Yellowstone National Park 2018 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
29 Sep through 5 Oct 2018 - Yellowstone National Park
~ September 2018 ~
Saturday - September 29th
I left Idaho Falls before noon traveling thru the park to stay outside the park tonight. I had two moose outside the park in the evening. I only had two grizzlies outside of the park during the evening. I spent the night outside the park and was the only one in the campground.
Sunday - September 30th
30 degrees this morning outside of the park with snow/rain but the roads were only wet. Low clouds in the morning warming up to 47 degrees today. I had a bull moose south of Footbridge Pullout this morning. At 9:20 a.m. John G showed me a grizzly on some type of carcass in the river corridor viewed from the confluence. A golden eagle landed in a tree nearby when watching the grizzly. I camped outside of the park near Silver Gate tonight.
~ October 2018 ~
Monday - October 1st
33 degrees this morning with low clouds and poor visibility warming up to the mid 60's this afternoon. I did have a bull moose outside the park tonight. From 10:00 a.m. thru 1:15 p.m. we watched a grizzly sow with one cub of the year (coy) high near the skyline south of the Institute digging for roots. The sow stopped once to nurse the cub. I spent the night outside of the park (only one in the campground again) to the north tonight and had four grizzlies in the last hour before darkness (two singles and a sow with one coy).
Tuesday - October 2nd
A warm 46 degrees this morning north of the park warming up to a nice 66 degrees in the park this afternoon. I had a bull moose outside the park this morning. I did have four separate grizzlies outside of the park this morning before going into the park. At 8:55 a.m. I pulled into the upper Hellroaring Pullout just as Lizzie C found the Crevice Lake wolf pack (formerly the 8 Mile Sub group). The pack consists of five adult wolves: three black males 1107M, 1108M, and gray beard as well as two gray wolves, one is the alpha female; and three gray pups. The entire pack was in view this morning. Back in Lamar Valley the Junction Butte wolves were south of Trash Can pullout (count of ten tonight, the black uncollared male was missing). At 3:00 p.m. a dark grizzly high under the snow cornice south and west of Footbridge Pullout. I camped near Silver Gate the rest of this trip.
Wednesday - October 3rd
53 degrees with really high winds this morning warming up to 67 degrees. At 7:55 a.m. John G had a grizzly on K-2 meadow traveling to the west. At 8:20 a.m. the grizzly sow with one coy was in Bear Meadow south of the Institute. At 10:00 a.m. the Crevice Lake pack were seen on the slopes of Hellroaring Overlook (all eight present again today). At 6:30 p.m. I spotted a dark grizzly in a high clearing under the snow cornice south and west of Footbridge Pullout.
Thursday - October 4th
42 degrees with light rain and low visibility warming up to 53 degrees. The low clouds did not rise on the high clearings until after 1:00 p.m. and the clouds started coming down the high clearings again at 6:00 p.m. Only the two black and one gray pup and 1109F of the Junction Butte pack were around today in the old rendezvous area south of Trash Can Pullout. At 2:30 p.m. John G found a single large grizzly digging in the Bell Clearing. At 2:45 p.m. John G found the grizzly sow with one coy in the clearing above Bear Meadow viewed from the Institute.
Friday - October 5th
33 degrees and snowing this morning. The snow stopped at daylight but had laid down a sheet of white everywhere but the roads remained clear. At 7:00 a.m. we found the four Junction Butte wolves again (today the black uncollared male plus the two black pups and one gray pup were present). At 7:20 a.m. we found a grizzly in the rendezvous area that walked thru the wolves. The pups had fun escorting the grizzly through the area. At 10:00 a.m. we had a small light grizzly digging in the K Meadow viewed from Footbridge Pullout.
People Seen:
Wolf Watchers: From California: Kathie L (Kathie has been watching a lot of grizzlies lately but don't think she is ready to give up the wolves for the bears yet), and Bob and Nell H. From New York: Rick and Maureen B. From Montana: Rick M, Mark M, Lizzie C, Bob and Elizabeth N, and Laurie L. From Iowa: Jim and Joelyn B. From Indiana: Jeff and Terry B. From Colorado: Jim and Bobbie F, and Steve M. From Mississippi: Chuck and Wynelle M. From the Netherlands: Pauline M. From Washington: David and Stephanie O, and From Vermont: JoAnn. Bear Watchers seen: From Washington: John G. From Louisiana: Bruce P. From Montana: Jack G. From Wyoming: Tom H. From Ohio: Jim and Twyla E. and from Illinois: Chicago Bob and Margaret. Others seen this trip: From Wisconsin: Boyd and Scott G. From Montana: Carl S, Cara M, Evan S, Grant, Bob L, Leo L, Brandon, and Cliff B. From Idaho: Adam B. From Wyoming: Paul B, Kevin and Pete B. From Florida: Rick and Vicky K. and From Vermont: John K.
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Lamar Valley Map - Yellowstone National Park
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