Yellowstone National Park 2024 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
14 August through 15 September 2024
Yellowstone National Park
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
~ August 2024 ~
August 14th - Wednesday
Today I traveled through Yellowstone National Park and got a campsite north of Gardiner for the evening. I had a cow and a calf moose tonight. 70 degrees with showers today. Lots of elk were rounded up in herds by the big bulls this evening. Quite a few white-tailed deer in the fields this evening. I ended up with fifteen grizzlies this evening, including a sow with two cubs of the year, two different sows with two yearlings, a sow with one large cub (large yearling), and four separate grizzlies for the evening.
August 15th - Thursday
This morning north of Gardiner, 37 degrees, a moose cow and calf, and white-tail deer. I viewed thirteen grizzlies this morning including the same four families of grizzlies (one sow with two cubs of the year, two sows with two yearlings each, the sow with the large cub and two separate grizzlies). All before leaving for Glacier. 75 degrees with a little rain at Many Glacier this evening. At 1:45 p.m. I saw a black bear at Looking Glass near Two Medicine. At 4:30 p.m. I watched a grizzly in the berry patch across the canyon from the Rock on Grinnell Point. All of my future sightings at Glacier would be at Many Glacier.
August 16th - Friday
55 degrees this morning at Many Glacier with early fog warming up to 65 degrees. I watched a cow and calf moose and a cow today at Fisher Cap Lake. At 6:45 a.m. I watched a cinnamon black bear sow with two dark cubs at Windy Creek. At 8:10 a.m. I watched a grizzly in the good berry patch from the Rock on Grinnell Point. At 7:20 p.m. I viewed a black bear sow with two black cubs on the east end of Grinnell Point. At 7:35 p.m. I watched a grizzly low on Mt. Wilber. At 7:50 p.m. I saw a black bear near the picnic area.
August 17th - Saturday
45 degrees this morning warming up to 76 degrees. I had a fox on the road today. I watched a red-tailed doe with two fawns still with spots on today and one with one fawn with lighter spots. I had a bull moose, a cow moose and a cow and a calf moose all in Fisher Cap Lake today. At 6:05 a.m. I spotted a black bear above the Swift Current Inn. At 7:30 a.m. I watched a collared grizzly sow with one cub of the year low on Mt. Wilber. At 8:30 a.m. a large dark grizzly eating berries high on Mt. Wilber. At 10:15 a.m. I found a grizzly sow with one yearling in the heavy berry patch on Bullhead Point (since I never saw a second cub but later all my sightings of yearlings had two, I guess I missed one of the two cubs in the thick berries). At 4:15 p.m. I found a large colorful grizzly high on Mt. Wilber.
August 18th - Sunday
50 degrees this morning warming up to 81 degrees. I had a cow moose on the trail to Fisher Cap this morning. I viewed a cow moose and a cow and calf moose also at Fisher Cap Lake today. At 7:00 a.m. a black bear southwest and above the Swift current Inn. At 9:10 a.m. a grizzly viewed on Bullhead Point. At 3:30 p.m. a black bear on the trail near the Rock. At 5:00 p.m. the collared grizzly sow with one cub of the year was above the Inn for the remainer of the evening. At 5:30 p.m. a colorful grizzly who was in view before I arrived, again came into view above the Swift Current Inn. Note: above the Inn has always been a great place to view grizzlies, but today's sightings were the last for the entire trip.
August 19th - Monday
51 degrees this morning warming up to 82 degrees. At 6:40 a.m. the collared sow grizzly with one cub of the year were still above the Swift Current Inn. Later the collared grizzly sow and one cub of the year were spotted low on Mt. Wilber. At 5:00 p.m. Randi M found two sub adult grizzlies high on Mt. Wilber.
August 20th - Tuesday
48 degrees this morning warming up to 70 degrees. The cow with calf moose again at Fisher Cap Lake today. At 7:00 a.m. a small dark grizzly viewed on Grinnell Point. It was out in view again at 6:00 p.m. At 7:15 a.m. a grizzly sow with two cubs of the year seen on Grinnell Point, they were in view until 11:45 a.m.
