Hike #4: The Hoodoos (7/5/2012)

The Hoodoos are a neat remnant of what was a travertine terrace similar to what is ongoing in Mammoth with the hot springs today (I think, I am no geologist).  Terrace Mountain, which the trail circles, is an old travertine terrace that blocks of stone have fallen from due to earthquakes and freeze thaw processes, forming what is called the Hoodoos.  The Hoodoos look like white pillars/boulders from an ancient civilization that have fallen into ruin.  These are different from the actual geologic term hoodoo, which is related to formations seen in the Southwest, like at Arches NP (Fiery Furnace).  These hoodoos were given their name because the apparently spooked people...

The hike started across from the Bunsen Peak trailhead and after a few minutes in the open sage/grasslands entered quite thick forest, much of which is new growth post-1988 Yellowstone fire. Lots of clapping and quick paces brought us out of the forest (the mosquitoes were particularly bad this day) and onto a trail that hugged the side of Terrace Mountain.

 

To our left was the face of Mountain Terrace and out to the right we could see Bunsen Peak.  Down below us were some of the Hoodoos

Along the path were a great deal of wildflowers, including Indian Paint Brush (Katrina's favorite!).  We continued about 1 mile (1.5 from the trailhead) to come upon the Hoodoos.  We ended up not making a loop out of this as we were pretty beat from the previous day's adventure (Specimen Ridge). 

From our outlook we had good views of Mount Everts and the road leading up from Mammoth.  Austin is hoping to do some off-trail/backcountry hiking on Mount Everts (it is a lot of the locals favorites) as it is gives great views of Mammoth and is what we look out on each day from our porch.

Once we returned to our car, we headed out for a Fourth of July at Tony and Mary's in Billings!