Nature's Living Artwork: Hiking Around Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone

 

 

Date: July 18, 2020

Place:  Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, Montana 

Coordinates: 44.973535, -110.705321

Length: 6.2 miles

Level: moderate

 

When all of our plans changed because of COVID-19 I concocted one of the craziest trips of my life - a 12 days road trip to Yellowstone and vicinity with four youth, only two of which were my biological progeny. Other than the general destination, nothing else was planned. We hauled a full camping equipment and each night set camp wherever we could find space. The COVID years were my least productive by means of writing in this blog so now I am putting special effort in trying to catch up to the trips we did during that time. I've already posted here about a few of them, starting with the Grand Teton hike at Jenny Lake, and the Yellowstone hikes at Old Faithful, Norris and other geothermal basins. Once again now I'm taking a break from writing about my recent hikes to continue posting about my July of 2020 trip to Yellowstone with the youth. 

Our last hike on our second day in Yellowstone was in the Mammoth Hot Sprigs Basin. I've hiked this trail with Pappa Quail 16 years ago when the chikas were very young. A friend of ours came along and helped us mightily with everything. She was also in charge of the camera (we had only one simple camera then) since both Pappa Quail and I were carrying our offspring on the longer walks. I remembered that hike as the biggest highlight of that trip - we got into a hailstorm, we saw sandhill cranes for the first time, we saw wolf chasing down a huge jackrabbit, and a huge herd of elk resting in Clematis Creek above the hot springs. For the most however, my attention was on my chikas, and I don't remember much else from that hike other than that it was really impressive and beautiful. Naturally, when I visited again with the chikas, now much more mature, and their friends, I wanted to go hike this trail again. 

Right as we exited the car the elder chika spotted one of her prized birds: the black-billed magpie. Magpies in California are yellow-billed except than in the northeast. She was able to see a few in Alturas, through which we passed on our way to Idaho, but she was very happy to see more of them on the trip. 

Black-billed Magpie

 A wide and easy trail led from the parking lot to the Mammoth Hot Springs. On Google maps the hot springs appear blue, marked as a lake. In reality, the springs are a huge mound of travertine that is seeping mineral rich hot water.  

The loop trail I was planning on hiking splits right below the hot springs on the north side of the travertine hill. 16 years ago we walked that trail in the clock-wise direction, starting at the hot springs board walk and returning through the creek on the north. This time we hiked it in the counter clock-wise direction. 

Our hike as captured by my GPS

The youth wend ahead of me toward the travertine formation. I fell back for I have already found some wildflowers blooming by the trail. 

Field Bindweed, Convulvulus arvensis

I don't remember why I chose to hike the loop in the opposite direction to how I did it with my family on the first time. It could be that I wanted to have enough of a daylight time for a safety margin. Knowing myself though, it could have been that I simply didn't remember the first time all that well and chose the direction randomly.  Either way, we didn't go any nearer the hot springs. Instead, we took the Sepulcher Mountain Trail west into the woods. 

Mammoth Hot Spring

Wildflowers were numerous throughout our hike, starting right at the trailhead. It was difficult to select photos, and most I didn't even include here - the post would have become impossibly long. 

Curlycup Gumweed, Grindelia squarrosa

We started going up Clematis Creek and soon left the travertine formations of Mammoth Hot Springs behind us. This creek is where, on my first trip there 16 years ago, we saw a huge herd of elk sitting in the vegetation. There were no elks there now. There was also no clematis that I could see. 

Clematis Creek, Sepulcher Mountain Trail

There were plenty of other wildflowers, though. Lupine shrubs were some of the most common wildflowers along this hike. 

Lupine, Lupinus sp. 

Most of the wildflowers I could Identify at the genus level, but not at the species level. It is much harder trying to identify from photos four years after they were taken. 

Red Clover, Trifolium pratense 

It didn't take long before I found myself in my usual place in the line of a hikers' group - bringing up the rear, pausing to appreciate each wildflower along the way. 

Richardson's Geranium, Geranium richardsonii

It wasn't hard to catch up with the youth though. They too knew my fascination with wildflowers and would stop to point them out to me, just in cased I missed any. 

Aspen Fleabane, Erigeron speciosus

Interesting looking insects are also a fascination for me, although I usually don't try too much to identify them. The one in the photo below however, is a fly of a sort. 

We were going uphill on Sepulcher Mountain Trail. The slope was very mild so we managed a good, quick pace. The day was warm enough, even hot to the point where we broke sweat, but as long as we stayed in the shade of the trees we were good. 

Sepulcher Mountain Trail

Sometimes the elder chika paused our progress too - whenever sh would spot a bird, or hear one and go looking for it. 

Mountain Chickadee

We kept going uphill on the narrow trail. I kept my camera ready, expecting at any moment to see a wolf or a bear, or an elk. Even a lizard would have been nice. As it was, I had to settle for more wildflowers. I was fine with that. 

Pincushion, Chaenactis sp. 