August 21st - Wednesday
48 degrees this morning with light rain warming up to 64 degrees. At 7:30 a.m. a black bear with two black cubs visible low on Grinnell Point. At 7:45 a.m. a large dark grizzly in view high on Mt. Wilber. He traveled over the skyline heading towards the Bullhead Lakes. At 12:20 p.m. a different large dark grizzly high on Mt. Wilber eating berries. At 3:30 p.m. a large black bear near Fisher Cap Lake.
August 22nd - Thursday
39 degrees this morning warming up to 74 degrees. We watched a spruce grouse just off the trail this morning. The moose cow with a calf again at Fisher Cap Lake today. From 7:10 a.m. through 11:30 a.m. the collared sow grizzly with one cub of the year head was on Bullhead Point, later showing up low on Mt. Wilber. At 1:45 p.m. we spotted the collared sow with one cub of the year high on Mt. Wilber. Soon after the cub of the year ran off to the south and the sow slowly moved to the north. Then we found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year approaching from the north. Great views as they moved around avoiding each other. At 7:00 p.m. a cinnamon black bear on Grinnell Point. We also found the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year as they had moved to the west end of Grinnell Point.
August 23rd - Friday
46 degrees this morning warming up to 75 degrees with afternoon rain showers. Randi M and I hiked around the Swift current Lake today and took the hotel horse trail to the intersection with the Iceberg Lake trail. I had a fox also today. We had a cow and calf moose again at Fisher Cap Lake. A moose cow came into the Fisher Cap Lake late tonight. Today we watched our only Columbian ground squirrel on the trip in the parking lot at Swift Current Inn. Jackie H found a black bear on Grinnell Point this morning. At 7:15 a.m. Randi M found a second black bear on Grinnell Point. At 7:15 a.m. a cinnamon black bear seen on Bullhead Point. At 11;10 a.m. a large dark grizzly high on Mt Wilber traveling north to south. At 7:10 p.m. a grizzly observed in the berry patch from the Rock on Grinnell Point.
August 24th - Saturday
50 degrees this morning warming up to 65 degrees with high winds all day. At 6:55 a.m. we had a grizzly sow with two yearlings low on Mt. Wilber. Later see saw the family running north on Bullhead Point. They must have changed directions as we found them late tonight on Grinnell Point. At 7:10 a.m. a black bear above the Swift current Inn. At 9:20 a.m. a colorful grizzly on Grinnell Point. At 6:00 p.m. Randi M found a small grizzly on Grinnell Point. At 6:05 p.m. the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year made a brief appearance on the east end of Grinnell Point. The sow chased the small colorful grizzly off (Randi commented that the small colorful grizzly was perhaps the 2 1/2-year-old cub that the sow had thrown out last spring). At 7:00 p.m. I found a dark grizzly near the grizzly sow with two yearlings who were now in the good berry patch on Grinnell Point. The dark grizzly moved east and away from the yearling family.
August 25th - Sunday
50 degrees this morning warming up to 62 degrees but with a strong wind. We watched a bald eagle fly over Fisher Cap Lake today and a pair of kingfishers flying around also at Fisher Cap. A small bull moose showed up today at Fisher Cap. I had a bull elk high northeast from Windy Creek tonight. At 6:45 a.m. a small grizzly on the east side of Grinnell Point. At 7:10 a.m. the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year appeared on the east end of Grinnell Point. At 8:00 a.m. a dark grizzly on the west end of Grinnell Point. At 8:15 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings was in the good berry patch on Grinnell Point viewed from the Rock above Fisher Cap. At 7:00 p.m. a cinnamon black bear on Bullhead Point.
August 26th - Monday
46 degrees this morning warming up to a windy 65 degrees. We had a bedded cow moose on Bullhead Point this morning. Another bald eagle flew over Fisher Cap as did an osprey. A nice small (6-8) point white-tailed buck posing this morning at the Rock. A cow moose again eating on the bottom of Fisher Cap Lake today. At 7:30 a.m. a large jet black black bear on Bullhead Point. At 7:45 a.m. a nice sized cinnamon black bear on Grinnell Point. At 8:00 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings on Grinnell Point. At 11:45 a.m. a usually looking black bear (light brown with a hump) with three cubs, one black, one dark brown and one like the sow light brown). This family has been misidentified as a grizzly family by lots of people; on the Iceberg Trail. At 5:30 p.m. the collared grizzly sow with one cub of the year appeared low on Mt. Wilber.
