  Frankly, some of the tracks appeared to be mountain lion, but we took no solace from that observation.  After all, that predator stalks you before moving in for the kill.  We wouldn't even have to do something stupid or piss him off to end up as a meal.  

But we hadn't actually seen a grizzly-- just a few live elk to complement the rotting carcass and collection of clean-picked bones arrayed on the trail before us.  And the hike to the Helmet and the Sphinx had been breathtaking.  We appreciated the stark contrast between the redrock face of the Helmet and the azure of the cloudless Montana sky.  We reveled in the absolute solitude of the forest, silence broken only by an occasional bird call or the light breeze rippling through pine.  We marveled at the vibrant beauty of a solitary outcrop of Indian Paintbrush struggling to survive on a spartan rock face.  All of this: and then, the carcass.
 

Recognizing that we had already hiked more than half the distance of the 11.5-mile trail, we pressed forward, paralleling the Middle Fork of Bear Creek most of the way back to the trailhead.  We plan to return someday, but on this day the feeling of relief upon exiting a heavily-wooded section of the trail to sweeping views of a grassy meadow-- and the trailhead-- was palpable. Every step of the journey to the Helmet and Sphinx provided affirmation of precisely what we were doing there-- experiencing the grandeur and uncertainty of nature at it undiluted finest.  Reminders that we don't always sit at the top of the food chain and control our destinies, like spontaneous outbursts of profanity, only served to intensify the experience.  

One Singularly Sensational Geothermal Feature

Lone Star Geyser Trail

Yellowstone National Park
5-miles round trip, easy

Lone Star is a great big cone-shaped geyser situated a few miles southeast of wildly popular Old Faithful and the consequently wildly populated Upper Geyser Basin in Yellowstone National Park.  The geyser's reliable eruption pattern and its secluded-yet-accessible location make it one of our favorite Yellowstone day-hike destinations.

The Firehole River.

The trail to hard-working Lone Star follows an old service road, passing through sun-dappled meadow and shady stands of lodgepole pine, meandering along the Firehole River, one of the park’s wonderfully-monikered water features.  It’s a remarkably flat two-and-a-half-mile walk from the trailhead near Kepler Cascades to Lone Star Basin: that makes it a remarkably flat five-mile round trip, does it not?

We’ve walked the trail several times, and when we’ve packed sufficient patience—along with tasty and diverting snacks—Lone Star has unfailingly delivered an impressive and photogenic geothermal show for all in attendance.  Happily, there are no benches, no boardwalks, no cordoned-off viewing areas at Lone Star Basin.  Upon arrival, we find a comfortable log or rock-with-a-view, kick back, pass the apples, crack open the Peanut Butter M and M’s, and wait for the show to begin.  While we wait, it also makes sense to check the trail register for information regarding recent eruptions.  We, in turn, will dutifully record activity that we observe. Before two of our Lone Star trips, we checked in at Old Faithful Visitors Center to glean estimated eruption times for the geyser: sometimes there is information available, sometimes not.

Lone Star Doing Its Geyser Thing.

With or without documentation from headquarters, Our Favorite Geyser erupts at three hour intervals, give or take, and serves up approximately thirty minutes of geothermal glory when it gets going.  After considerable huffing and puffing and spitting and spewing and bubbling and boiling, Lone Star reaches heights of thirty-five to forty feet during its primary eruption.  It passes through several stages of discharge, but when the Big One happens, we know it. 
  

At Lone Star Geyser Basin.

On the return journey, we inevitably encounter a procession of inquisitive outbound hikers.  They pepper us with questions, with variable intensity and persistence: How much further to the geyser?  What did you see?  What will we see?  When did you see it?  When will we see it?  Did you see any bears?  (This final interrogation is, in our experience, the most recurrent question on Yellowstone trails, including the culinary trail through the Canyon Lodge Cafeteria).  Polishing off the remaining Peanut Butter M and M’s and savoring the shimmering loveliness of the Firehole, we respond according to mood and whim, with varying degrees of helpfulness, complacency, or agitation-- but always with appreciation for a worthwhile walk in Wonderland.