10-16-15

Morgan Berquist

Today we ventured out at 7:00am, and began our trek to the Lamar Valley. We were on our way, and were hoping to see wolves. Shauna, our guide, had the wolf radio today which was helpful in finding out where they had been spotted this morning. The Lamar Canyon pack happened to be spotted in the Lamar Valley, so we rushed over there as fast as we could. First thing that came to sight in the crisp morning air were bison, all frosted over from the night before. Then, up ahead there were lots of wolf watchers, indicating that there were wolves nearby. We set up our spotting scopes up on a side hill to see if we could spot any of the pack members. We were intently watching the tree line of the woods for any movement, and then a coyote ran out. It was acting like it was scared for its life, running very fast. Shauna told us that it was probably chased out into the open by the wolves – since wolves do not like coyotes.

After sitting there for what seemed like forever, there was still no movement. We than began to start to pay attention to some other surroundings such as the small bison herd behind us. Our group was busy looking at the bison when Lex Tandy spotted a grizzly bear way up almost on top of the mountain. It was the first grizzly I had ever seen! Even though we were looking at the bear through a spotting scope, it seemed very small up on the face of the mountain. That was pretty exciting, even though it was so far away to us. After watching the grizzly for a while, we then decided to pack up and move down the road to where MacNeil Lyons had spotted a wolf.

After traveling down the road a few miles, we met MacNeil up on the side hill and set up our scopes. Sure enough, we saw a black wolf traveling. After watching this wolf duck in and out of the sagebrush, we noticed another pack member, and then another. In total, there were four wolves – two black and two grey. This was also my first time seeing wolves! It turns out they were moving towards their kill site from just a little while earlier. They had killed a mule deer, which is not their typical food source. We then watched the wolves feed on the carcass for a while, but we were not able to actually see the deer. The sagebrush was so thick that even when the wolves were feeding, we could barely see their ears. Every so often they would poke their heads out of the grass and we could view them. After they fed, they started to move back into the woods, eventually going out of sight. We then had the opportunity to meet with Rick McIntyre. He is the guy that works with telemetry and wolves. He showed us how the telemetry works, and then talked about a few stories about the wolves.

All the wolf watching made us hungry so we went and had lunch at Pebble Creek. This is where we ate right next to the water, and scoped some mountain goats way up on the sheer cliff. This was also my first time seeing these animals, so it was very exciting for me! It is so crazy how these goats can live in such extreme environments. We then got done eating and learned a little about what happens in growth from puppies to adults in wolves. We also learned about the relationship with ravens and wolves, which is very interesting. Ravens will actually play with the wolf pups, bonding with them and growing up with them. The ravens follow the wolves all their lives to obtain food as well as entertain themselves.

Hiking next to the Yellowstone River was fun as well, we went down to a beachy area where we waded into the water and skipped rocks. We learned about the only aquatic bird species in North America here, which I thought was very interesting. The bird is called the American Dipper, and feeds on aquatic insects. It also nests right next to the water, and lives there year-round. During our time here next to the river, we had some quiet time to ourselves. While we had quiet time, we wrote in our journals given to us by Shauna. Here is what I wrote:

Yellowstone Trip, Friday October 16, 2015:

As I sit in the shade with the sun beating on my back, I can hear the Yellowstone River flowing by. The large tree root I am sitting on seems to act as a perfect bench, with a fallen tree playing the role of the backrest. The first thing that seemed to catch my eye were these pinecones to my left. The tree sap on them is clear and seems to glisten in the sunlight like small diamonds. These pine cones seem to dot all long my “backrest.” To my right I see wolf lichen, which is poisonous if eaten. It is a very bright green and stands out against the brown bark of the Douglas fir. The forest floor is strewn with leaves, rocks, and pine needles. Up above my head, a bird started to sing but quickly stopped, making me wonder what it might have been. If I look straight ahead, I see the crystal clear Yellowstone River that is full out trout – but if I look up a little farther, there is a small herd of bison grazing away. The fallen trees seem to have perfect designs etched into them, almost looking like small channels. The rocks and trees all around me are covered in lichens and mosses, but seemingly only in certain areas of the tree or rock. The rushing water of the river is calming – almost therapeutic. In the tree to the right of me, there seems to be a perfect hole. Inside is a spider web, but no spider in sight. I wonder if Yellowstone has the same arachnids and insects as ND. Above the grazing bison, you can see the mountains which are covered with trees. I want to know how long it would take me to get to the top. As I look at the water, it makes me wonder why it is so clear here, and so dirty in ND. Also, I would love to learn how to fly fish and catch my very first trout. I started messing around with one of the pine cones, and the sap is not only sticky, but aromatic as well. They smell kind of like a foresty – Christmas. There are these small reddish colored stems covered in thorns, which I always seem to see out hunting in ND. I wish I knew what they were! Even just this small area has so much detail that an average person would overlook. Yellowstone is such an amazing place, as well as wild. I know I will definitely be coming back in the future.

During the evening, we spoke with Jim Halfpenny. He told us a lot about wolverines, which was very interesting. That wraps up the second day in Yellowstone!