A woman got a stern lesson in park safety after wandering off the boardwalk at Yellowstone National Park last week to get a better view of Old Faithful. The woman was caught on camera strolling up to the famous geyser for a closer look, before being called back and admonished by a Park Ranger.
The incident was recorded by another park visitor, Emily Blaylock, and shared via Instagram account TouronsOfYellowstone, which calls out bad behavior at US National Parks. Just last week, Rangers had to handle a visitor who ignored warning signs and tried to pet a bison, despite two people being seriously injured by the animals this summer after getting too close.
In Blaylock's video, which you can watch below, the Ranger can be heard asking the trespassing visitor what the deal is, and why she ignored the warning signs posted in the geyser basin.
"There's a reason the boardwalk exists," he tells her. "Okay, so you just wanted to walk up and see it? Well regardless of whether you want to see it up close or not, everybody, including myself, has to see it from the boardwalk."
"Hot springs have injured or killed more people in Yellowstone than any other natural feature," warns the National Park Service (NPS) in its guidance for visitors, who may be unfamiliar with the dangers posed by geothermal features and wildlife.
In 2021, a woman was seriously injured at the park after entering a hot spring to rescue her dog. In 2020, a three-year-old suffered second degree burns after falling into a thermal feature, and a visitor who entered the park illegally fell into hot water at Old Faithful while backing up and taking photos.
"Boardwalks and trails protect you and delicate thermal formations," says the NPS. "Water in hot springs can cause severe or fatal burns, and scalding water underlies most of the thin, breakable crust around hot springs."
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