Hike to Ice Lake & Visit to Norris Geyser Basin

We started out on a 4.5 mile hike to Ice Lake and planned to loop around to see Little Gibbon Falls before we returned. This area of the park between Norris and Canyon was badly burnt out during the fire of 1988. The path consisted of mostly dead logs, but new trees have taken their place.

The lake, named by hotel concessionaires who got their ice there in the early 1900's, was quite peaceful and beautiful.

At one point after a little climb I checked an app on my phone and discovered that we were at an altitude of 7945 ft.

We were surprised that there were spots that still had tall trees standing.

When we reached a creek we were glad that we had the hiking sticks to keep us balanced as we crossed. I was a little nervous but I made it!

When we reached the point where the trail made a right to the falls, there was a rope across the trail and a sign that said it was closed due to bear activity. Our choice was to turn around and return the way we came or hike another 20 miles. We turned back! We ended up walking over 6 miles, but we met several interesting couples on the way back.

Although we walked through Norris Geyser Basin last year we thought it would be interesting to see if there were any changes from what we remembered. This time it was not quite as crowded and just as beautiful. Here are a few pictures we took. The colors were quite impressive.

As we were climbing the last hill, a dark cloud appeared, and it looked like a storm was brewing.

So we took the hint and left before we got soaked.

Today, Sept 3, we are cleaning up the RV in anticipation of our trip home. We are off tomorrow, work 4 nights, and leave Monday morning, Sept 9. Our first stop is Elkhart, IN where we will get our shower floor replaced. Then we will make stops in OH, PA, VA, SC, and GA. After the Good Sam RV Rally near Atlanta in mid October we will head home to FL.