The toadflux I saw there I was certainly familiar with. Familiar enough to recognize it as an invasive species in Yellowstone. There were large patches of toadflux in some places. i wondered hw did they get ther ein the first place. Possibly having been used in gardening in nearby Gardiner? 

Common Toadflax, Linria vugaris

Further up the trail we did finally encounter our first mammal of this hike - a cute little chipmunk. We disturbed its foraging activity and it hopped over a pile of dead branches and vanished. 

Chipmunk

Most of our ascend on the Sepulcher Mountain Trail was in the woulds, but occasionally we did cross forest clearings and small meadows. It was nice to see the bright sunlit meadows although it made us quite hot. 

In these clearings we also started seeing butterflies and moths. They too aded lovely colors the the green grass pastures. 

Atlantis Fritillary Butterfly

The elder chika joined efforts with me in capturing photos of these flying beauties. Of course this was much easier whenever they actually paused their flying, even for a moment. 

Police Car Moth

The trail leveled off for some distance. I don't remember if we took any significant breaks at the time. Probably only short hydration breaks. 

We didn't continue on Sepulcher Mountain Trail all the way up to he mountain, but took the turn south on Clagett-Butte Trail. Before the junction the trail distanced somewhat from the creek, and we got to see a wider variety of wildflowers blooming.  

Great Red Paintbrush, Castilleja miniata 

Not only wildflowers caught my attention - I saw these weird looking galls on the leaves of a bush by the trail. I find galls a fascinating thing - one of nature's most interesting adaptations. 

There were a few clouds traveling over our heads. Occasionally a cloud would block the sunlight and the world would darken briefly. It would also give us a momentary relief from the heat, which was increasing as the day got older. I recalled fondly the hailstorm and rain we experienced on my first time on this trail. I am sure I wasn't as thrilled about it then, but I did think it was beautiful and awe-striking. There was no chance of any rain today, though. 

Common Cowparsnip, Heracleum maximum

The Clagett-Butte Trail didn't look very different from the Sepulcher Mountain Trail. Not yet, anyway. The narrow path curved through forest stands and small meadows interchangeably, all the time going up on a mild slope. 

Clagett-Butte Trail

More butterflies fluttered by us as we clambered up the trail, and the elder chika did a good job capturing them on her camera in a moment of rest. 

Milbert's Tortoiseshell Butterfly

We came upon Clematis Creek once again when the Clagett-Butte Trail crossed it. Near the crossing place was a beautiful forest pond that was very calm and reflected perfectly the trees and the sky. 

Pond

We stopped there for a little bit, resting for a while before moving on. We were the only hikers on that trail and had the beautiful wilderness all to ourselves. I recall it was so also on my first time there, 16 years ago. The weather was unstable then, but now it was a steady summer day. It was hot.

Penstemon, Penstemon sp. 

We had to ascend some more from the pond area, out of the path of Clematis Creek. After that the trail leveled off again, and once more we were walking through areas of forest that were interspersed by small meadows and clearings.

Clagett-Butte Trail

I may have described my memories too vividly to the youth in my company because they kept expecting to see large wildlife on this hike, but so far the wildlife we saw other than insects were squirrels and small birds.

Pine Siskin

The wildflowers however, where a much richer scene. Better than any previous hike we did in Yellowstone so far, and it was surpassed only by the Storm Point hike we did on the following day.

Milkvetch, Astragalus sp.

I was very excited to see more columbine flowers near that part of the trail. Even the youth who were far less interested in the flora than me were impressed by the delicate beauty of this flower.

Yellow Columbine, Aquilegia flavescens 

Since the beginning of the hike we were going up creek gulch and small valleys and through forest, and it was only when we reached the higher part of the hike that views finally opened up for us. Sepulcher Mountain rose to the northwest - perhaps on another visit to Yellowstone I will get to ascend it.

Sepulcher Mountain

We paused there once more - this time because of a bird. The elder chika found a western tanager and we all stood there, admiring the colorful tanager that was busy pecking at a dead tree, possibly hunting for grubs.

Western Tanager

Suddenly we were out of the forest. The trail reached a high and wide plateau covered with grasses and low shrubs, with a wide view all around. I remembered that plateau - that was where my family and me gt caught in the hailstorm. It was much darker then and we felt very exposed. We were very exposed now too, but to the sun and the breeze.

There were fewer wildflowers on that plateau, and they were of different species too. I kept looking but our pace was much quicker now, and I had fewer reasons to pause.

Dudleya, Dudleya sp. 

The trail stretched straight ahead, due south. Ahead of us across a valley yet unseen was a pyramid-shaped peak. Off to to the right, sprouting right from the plateau, was a low, thickly forested hill.

Clagett-Butte Trail

This flat hill is the butte referred to by the trail's name. It was the only high rise directly on this plateau we were crossing.

Butte

As we marched forward we got more view of the valley that seemed to drop directly below the plateau on the south. I was hoping to see some deer or elk on the high plateau, but no large mammals were visible. I wasn't thinking of bears but I think at the time I would have been happy to see one there.

