60-Year-Old Woman Severely Burned After She Wandered Off-Trail & Fell Into A Thermal Feature At Yellowstone National Park

Another incident of a tourist getting too close to one of Yellowstone National Park's thermal areas. It was reported in a news release from Yellowstone National Park that a 60-year-old woman from New Hampshire was severely injured while she was visiting the national park with her husband and their dog. The couple and their pet were walking in an off-trail area when they accidentally wandered into a dangerous area. They apparently strayed from the Mallard Lake Trailhead - which offers an elevated view of Old Faithful at one point - and tried to make their own path (one of the few times where you don't want to be a trailblazer). Along the way, they wandered into a thermal area, and the woman broke through a thin layer of crust and down into "scalding water." She suffered second and third-degree burns, while the man and the dog were unharmed. The two Yellowstone visitors made their way to a medical clinic within the park so that the woman could be evaluated. Her burns were determined to be severe enough to require helicopter transportations to the nearby Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center so that further treatment could be provided. In the release from Yellowstone, the national park used the story as a reminder to guest that are visiting to never get off of the trails and boardwalks - especially in hydrothermal areas: "Visitors are reminded to stay on boardwalks and trails in hydrothermal areas and exercise extreme caution. The ground in these areas is fragile and thin, and there is scalding water just below the surface. Learn more about safety in thermal areas. Pets are prohibited on boardwalks, hiking trails, in the backcountry and in thermal areas. This incident is under investigation and the park has no additional information to share. This is the first known thermal injury in Yellowstone in 2024." Damn... almost got through the whole year without a thermal injury.