September 7, 2014

Not much today. I got up and drove out to Soda Butte and got there just as the sun was coming over the mountains, blinding everyone. At this sight, you're looking almost straight east and the morning sun makes it impossible to see anything.

So, I drove over to Slough Creek and the wolves were just settling down for the day's nap. Just a little moving around before they all disappeared in the grass.

So, I drove up to Bozeman to replace my lost water bottle and holster.

On the way back, I checked the weather and decided that I'm leaving tomorrow – Monday. They are predicting snow here Tuesday night and Wednesday morning and then cold after that. I'm not equipped for cold and I don't feel like dealing with snow just yet. And since my enthusiasm is starting to want, now is a good time to leave.

So, after I eat the steak that's on the grill right now, I'm going to go up to Cooke City and post the remaining entries. That'll be the end for this year.

September 6, 2014

More wolves and a fishing comic adventure.

I got up late and only made it to Slough Creek in the morning. There were lots of people there, so I decided to take the camera to show what I mean by too far for photos. It's about 1.5 miles out to the wolves and this is the best I could get:

You can just barely make out that it's a dog shape. I'm hoping the new scope next year will help with this problem.

Then, I went fishing. The plan was to go down the Hellroaring trail and fish where Elk creek enters the Yellowstone River. There are some very spectacular views on the hike down:

This is the area I planned to fish:

All those rocks provide shelter for the fish. The only problem was that, when got there, this is what I saw:

That's a fishing guide and he had 3 clients with him. That meant that this place was taken and I would have to find someplace else. So, I ate lunch and decided on another spot about 1/4 mile upstream on the other side of the river that I know of. So, I hiked back up to the main trail and crossed the bridge over the Yellowstone River:

The view from the bridge is pretty good, too:

Then, it was following a faint trail through the sagebrush:

And then down a wide gully to the river bank:

I was fishing and getting lots of strikes and caught a couple of 17 inch cutthroats when I had an adventure. I was out on the end of the rock point you can see in the picture above when I hooked a large fish. I got it to the rock, but I was several feet above the water, so I slid down to a small niche in the rock closer so the water. When I did, my water bottle, which was attached to my belt with a velcro loop, got scraped off, fell in the river, and started floating downstream. I resigned to having lost it and got the fish almost out of the water when the line broke. Drat! I lost both the fish and the bottle. I really didn't want to lose the bottle as it was a new one with filters built in. It also had my water bottle holster that I use all year long. Then, I noticed that the bottle was caught in an eddy about 20 feet from the rock. Maybe I could catch it on a hook and get it back. 5 casts later, I had it hooked and was reeling it in. When I got it to to the rock, I grabbed the line to lift it out of the water, so I set the fishing rod down. It immediately slid off the rock and into the river with the bottle. I started pulling on the line from the rod, but the drag on the reel was set too light and all it was doing was unreeling line, not pulling the rod up. However, if I pulled in faster, the rod would rise a little out of the water. So, I pulled as fast as I could and got hold of the rod tip. It came off the rod. More furious pulling and I finally got all the rod out, but, somewhere in the process, the water bottle came loose from the hook and went floating downstream. I was left there with the rod all in parts and a great pile of flyline all tangled around my feet.

I decided to call it a day and hiked out.

September 5, 2014

More wolves.

First thing in the morning, I drove out to Soda Butte and saw several wolf pups. The light was wrong for photos and we were a bit down the valley, so the distance was too far, as well. But here's what I got:

In the first picture, there is a fifth black pup behind the tree in the bottom left.

Then, I was going to go back to camp and do chores, but I stopped at Slough Creek and the Junction Butte pack was out all morning. I counted 8, but may have seen as many as 12. It was tough to keep tack as they were all moving around.

One interesting wolf thing happened while we were there. Wolf 889 (that's her collar number and how she's identified) seemed to be trying to join the pack. She is the sister of the alpha female of the pack and hasn't got a mate. The hunting is hard this time of year and the Junction Butte pack has lots of members to help hunt. They are much more successful than a single wolf. It remains to be seen if she is allowed in.

