Trip Report ~ by Bill Hamblin

06 - 08 August 2010

~ August 2010 ~

Friday - 06 August

There are still lots and lots of people in the park. They set a record for biggest month ever for visitation in July - over 997,000 people. I think a lot of them were in front of me last month. I made good time leaving just about 12:00 noon. I decided to visit Hayden and tried to glass from Grizzly Overlook, but a thundershower moved in and the wind wasn't good for holding the binoculars up. I ran into Ron and Linda from Prey, they had the alpha female of the Canyon Pack off and on prior to the storm setting in. They also had the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year (coy's) on their way there, near Chittenden Road, but they weren't out on my way to Lamar Valley. At 6:00 p.m. I found a grizzly sow with two coy's high up just behind Ski Slope (they were out Friday night, Saturday morning and evening, and had them again on Sunday morning - hadn't moved 100 yards all weekend). The grass is really getting high with all the moisture this summer, and finding the coy's is really difficult. The news for the week centered around a bison carcass in the Soda Butte Creek approximately south of the cone. They had seven different bears and an old Druid wolf on it throughout the week. Not much left on it now, but did have a grizzly leaving the carcass on my way past (leaving the park for camping near Silver Gate).

Saturday - 07 August

A little fall feeling in the air in the mornings already, only 39 degrees leaving camp. At 5:55 a.m. I found a grizzly leaving the carcass area viewed from Footbridge Pullout. At 6:15 a.m. I spotted the grizzly sow with two coy's near the top of Ski Slope. At 6:30 a.m. I had a lone grizzly on the second Sliver near Ski Slope. At 7:30 a.m. I found one black wolf from the Lamar Canyon Pack in the usual place (they had all four pups out earlier). At 7:40 a.m. I found a grizzly on the Divide Ridge viewed from Slough Creek. Heading back for a possible campsite, I stopped at Coyote Overlook and found a grizzly sow with three coy's high on A-Z Meadow (took me a while to find the third coy). I found a campsite at Pebble and then went to Warm River Picnic area for a brief mid day nap. At 4:30 p.m. someone made a good spot on a grizzly on the skyline in Crystal Drainage - out for 20 minutes or so. I found two different black bears lower in Crystal in the late afternoon. And one grizzly on the Divide Ridge (looked like the one from the morning). The grizzly sow with two coy's still out on my way back to camp near dark.

Sunday - 08 August

At 6:00 a.m. I found the grizzly with two coy's on Ski Slope. At 6:50 a.m. there was one puppy playing in the usual place - Lamar Canyon Pack. At 7:30 a.m. I spotted a black bear under the Salad Bowl. At 8:15 a.m. I found a black bear walking the road south of the Tower Store. I was making good time until I got to Norris. Just before the junction, there was a large grizzly in the meadows. I am pretty sure it was old Scar Face, still with last years fur on, lots of scars on his face.

Other News

A blue heron in Elk Park. A weasel crossed the road south of Dunraven Pass. They moved the bathroom in Pebble (they closed three sites and bathroom this spring because of flooding - not going to reopen them - so moved it into the large pavement area near the main road. Still lots of Unita Ground Squirrels.

by John William Uhler

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