Our trail continued to drop down into the valley ahead. We paused at the edge and looked. The road leading north from the main area of Yellowstone Park was a barely visible shiny strip of asphalt. We could discern the bridge but it was too far to discern any vehicle traffic on it. 

View south

We started going downhill. We were also running out of water. I relied on filtering some from the creek we were heading down to, and I was eager to get to some shade. Meanwhile I enjoyed the new display of wildflowers along the trail.

Western Larkspur, Delphinium hesperium hesperium

Soon we were back in the already familiar environment of a forest with occasional clearings, with more wildflowers. When we reached the creek I was happy to find it running with fresh water and realized I have forgotten to pack my filter. Thankfully one of the youth in our group did pack his - and we sat there for a while to rest and to fill our bottles with cool, fresh creek water. It was good to wash our faces from the sweat and dust and to soak our hats in the cool water.

Milkvetch, Astragallus sp.

At the creek we took the turn on the Snow Pass Trail going east, descending back to the Mammoth Hot Springs area. The trail continued along the creek but not very close to it.

Snow Pass Trail

It was there in the forest that we saw our first large mammal of that hike - a sole mule deer that was moving fast between the trees.

Mule Deer

Deer are a common sight. It was nice to see it but I was more excited to see the first orchid of this hike, and the second I've seen in Yellowstone over all that trip (the first being the Spiranthes I saw at the Norris Basin hike on the previous day).

 Bog Orchid, Piperia sp. 

Other than the orchid, most of the wildflowers I've seen on the way down Snow Pass Trail were the same as I've seen on our way up Sepulcher Mountain Trail. I was glad to see them, but I didn't take as many photos.

Fleabane, Erigeron sp.

One reason I didn't pause as much was that the youth, eager to finish the hike, were already far ahead down the trail and I needed to keep up with them.

Snow Pass Trail

This part of the hike went away very quickly. Before we knew it, we were once again in the vicinity of Mammoth Hot Springs, heralded by small patches of mineral springs. 

Soon after we reached the Upper Terrace Loop Road which surrounds the Mammoth Hot Springs geothermal basin. This road would lead us north through the basin and back to the trailhead.

Upper Terrace Loop Drive

Our pace slowed down as the hike became more of an easy, brisk walk on an asphalt road. The elder chika got to take some more little bird photos there too.

Chipping Sparrow

It was getting late and the shadows deepened. Thankfully that also meant that the edge of the heat was dulled too. We could enjoy better the hot spring sediments formations along the road, now more and more frequent on our path. Some of these formation had educational signs posted near by, with explanations on how they were formed and

Orange Spring Mound

We slowed down or stopped near each formation now, taking a closer look and appreciating the uniqueness of this amazing place. Each geothermal basin in Yellowstone looks different and smells different too.

One of the hot springs mounds reminded me a lot of Travertine Hot Springs in Bridgeport, California. Would have there been a soaking pool below it, I don't think I would have been able to resist the temptation to take a dip.

We did take another break there, sitting on the asphalt next to the hot springs mound. The youth were chatting among themselves and I inspected more closely the travertine pores.

Travertine

We didn't stop again until the end of the hike. My chika kept looking for birds and she did see some more, but other than for birds we didn't really pause anymore.

Mountain Bluebird

I allowed the youth to get ahead again while I took more pictures of the view. Before our final descent into Mammoth Hot Springs visitor area I took in the view north. An information sign told us that this was the area of the historic Fort Yellowstone. Near the fort developed later the small resort town and hotel where visitors could stay and eat and explore the area. The next town over would be Gardiner, in Montana. Gardiner wasn't visible from where we stood.

Mammoth Hot Springs and Fort Yellowstone view

The road meandered around the west side of the basin and as we curved back east the view of the colorful, orange springs came before our eyes.

Mammoth Hot Springs Basin

We left the asphalt road and went on the wood boardwalk that was going down through the travertine formation. Human visitors are advised to stay on the boardwalk for their own safety as well as the safety of the formations. The deer had no issues with going directly on the fragile travertine - they know where it is safe for them.

Mule Deer

On the way down we had a nice view of a very colorful pond at the middle part of the Mammoth Hot Springs basin. I thought this was the loveliest, most colorful pond I have seen in the park up to that day. Two days after however, we would visit the Grand Prismatic Spring and I'd forget about this one until I was preparing the photos for this blog post. 

We made t quickly down the boardwalk to the bottom of the basin. The youth headed directly to the parking area and I took one last glance at the steps of the geothermal formation.

Mammoth Hot Springs

We lucked out - just as we were heading out of the Mammoth Hot Springs basin towards the town, where we would get our well deserved ice cream, we got to see some elk by the road side.

Elk

The Mammoth Hot Springs area was so wildly different that all the other basins we've seen in the park that I do believe no visit in Yellowstone should miss that place, although it is on the north edge of the park. Last September I came to Yellowstone with my sister and true to my sentiment I insisted that we'd go and see Mammoth Hot Springs. Because of time shortage however, we arrived there fairly late in the day and had no time to see much of it. I am happy that she did get to see it though, even briefly. It  truly is a special place.