After lunch I went into Gardiner and updated the blog and did some email stuff, then it was back to camp for chores and dinner. After dinner, it was back out to Soda Butte where I saw 3 pups tussling for just a few seconds. Josh suggested that one woke up and had to go to the bathroom and, in the process, woke 2 others, so they had to have a wrestling match.

September 4, 2014

Surf and turf!

The day started out clear and cold. I had to scrape the frost from the truck windshield before I could leave camp. I got out to the Soda Butte area just in time to see the wolves bedding down. OK, that wasn't my main purpose, anyway.

So I went back to camp and got ready to go fishing. I changed into lighter clothes, made a sandwich and mixed up some gatorade. Then it was off to the Specimen Ridge trailhead for the hike into the Sulfur beds on the Yellowstone River. The hike in is pretty easy, but the hike out is tough. 400 foot climb in about 1/3 of a mile. It averages a 25% grade.

Once in, I moved downstream to the treas and, in the shade rigged up. I got lots of bites and looks, but couldn't catch anything for a long time. I kept moving downstream where there are lots of big boulders and pools ans still the same thing – lots of strikes, but couldn't catch anything. Finally, after about an hour, I started to catch some. I got 6 total, 2 were 18 inches, 2 were 12 and 2 were 10 inches long. I also had 2 that broke my line.

After finishing in that area, I packed up and headed upstream towards the logjam area about ½ mile away. Right where the trail comes down to the river was a family fishing with a guide. I talked to the guide and he said he wasn't planning to go up, so I kept going.

About halfway, though, I changed my mind. The first part of the hike is across an old thermal area with nothing growing. Then there is a short stretch of thin forest that gives way to a grassy flat area that goes all the way to the logjam. Soon after I came out of the forest, I looked up and saw a dead bison on the trail. There wasn't any animal around it, but I wasn't going to get any closer. So, I turned around and went back, climbed up the hill an went back to the trailhead. My fishing day was done.

Back in camp after a shower and early microwaved dinner, I decided to see about getting a photo of the Lamar Canyon wolf pack. They are the only regularly seen wolves that are any where near close enough for a reasonable photo. Once there, I met Josh, a fellow I had met here back in June. He is also doing photography and had the same idea. So, we sat and talked and the wolves never showed up where we were. They were seen briefly about a mile further down the valley, but by then, the light was gone and it was too far, anyway.

The only adventure of that part of the day was a group of bison decided to cross the road right where we were parked and come right between the cars:

We were all moving behind cars or getting in them as they were in front of us, behind us, and in the road. They moved on, though and quiet returned.

September 3, 2014

Mostly chores today.

I went out to Slough Creek early today, but nothing was happening, so I continued out to check the bison carcass. Nothing there, either. On the way out, I saw a bunch of cars at one of the western turnouts, but the wolf watchers were putting scopes away, so I just kept going. On the way back, they were at another turnout, further east, so I stopped.

There were 2 wolves stalking an injured bison. It was a large cow and she was limping badly. As the wolves got closer, she tried to fight. Then, 4 other bison came running over and rescued her. They drove off the wolves and walked with her back to the herd. The wolves left in the other direction and, eventually, went into the trees.

Almost everybody had left, and I was talking to a fellow and his mother from Iowa when we heard coyotes yipping. We went back up the hill and saw 2 of them nosing about, so we watched for a while.

After that, it was laundry, shower and some email.

I did stop back at the bison carcass and carried my big lens up the hill above the turnout to see if I can get good pictures should anything show up. It looks like I will be able to. All I need are wolves or bears on it. It's been 3 days and something has been moving it around, but it looks to be mostly intact.

September 2, 2014

I got up early and left to see if any wolves could be found. Lots were.

On the drive out, just a mile or so from the campground, I saw one jogging along the road. I tried to take a picture, but the camera settings were all wrong and I didn't get any pictures before it ran off into the woods.

