Camping in a Natural Hothouse
Aug. 30th, 2016 11:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
twilightponyI'm back! My hooves are still a bit sore, I think I lost some weight and my saddlebags were chaffing a lot toward the end, but I think this camping trip is the most fun I've had since that first overnight stay in the library in the Carerfilly Castle ruins.
It was a long walk to get there and we didn't want to push ourselves. We had the three fillies with us and we wanted to enjoy the stroll. We walked through Whitetail Woods and followed a winding trail that went north by north west up the foothills and into the Unicorn Range. It was a bit slow for Rainbow Dash, but when she got bored, she'd scout ahead. By evening she'd mapped out several likely camping spots for us. We stopped for the night on a high plateau in a spot sheltered from the wind by a jumble of large boulders.
We got up early, had breakfast, broke camp and entered the Blue Hills. The trail we had chosen broke up and forked in all directions but Rainbow Dash flew back and forth and guided us down the easiest routes to our destination. We could already smell the minerals in the air before crested the last rise. There we paused and looked out through the blue haze at the lush landscape we'd come to see. Hotwater Falls.
We scampered down the steep trail and plunged into a forest of lush green trees with abstract mottled bark patterns, spiky picture plants that dangled above our heads and the melodic calls of small brightly colored birds. Here and there I caught glimpses of a blue flash. It was the light catching on the wings of empress butterflies. They seemed to be everywhere.
Rainbow Dash led the way to the heated pools and from there through the rising mist we could see the Hotwater Falls pouring down from an unseen precipice far above. And then a geyser erupted, masking everything in a thick, hot fog.
We found a dry spot in a clearing upwind from the pools and set down our camping gear. First order of business, a soak in the mineral baths! We trotted back to the pools, and after gingerly testing the water, found some pools that wouldn't cook us.
That first soak felt wonderful. I was in the water for so long my hooves got soft. One by one we pulled ourselves out of the soft hot water and went to the falls to rinse off.
The Hotwater Falls are very curious. They pour down from a narrow gap between two tall precipices, like a giant crevasse, that is protected from the wind by the surrounding hills. The water from the falls flows over hot rocks into the heated pools and into cracks that feed the geysers. Both send water vapor back up the gap to where it condenses on the cold high-altitude rocks above. The water then runs back down in rivulets that join to make the falls. The whole cycle gets replenished by snowmelt in the spring. Between the snowmelt and the condensed steam, the water in the falls is pure, perfect for drinking and rinsing off mineral salts. It's mostly the geysers that are proving the dissolved minerals in the hot water pools below the falls. The calcium deposits coat every little pebble and grain of sand until the stream and pool beds look like they're full of pearls. It feels so good to soak in that water, but after a while I would get just too hot and have to go rinse off in the cold water pouring down the falls.
All around in this hothouse environment there were exotic plants and animals. The trees release fragrant, volatile oils that give the air a blue tint. Ergo, the "Blue Hills". But up close, the vegetation there is lush and a brilliant green.
I wandered around with Fluttershy. She told me that this is the overwintering ground for empress butterflies from all over Equestria. We could see quite a few early arrivals flitting about. Empress butterflies are rare in Ponyville, they prefer a hot and wet climate, such as in the Haysead Swamp region. A few came close and I admired their brilliant flashy blue wings, red tails and margins and dark blue bodies.
That night we made smores, played charades and the fillies ran around in the dark waving long sticks with glowing embers at one end. We were far enough upwind from the hot water pools and geysers that I had a clear view of the night sky between the crowded peaks. I borrowed Fluttershy's binoculars and waited for shooting stars. I did see one faint one flash by, but mostly I watched the Cygnus constellation preen before heading for my bedroll under the stars.
We all took it easy the next morning, having a leisurely breakfast, relaxing, getting one last mineral bath, enjoying the scenery, watching the geysers erupt and chatting. But all good things come to an end and by late morning we broke camp and started the long trek back. We camped that night in the foothills of the Unicorn Range and after a late start, we arrived, weary and worn, in Ponyville early this afternoon. We were all dusty, tired and sweaty from the trail, so despite having spent a day and a half soaking in hot mineral baths, we met up at the spa (I got a massage, a hooficure and a full body shampoo). Then we all went together to supper at Cafe Hay.