August 27th - Tuesday
59 degrees this morning warming up to 63 degrees with afternoon rain from 4:00 p.m. through 7:30 p.m. At 7:00 a.m. a cinnamon black bear on Bullhead Point. At 7:05 a.m. a black bear on Bullhead Point. At 8:00 a.m. the black bear with two black cubs on Grinnell Point. At 8:15 a.m. Randi found the grizzly sow with two yearlings on Grinnell Point near the good berry patch. At 3:30 p.m. we watched the unusual black bear family with three cubs above the Swift Current Inn. The sow took them up and over the next hour over the top of Altyn Mountain. The three cubs were having trouble keeping up and appeared to be on this side of the skyline ten minutes after the sow disappeared. Two days later Tim R found the family on Iceberg Lake trail with all three cubs still with her.
August 28th - Wednesday
38 degrees this morning raining all day with a high mid-morning of 42 degrees. The hills had snow by afternoon and the snow was lower the next morning, covering most of Mt. Wilber. Logan Pass closed early this afternoon. At 7:00 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings on Grinnell Point.
August 29th - Thursday
40 degrees with all the high hills white with snow warming up to 60 degrees. A cow moose and a cow moose with a calf in Fisher Cap Lake today. At 7:50 a.m. a black bear and a cinnamon black bear, both nice sized on Bullhead Point. At 8:00 a.m. a black bear low on Mt Wilber. At 8:15 a.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings back again on Grinnell Point. At 6:30 p.m. a large grizzly near the yearling grizzly family on Grinnell Point. At 8:00 p.m. two small grizzlies low on Grinnell Point (we got to watch them a few times after tonight and they were two sub adults traveling and staying together as often sub adults do).
August 30th - Friday
50 degrees this morning warming up to a nice 75 degrees. Today a small bull moose and a cow moose in Fisher Cap Lake. Sometimes it is tough to distinguish one cow moose from another. The moose come and go throughout the day, so we never know if different cows come at different times. At 7:45 a.m. Randi found a strange black bear family which we only saw today. The one cub was dark cinnamon, but the sow appeared to be sort of gray. At 7:50 a.m. a black bear on Bullhead Point. At 8:00 a.m. a large colorful grizzly on Grinnell Point. At 8:15 a.m. the two sub adult grizzlies on the east end of Grinnell Point, they were in sight a long time today and Tim Z found them further west in the afternoon still of Grinnell Point.
August 31st - Saturday
49 degrees this morning warming up to 79 degrees. A cow moose again in Fisher Cap with the two kingfishers flying by several times, only a few times did one land long enough to put the scope on it. Kay L found a cow moose above the lake low on Grinnell Point this morning. At 7:15 a.m. a cinnamon black bear low on Mt. Wilber. At 5:30 p.m. a black bear on the west end of Grinnell Point.
~ September 2024 ~
September 1st - Sunday
Sunday September 1st. 47 degrees this morning warming up to 80 degrees. A small bull moose in Fisher Cap Lake today. At 7;00 a.m. a large black bear with a little cinnamon color limping over the top of Mt. Wilber heading towards the Bullhead Lakes. We have heard about this bear that was hit by a car over on the Chief Mountain Road, and recently been seen on the road into Swift Current. The bear really limps badly when going up any hill. At 5:30 p.m. a black bear low on Grinnell Point.
September 2nd - Monday ~ Labor Day
48 degrees this morning warming up to 85 degrees. A cow moose and a pair of kingfishers in Fisher Cap Lake today. It is difficult to tell the difference in the cow moose, we believe we have at least two that regularly come to Fisher Cap to eat vegetation off the bottom of the lake. The lake is just the right depth so the cows and bulls can walk and eat anywhere in the lake. The calves usually eat on the shoreline when their cow goes into the deeper parts to feed. At 7:30 a.m. Kim C found a black bear on Grinnell Point. At 8:30 a.m. the large black bear again high on Mt Wilber. We think it stays there because the berries are good, and it does not have to move too much to feed. At 12:30 p.m. a black bear was seen on Sheep Curve. At 3:00 p.m. a black bear with two black cubs eating berries on Grinnell Point. We have seen two black bear sows both with black cubs. And a third set of black bears has been seen down at Windy Creek, they have a little cinnamon brown in their fur. At 5:30 p.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings was seen high on Mt Wilber moving south to north. I was at the Rock and had a longer view than my friends who were watching from the parking lot (just a better angle as the cubs chased each other around for ten more minutes).
