On Sunday we headed for one of LAVO's iconic features: Bumpass Hell (sorry, couldn't resist the bad joke). BH is a smoking, sulphur-stinking area of intense geothermal activity, including fumaroles, boiling mud pits, and the like. It got its name from Kendall Bumpass, an explorer in the late 1800s who accidentally plunged his foot through the thin crust of earth covering a steam pit. Needless to say, his day ended badly; however, he lived to tell the tale and even joked about his "easy descent into Hell."
We arrived early to beat the (small) crowds, but we weren't able to beat the wind, which whipped us around like you wouldn't believe. Undaunted, we put on our winter coats and made our way down the trail.
Having had enough of the netherworld for one day, we drove further into the park, had a picnic lunch, and headed toward to the much more benign (and less stinky) Kings Creek Falls trail. It was pretty much the polar opposite of Bumpass Hell. This trail was cool, shady, and wooded. And, instead of ending in a jumble of reeking mud pits, it ended at a beautiful waterfall.
ALSO, we saw a bear on the trail! It was a small adolescent who was scampering off into the underbrush looking for food. This means that we have officially seen bears in 100% of the National Parks we've visited on the trip so far. That's a pretty good average.
It seems like you're having a nice balance of scenery, exerise and wildlife sightings!
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