It was a long walk to get there and we didn't want to push ourselves. We had the three fillies with us and we wanted to enjoy the stroll. We walked through Whitetail Woods and followed a winding trail that went north by north west up the foothills and into the Unicorn Range. It was a bit slow for Rainbow Dash, but when she got bored, she'd scout ahead. By evening she'd mapped out several likely camping spots for us. We stopped for the night on a high plateau in a spot sheltered from the wind by a jumble of large boulders.
We got up early, had breakfast, broke camp and entered the Blue Hills. The trail we had chosen broke up and forked in all directions but Rainbow Dash flew back and forth and guided us down the easiest routes to our destination. We could already smell the minerals in the air before crested the last rise. There we paused and looked out through the blue haze at the lush landscape we'd come to see. Hotwater Falls.
We scampered down the steep trail and plunged into a forest of lush green trees with abstract mottled bark patterns, spiky picture plants that dangled above our heads and the melodic calls of small brightly colored birds. Here and there I caught glimpses of a blue flash. It was the light catching on the wings of empress butterflies. They seemed to be everywhere.
Rainbow Dash led the way to the heated pools and from there through the rising mist we could see the Hotwater Falls pouring down from an unseen precipice far above. And then a geyser erupted, masking everything in a thick, hot fog.
We found a dry spot in a clearing upwind from the pools and set down our camping gear. First order of business, a soak in the mineral baths! We trotted back to the pools, and after gingerly testing the water, found some pools that wouldn't cook us.
That first soak felt wonderful. I was in the water for so long my hooves got soft. One by one we pulled ourselves out of the soft hot water and went to the falls to rinse off.
The Hotwater Falls are very curious. They pour down from a narrow gap between two tall precipices, like a giant crevasse, that is protected from the wind by the surrounding hills. The water from the falls flows over hot rocks into the heated pools and into cracks that feed the geysers. Both send water vapor back up the gap to where it condenses on the cold high-altitude rocks above. The water then runs back down in rivulets that join to make the falls. The whole cycle gets replenished by snowmelt in the spring. Between the snowmelt and the condensed steam, the water in the falls is pure, perfect for drinking and rinsing off mineral salts. It's mostly the geysers that are proving the dissolved minerals in the hot water pools below the falls. The calcium deposits coat every little pebble and grain of sand until the stream and pool beds look like they're full of pearls. It feels so good to soak in that water, but after a while I would get just too hot and have to go rinse off in the cold water pouring down the falls.
All around in this hothouse environment there were exotic plants and animals. The trees release fragrant, volatile oils that give the air a blue tint. Ergo, the "Blue Hills". But up close, the vegetation there is lush and a brilliant green.
I wandered around with Fluttershy. She told me that this is the overwintering ground for empress butterflies from all over Equestria. We could see quite a few early arrivals flitting about. Empress butterflies are rare in Ponyville, they prefer a hot and wet climate, such as in the Haysead Swamp region. A few came close and I admired their brilliant flashy blue wings, red tails and margins and dark blue bodies.
That night we made smores, played charades and the fillies ran around in the dark waving long sticks with glowing embers at one end. We were far enough upwind from the hot water pools and geysers that I had a clear view of the night sky between the crowded peaks. I borrowed Fluttershy's binoculars and waited for shooting stars. I did see one faint one flash by, but mostly I watched the Cygnus constellation preen before heading for my bedroll under the stars.
We all took it easy the next morning, having a leisurely breakfast, relaxing, getting one last mineral bath, enjoying the scenery, watching the geysers erupt and chatting. But all good things come to an end and by late morning we broke camp and started the long trek back. We camped that night in the foothills of the Unicorn Range and after a late start, we arrived, weary and worn, in Ponyville early this afternoon. We were all dusty, tired and sweaty from the trail, so despite having spent a day and a half soaking in hot mineral baths, we met up at the spa (I got a massage, a hooficure and a full body shampoo). Then we all went together to supper at Cafe Hay.
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Date: 2016-08-31 02:55 am (UTC)