Article Contributed on: 9/5/2009 7:45:53 PM
As far as Yellowstone goes, Old Faithful is the superstar. Never mind that there are other geysers that turn in better performances.
Old Faithful is the hot starlet who takes teeny-bopper roles that are inoffensive and easy to watch. If you're sampling the whole park in a few days (or less), Old Faithful provides an easy attraction with a regular performance (and it's even surrounded by an amphitheater of wooden benches for comfortable seating with concessions nearby).
Other geysers - Beehive, for example - turn in more impressive, more powerful performances that aren't as easily accessible to general audiences - the ones who want to hit Old Faithful and run to the next famous landmark in the park. It blasts louder and higher than Old Faithful, but you have to spend some time watching and waiting, in addition to having to - gasp - walk almost a mile to reach it.
Lone Star Geyser is superior to both, but far enough Off Boardwalk to remain undiscovered by most park visitors, although I wouldn't call it deserted. I also wouldn't really call it a hike.
The five-mile round trip to Lone Star follows a paved road, which is also one of a few backcountry trails that allow bikes. Definitely no need for hiking boots here. Shoes would do just fine.
While the hike is level and relatively uneventful aside from views of the Firehole River, the geyser is anything but.
As you near the geyser cone, which must be at least six feet tall, the pavement is replaced by the alkali pebbles of an active thermal field. Bikers also must dismount to continue past the pavement.
And although Lone Star only erupts every three hours or so (roughly 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.), it builds steam, if I may, up to its final eruption. That is to say that as it gets closer to erupting, it periodically spouts more and more water and steam until it has a minor eruption. Then, the feature presentation.
Like a good fireworks finale, you won't wonder whether it's the main eruption. It will last so long, you'll run out of photo ops before it runs out of steam. During our showing, it spouted water 40 feet into the air for at least 20 minutes, not including its denouement of steam.
It sounds like a jet engine, and if the wind is blowing, you're going to get wet.
If you go during the summer, especially on a weekend, you'll likely have to share the experience, but it will be with a few other people, not a cast of thousands.
It's worth going to see if you have the time and the patience, but if I had it to do over again, I'd have ridden a bike instead of "hiking."
Side note: It snowed for a while near Craig Pass, between Old Faithful and West Thumb.