September 3rd - Tuesday
58 degrees this morning warming up to 73 degrees. We had a small bull moose quite near a cow moose at Fisher Cap Lake today. The cow did not seem to mind. Another cow was seen later at Fisher Cap. At 7:30 a.m. a black bear low on Grinnell Point. At 7:45 a.m. a black bear sow with two black cubs were on Grinnell Point. At 8:30 a.m. a silver looking black bear sow with a dark brown cub on Grinnell Point. At 4:20 p.m. the grizzly sow with two cubs of the year made a brief appearance on the east end of Grinnell Point. Beautiful when they went over and around the east end of Grinnell Point and were on the skyline. At 6:00 p.m. a black bear moving to the east on Sheep Curve, I think different that this morning's family on Grinnell Point. At 8:15 p.m. I viewed the sow black bear at Windy Creek, missing the two cubs in tall grass.
September 4th - Wednesday
51 degrees this morning warming up to 68 degrees. Today a cow and calf moose and a single cow moose in Fisher Cap Lake. At 8:00 a.m. a black bear on Swift Current Mountain. At 7:30 p.m. a black bear with two black cubs on Grinnell Point.
September 5th - Thursday
46 degrees this morning warming up to 80 degrees. I hiked around Swift current Lake today with Randi, Kim, and Joyce. Cow moose and cow with a calf moose at Fisher Cap. At 8:00 a.m. a black bear sow with two black cubs on the east end of Grinnell Point. At 7:30 p.m. the grizzly sow with two yearlings high on Mt. Wilber for good viewing for quite a while.
September 6th - Friday
47 degrees this morning warming up to 82 degrees. Randi found a large bull moose on Grinnell Point. One cow moose in Fisher Cap Lake today. At 8:30 a.m. the large limping black bear seen again in the good berry patch high on Mt. Wilber.
September 7th - Saturday
48 degrees this morning warming up to 83 degrees. I had a cow moose on Bullhead Point and another cow moose in Fisher Cap today. At 7:20 a.m. a small grizzly on Grinnell Point was in view for hours. Back in view this evening at 7:30 p.m. At 8:00 a.m. a black bear on Grinnell Point.
September 8th - Sunday
46 degrees this morning warming up to 74 degrees. Cow and calf moose and a bull moose in Fisher Cap Lake. Later the spike bull moose with feeding in Fisher Cap Lake near the cow moose who puts up with him being close. The kingfishers were flying around today.
September 9th - Monday
Today was the first day not requiring a daily pass to enter Many Glacier (you either needed the daily pass or come through the entrance station before 6:00 a.m.). Today and the next two days EVERYBODY came. By 10:00 a.m. the rangers put up signs saying Many Glacier was closed not allowing any more in unless they have reservations for camping or lodging. All the parking was already taken with many who got in before the closure forced to drive around in circles looking for parking. It was a zoo for three days. They also did not have anybody at the gate to charge or check entrance cards (probably a good idea). 65 degrees this morning warming up to 75 degrees. The spike bull moose and the cow were in Fisher Cap Lake early. A cow and calf moose in Fisher Cap Lake late. At 8:00 a.m. a black bear on Bullhead Point.
September 10th - Tuesday
Many Glacier closed again to entering traffic around 10:00 a.m. I had the two biggest bull moose I saw this year together on Bullhead Point. One is really wide but not too tall. The second is not as wide but a lot taller. They approached each other within a few feet checking each other out. The wide bull moved off to the north, the taller one moved off to the south staying in view for a lot longer. At 7:10 p.m. the grizzly sow and two yearlings were back in sight high on Mt. Wilber. I was lucky to catch them as the two cubs were playing in the low snowbank. They played for quite a while as the sow moved off to the south. At 7:25 a.m. I found the grizzly sow with the two cubs of the year following in the direction of the yearling family. Only in sight for a few minutes then all six were out of sight. Soon after, we saw the three climbers who climbed Mt. Wilber today coming down between the first and second snowbank. I think the two grizzly families saw them and moved off quickly to the south.
