Trip Report ~ by Bill Hamblin
20 - 22 August 2010
~ August 2010 ~
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Friday - 20 August
It's really slowing down now for bears. Only three sightings all weekend. I left at around noon and made great time mainly getting through the Norris-Madison construction quickly this time. I headed for Hayden, spotted nothing but learned about a new bison carcass way back in Alum Creek. I finished the evening at Antelope Creek. Two and one half hours with no sightings at all. I called ahead and got a campsite at Canyon for Friday night.
Saturday - 21 August
It was cold this morning, 30 degrees before daylight. I headed for Hayden Valley which had a little fog at daylight. The carcass was found during the night and had two lone grizzlies and the sow grizzly with one cub of the year 9coy) on it at daylight. The amazing thing is that they were all on the carcass, sharing. Later saw the alpha and beta males and one pup from Grizzly Overlook in the morning. I missed a grizzly around noon in Lamar Valley, apparently one wandered into the trees this side of the river at the old picnic area (waited over and hour, never came out). I got a campsite at Tower for tonight, so decided to go back to Hayden for the evening. A little delay going over the pass, as the grizzly sow with two coy's was just south of the new bathroom pullout south of Dunraven Pass. Nice viewing until she crossed the road going uphill. I spent the rest of the evening watching the bison carcass in Alum Creek. We ended up with five adults and one coy in the area as well as the alpha female (almost white) of the Canyon Pack.
Sunday - 22 August
It was warmer this morning with 53 degrees in Tower and 45 degrees in Hayden. Arriving at Alum Creek I glassed and found what looked like a couple of dark wolves near the carcass. I put up the scope and found they were coy's. Ten grizzlies on the carcass this morning.
A grizzly sow with three coy's, a grizzly sow with one coy and four large single grizzlies. Again it was amazing, at one time all the bears except the sow with three coys were on the carcass at one time, sharing. The one coy was about 20 yards away, but came in behind mom several times. The sow with three left the coy's about 40 yards the other way and visited the carcass a couple times. No wolves near the carcass this morning, but had four coyotes waiting their turn. I did hear howling just before daylight east of Alum Creek, but only found the alpha male briefly from the pullout.
Other News
They had closed # 1 and # 2 campsites at Tower now, took all the trees out, apparently tired of hauling the campground hosts camper off when the trees crash on it. The Lamar Canyon wolves have gone up high and out of sight now. With the Silver Pack from Lamar still gone, Rick has to travel quite a ways to find a wolf.
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by John William Uhler
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