Our Weekend
Adventure
Green River Gorge
Flaming Geyser State Park, Washington
Flaming Geyser Park is a popular picnic site right outside of Black
Diamond, WA. This early Spring day we set out for a short hike,
since the weather called for sunny and hot (for us that is, 78 degrees).
Our hike took us just one mile in a nice short loop. Where the trail
head begins, there is what they claim to be the site of the original
flaming geyser. In 1911, someone found a continuous 3-foot flame of
gas emitted from an old mining tunnel. Though there is no flame now,
there was enough gas to emit a 6 inch flame when ignited by a match.
On this day we ran into several Eagle Scouts who were working
on the trail, posting 'stay on trail' signs. They were kind enough
to light the flaming geyser for us. The girls ewed and ahhed just
long enough until the flame went out in a short 30 seconds.
Hiking in a half mile up along the Green River bank, we came across
a small thermal pool with sulfurous gas bubbling up. The girls looked
with amazement into the boiling mud. We saw salmonberries just beginning
to bud, lots of mossy maples and old-growth cedars, and of course,
all those creepy crawly things...of particular interest was the
colorful black beetle with bright yellow spots. After hiking down the rest of the
trail, we decided to kick off our shoes and wade in the cool creek
off-shoot to the Green River (which was
raging!). Soon after, we had a pizza picnic on the
park grounds and headed home.
Hike Rating (out of 5 stars): 
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