September 11th - Wednesday
42 degrees this morning warming up to 60 degrees with rain coming in after dark. I had a cow moose in Fisher Cap today A smaller and younger cow moose came in later to Fisher Cap. Entrance to Many Glacier closed around 10:00 a.m. again.
September 12th - Thursday
48 degrees this morning warming up to 62 degrees with rain and low clouds in the p.m. I had the spike bull moose and a new small bull moose with small paddles on the trail to Fisher Cap this morning. They were trying to get rid of the velvet on their antlers, scratching against the trees and bushes. The cow moose with the calf made a late appearance at Fisher Cap tonight, entering the lake walking quickly as the crowd separated to allow them into the lake. At 2:15 p.m. a black bear off road south of Windy Creek. At 3:00 p.m. I found a large dark grizzly eating berries high on Mt. Wilber. In view until dark, it moved down to the lowest clearing finding better berries to eat.
September 13th - Friday
46 degrees in the morning warming up to 60 degrees with rain in the p.m. I had the large wide bull moose this morning in Fisher Cap. Meanwhile I spotted the large, taller bull moose up on Bullhead Point and soon found a cow very close to him. It is the beginning of the moose rut. I had a small bull moose above the Swift Current Inn briefly this morning. Later a cow moose came into Fisher Cap late this evening. At 7:15 a.m. the large dark grizzly from last night was still in the low clearing on Mt. Wilber. He stayed in view for quite a while again this morning. At 4:00 p.m. a black bear was seen on Grinnell Point.
September 14th - Saturday
Tonight was the last night of camping for the year at Many Glacier this year. They were to start construction on Monday that will continue on through all of 2025 and the first part of May in 2026. Next year entrance to the area will stop at the Many Glacier Hotel. Everything west of that will be closed. Currently Fisher Cap Lake is one-fourth mile from the parking lot, next year the walk to Fisher Cap will be 2.3 miles. All hikes will be allowed but bypassing the parking lot and buildings there. 52 degrees this morning warming up to 60 degrees. Windy today with morning showers. At 11:00 a.m. a large black bear in view from the parking lot northeast and above the Picnic Area. At 11:30 a.m. I found the two sub adult grizzlies on the east end of Grinnell Point. Good viewing for over an hour as they ate berries slowly moving to the west. A shower came in and when it cleared, we could not locate the sub adults again.
September 15th - Sunday
41 degrees this morning. I walked down to Fisher Cap and glassed for forty-five minutes finding nothing so headed out. My plans to camp north of Gardiner tonight. I arrived there in about 6.5 hours and 395 miles. Grizzlies were good again. Nine in the evening including a sow with two cubs of the year, a sow with a large cub, a sow with two yearlings. and one lone grizzly. Monday September 16th. Grizzlies again in the morning north of Gardiner. Ten this morning including, two different sows with two cubs of the year, and four separate grizzlies. Left early for Yellowstone National Park.
People Seen
Friends from Glacier: From Montana: Steve and Charlotte H, Gary K, Jeff M, and Mel. From Wisconsin: Paul and Jackie H, and Jim and Karen S. From Kansas: Kim and Betsy R. From Texas: Joe and Amy M. From Arkansas: Mike and Kay L. From Minnesota: Gilbert S, and Tom G and friend Donata from Canada, RV'ers and Campground hosts: Bill and Debbie. From Iowa/Illinois: Scott R. Friends from Yellowstone: From Colorado: Karol B. From Washington: Randi M. From Montana: Becky C and Chloe's sister, Lee H, Margaret L, and David and Monty B. From California: Tim Z. From Idaho: Kim and Joyce C. And from Missouri: Frank H.
Beautiful Mountain Lion ~ Lamar Valley ~ April 10th, 2023 ~ Photo by Linda Rudge Carney © All Rights Reserved
Mountain Lion ~ also known as the Cougar, Puma, Panther, or Catamount ~ Puma concolor
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