Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
through backcountry to Summit Lake in 7 miles (11 km) on Yellowstone's western section of
the new Continental Divide National Scenic Trail.
To reach Mystic Falls on the Little Firehole River, go left at the next trail junction instead.
(The right-hand trail takes you in 0.7 mile (1 km) to an overlook of Biscuit and Upper Geyser
Basins.) Trail junctions are not well marked except at the falls itself. If you stay left, you'll fol-
low the Little Firehole River to the 70-foot (21 m) drop of Mystic Falls. This delightful hike
may reward you with a profusion of unusual wildflowers.
Back on the boardwalk
Shell Spring
(actually a small geyser) has an irregular crater that may remind you of a
clamshell. The crater has a mustard-colored lining from sulfurous deposits splashed on dur-
ing its very frequent small eruptions.
Chances are good that
Jewel Geyser
(at the boardwalk junction) will erupt for you. Jewel
generally erupts every seven to nine minutes, sometimes to 20 feet (6 m) high. In the 1930s,
rangers found that Jewel would draw down a handkerchief placed in one vent and expel it
from another during an eruption, but this practice was stopped when injuries occurred. (See
“Black Sand Basin Walk,” below, for the original Handkerchief Pool.)