At Slough Creek, the usual people were up on Dave's Hill, so I climbed up with my scope. It was cold, but clear. My truck thermometer said 35 when I left camp and there was a bit of wind at Slough Creek.

We saw lots of wolves. At one time, all 11 members of the Junction Butte pack were in view. The pups were a cloud of energy while the others took turns trying to keep up. At one time they had a tug-o-war with a piece of tarp that had blown into their area. Finally, after a couple of hours, everybody settled down and disappeared over a hill. It was a good morning.

Then, I drove into Cooke City to do some email and other internet stuff. Along the way, I stopped and checked out the bison carcass near the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River. It had been turned over, but nothing was feeding on it. This is strange. There should be all kinds of animals competing to get at it. I didn't even see any ravens.

One of the internet things I wanted to do was use Google Earth to measure the distances we've been seeing the wolves from. It works out to around 1.5 miles.

After lunch and a short, unintentional nap, I went fishing on Lava Creek. I caught 8 small brookies. One even jumped out of the water to get my fly that was about 3 inches above the surface. I caught him and let him go.

Tomorrow will be more wolves, I hope. The weather is supposed to be nice the rest of the week. I'm going to sign up for the campsite for 6 more nights. Right now, I'm planning to leave on the 9^th and get home on the 10^th. If the weather changes, I might leave earlier.

September 1, 2014

Another slow day.

I slept in and didn't leave camp until around 7:30. I went out the northeast entrance road and stopped at Slough Creek. Many cars and a bunch of people up on the hill. When I got there, it was the tail end of the morning wolf viewing. I saw 4 wolves milling around and burying something. Then, they all settled down.

I did hear that the wolves from yesterday didn't return back empty handed, so to speak. They found a well picked over antelope carcass and came back with a leg.

Then, I continued up the valley and stopped at the confluence of Soda Butte Creek and the Lamar River to see if I could find the bison carcass I had heard about. Finding the eagles and ravens pointed it out to me quickly. It's going to be a big traffic jam on the road when the bears and wolves find it as there is very little room to park and, because of the bushes, the space to see it from is very small. It is possible, however to park a ways away and walk up the hill on the other side of the road from the river and see it, so I may do that. It looks to be close enough to get good photos.

Then, it was over to Gardiner for internet and bread, but I forgot the bread. I'll get it in the store here tomorrow. While passing through Mammoth, I saw that the bull elk have begun collecting their harems:

Finally, it was back to camp for a shower, nap and chores.

The weather is finally clear, so I'll try fishing Lava Creek tomorrow.

August 31, 2014

2 wolves and an elk.

Today was spent in one place – Coyote turnout in the Lamar Valley. I got there around 6:30 in the morning and left at 7:45 in the evening leaving only once for a bathroom break. The reason for staying there was that 2 wolves had driven an elk into the river and were trying to catch her:

The pictures aren't very good because it was well over a half mile to the action. Most of the time, the elk would stand in the river and the wolves would be lying in the grass a hundred yards away or so. The elk stayed in the water because that was the safest place for her. Chest deep water on an elk means the wolves have to swim to attack her and that doesn't work. Every hour or so, the wolves would go in trying to chase her to shallower water, but she would always escape. This would go on for a few minutes until the wolves were exhausted from all that swimming and would go back to lying down.

Other times, the elk would get out of the cold water and the wolves would chase her back in. Once she got so far from the river that the wolves almost caught her before she could get back to the safety of the river.

In between, it would rain on us and then the sun would come out and then it would rain again. In the morning Doug McLaughlin, the man I'm going to buy the scope from and who takes all the photos for the wolf charts was there with hi big furry dog, Jake. I talked to him about the winter gear I'll need for a January visit to Yellowstone.

All day long, people would stop and see what we were seeing, so I would tell them the story and let them see the wolves and elk through the scope. Sometimes they would get to see a chase and sometimes just a wolf standing or stretching. Some people stayed several hours and saw several chases. Lots of people got to see their first wolf today and were pretty happy about it.

