Yellowstone — The Wrong Turn
The boardwalk climbs through a landscape broken by mudpots, springs and openings in the earth.
Setting
Yellowstone National Park
The Mud Volcano Area, YNP Wyoming
Spring afternoon
44.624696° N, 110.433137° W
Observation
The boardwalk climbs through a landscape broken by mudpots, springs and openings in the earth. Geothermal features appear at intervals along the way, each with its own bubbling or hissing sounds. Some release the familiar rotten-egg odor of sulfur, while others sit deceptively still. The circular trail provides a broader view of the Mud Volcano area than the short walk to Dragon’s Mouth Spring.
Moment
Dragon’s Mouth Spring is the reason for the stop at the Mud Volcano area, and research suggests it will be a short walk from the parking lot. The incline looks far less demanding than it feels. Every few hundred feet calls for another pause, although whether from the elevation, the sulfurous air or poor conditioning is difficult to determine. At the top, I ask a passing hiker if we are almost there.
“Um, not really—but the difficult ascent is over.”
Bison scat beside the trail is an uncomfortable reminder that we are walking through wildlife habitat without bear spray. The distance from the parking lot immediately becomes more noticeable, but the boardwalk continues past enough unexpected geothermal features to make turning back seem unnecessary. Only after the trail circles completely around without any sign of Dragon’s Mouth Spring does the mistake become apparent.
A glance at the map shows it only a few hundred feet away, in the opposite direction.
Reflection
The correct turn would have taken us directly to what we came to see. The wrong one showed us everything around it.
