Yellowstone Lake Paddle

Yellowstone Lake, YNP (56 degrees, cold, rainy)

I think more fondly of this trip now as I write this post and review the pictures. At the time it was a very cold day and the kayak trip did not quite live up to our expectations (more about this later). I've always been fascinated by Yellowstone Lake.  It's a huge body of water (covers 136 square miles and has 110 miles of shore). We have stopped many times and viewed it during our trips up to Yellowstone.  We wanted to paddle part of the lake which goes by some of the geysers, however, we had been told it can be a very dangerous lake and waves can quickly rise up to six feet in height in a blink of an eye.  Weather changes are frequent in this area and oftentimes very unpredictable.

West Thumb Geyser Basin

A guided kayak trip seemed like the best option and our friend Karen found a reputable outfitter called O.A.R.S offering a half day trip which promised to view geysers, bubbling pots, and provided all the equipment and a guide.  We signed up for the trip way in advance.  It was advised by the tour company to have a waterproof jacket and pants.  With a little bit of research we purchased a jacket and pants and this turned out to be a very good idea.  The weather was very chilly the day of our trip and it rained most of the way up to Yellowstone.  Cancelling was not really an option due to a step change policy and very few weekends left as an alternative.

Interpretative Range

We met up with Karen and Al and stopped first at West Thumb Geyser Basin and planned to walk along the boardwalk and look at the boiling geysers and hydrothermal activity.  The visitor center told us about a guided ranger tour and the timing was perfect.  Our very experienced ranger told us so much about the area and explained how it was formed.  Her explanation about the temperature of the thermal features was very interesting.  She also told us about a bacteria which was discovered here which made a company very rich. 

Black Pool

This area is constantly changing and is currently a little less active.  Water temperatures vary widely and range from around 135 degrees to over 200 degrees. The ranger explained how the colors designated the temperature of the pool.

The Black Pool is extensive and very alkaline.  It's really a lovely blue color unlike it's name. The ranger actually measured the temperature of the pool with the help of a young volunteer. The yellow and green color on the edges is algae which grows in the higher temperatures.

The ranger is getting ready to measure the temperature of the pool. Warm mist surrounded us along the boardwalk in this area.  It felt rather good on such a cold day.

Yellow color is algae

The empty holes below were fascinating.  The ranger showed us a picture taken by her last year where blue water covered much of the area  According to her the pools suddenly disappeared in February. How weird.  Make you wonder what's going on below.

Thumb Paint Pots were very famous during early explorations of this area.  Tourists came here by stagecoach and steamship to view them.  These are very acidic and almost 200 degrees and slowly bubble and burp.

Thumb Paint Pots

The picture below is of a very famous cone out in the lake where fishermen would cook their catch while still on the line in the cone and eat them right on the spot.  Good eating if you don't mind a few chemical additives. :)

Fish Cone

After our tour with the ranger we had a quick warm lunch at the restaurant.  We had packed lunches but having something warm to ear before the kayak trip seemed like a good idea.  As you can see from the picture below our weather did not improve.

We met up with our two guides and loaded into the tandem kayaks provided.  They gave us each a dry bag and a life jacket.  There was a brief discussion and off we went.  We were a small group of only eight including our guides.

We headed back to the same area we had just toured with the ranger.  This was a little disappointing because we were hoping to see different thermal areas.  Our guides were very friendly and explained more to us about the area.  As far as we could see in both directions was this huge lake and it was only 1/8 of the total lake.

We all got out for a brief stretch mid point.  It was really needed because our kayaks were extremely uncomfortable.  The seats were terrible and no mater how we shifted it was impossible to get comfortable and could not adjustable in any way.  The guides were well aware of the issues with the kayaks and we all felt it really distracted from enjoying the trip.  

After returning to our kayaks we quickly arrived in the West Thumb area.  As we got closer the water the temperature really changed due to the thermal pools draining into the lake.  As you ran your hand in the water you could feel cold and hot pockets of water. 

Karen all bundled up to keep warm

View of the fishing cone from the water

Very HOT water draining into the lake

It was a very interesting day.  Yellowstone National Park is such an amazing park. We were all disappointed with the kayak trip due to the inferior equipment.  We could have easily done this trip on our own and been a lot more comfortable in our own kayaks.  However, was still great fun to be with Karen and Al.  On the way back we had a nice dinner at Flagg Ranch and hope to get together again soon.

We'd like to visit Yellowstone one more time before leaving.  The Old Faithful area is off limits to us for now due to road closures.  There is so much to see in this park.  We'll definitely have to return again for another season.  

Karen loves to take pictures too!