Finally around 7:30, the wolves tried again and, after failing, turned for home. They left the valley with the elk standing in the middle of the river – still alive.

August 30, 2014

Today was mostly driving because the weather was mostly rain.

It started cloudy and I went out to Slough Creek and saw the Junction Butte wolf pups for a while. They were digging holes and chasing birds and acting like puppies, except they weigh about 40 pounds and are the size of full grown German shepherds.

Then, it started to rain and the forecast was for rain all day. So, instead of fishing, I went to Bozeman and bought a tripod for the scope I'm planning to buy in January. By the time I got back to camp, it was dark and, after eating dinner, I went to bed.

August 29, 2014

Wolves and bears and bighorns. Oh, my!

This was a long and busy day. It started around 6:30 and it's now 9:30 pm and I've eaten dinner while I write this up.

First, I didn't sleep well, waking constantly, so I planned sometime during the day to go out and get some sleeping pills in case it happened again.

But the first order of business was to see if any wolves were about. I stopped at Slough Creek and there were people up on Dave's Hill, so I got my scope and slogged up there. They were seeing a lot. Most of the Junction Butte pack were out and doing all kinds of wolf things. Just before I got there, they had attacked and killed a hapless coyote that had blundered into their area. Later, one of the pups was chasing a flock of starlings as they flew around the area. Others played with the coyote's tail, about the only thing left. All in all, I saw 8 wolves, but others counted 9. This was way too far to photograph – it was at the limits of my scope.

After that, I went over to Gardiner to update the blog and get the pills and some coke. Then, it was back to camp for lunch and some chores. Before I got there, there was a bighorn ewe and lamb right along the road across from the Calcite Springs overlook parking:

After a short nap – actually, I drifted off while reading – It was down to Roosevelt Lodge for a long hot shower.

Now what to do? It's about 2:30 and I don't want a nap that might mess up tonight's sleep, so I had to come up with something. When I left Slough Creek this morning, the wolves were starting to bed down, as they normally do in mid-morning. But, these were bedding down in a very visible place. Maybe, you could still see them.

So, back to Slough Creek. I climbed up Dave's Hill and started scanning with the scope. At first, I didn't see anything, but finally, under a tree, saw what looked like a black wolf lying in the short grass. But, it could be a log – it wasn't moving and the distance and heat waves coming off the ground made it difficult to focus. I waited a while and it still didn't move. Then, I decided to see if I could see it from a knob near the road. That way, I could easily periodically check to see if it really was a wolf or not. When I got down there, a woman names Genna was sitting in her truck waiting for some kind of wolf activity. I showed her what I was seeing and she wasn't sure if it was a wolf or not, either. But, as she was studying it, a nearby gray wolf we hadn't seen turned over. OK, we've got at least one wolf down there.

Since it was easy to check if the black thing moves, I decided to go to Cooke City to check email and see about the wolves near Soda Butte. Nothing was happening there, but when I got to Round Prairie, near Pebble Creek, I saw this:

The first black bear I've seen on this trip. It wasn't just moseying along, it was making a beeline for the road. It swam the creek:

Shook itself off:

And then crossed the road behind a very surprised couple who were just passing:

After checking the email, I went back to Slough Creek. The black thing was gone, so it was a wolf. I stood around for a while but nothing was happening, so I decided to go over to the Soda Butte area. That place promises to get me the best wolf pictures of any. It's fairly close to the road and the light is good in the late afternoon and evening. All I need are wolves. Genna had come back and she followed me over. We sat around for about 2 hours and nothing showed. Rick McIntyre came and his radio collar receiver indicated that neither of the adult wolves was in the area. Other wolf watcher luminaries came by, but no wolves ever materialized. OK, I'll try again tomorrow.

In the meantime, tomorrow I'm going to fish Lava Creek above Undine Falls. It's full of brookies and fairly easy to get into and out of.