The Wolf Pups Big Adventure

July 5, 2024

We had a cloudless sky, which meant early sunshine on the den area but chilly temperatures for the first hour. Once the sun graced us, first me, then John, we warmed up considerably. John dropped me at Dave's Hill and drove down to the lower lot.

The puppies' big adventure started right away! At 6:00am, 907F took the pups, along with 1478F, a little to the left of then den, but then into and above the diagonal forest to the right. They went up quite high above the den area to the ridge above. The adults watched as the pups ventured down the steep drainage on their own. They eventually joined the pups and led them back to the den. The exercise ended almost two hours later at 7:45. At that point, 907F bedded on Flower Hill. The pups followed 1478F toward the rocks. They disappeared in the sage and 1478F laid next to Crescent Rock out of sight. 907F is preparing the pups for the journey to the Rendezvous, in which they will have to cross Slough Creek, the dirt road, the Yellowstone River, and the main road.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zu0ew1f4JBg

At that point, I packed up my equipment and walked down to John. 

At 12:15, a black collared wolf that we believe to be 1479F due to her smaller size walked up from the marsh area. We figured we missed her arrival from the secret passage. She disappeared behind Flower Hill. 

At 1:40, the black pup had his own trip to the marsh for a drink! It was the first time we have seen him go all the way to the marsh. 

At 12:29, 1479F headed for a 10-minute drink and cool-off laying in the water at the marsh with the black pup following part of the way but disappearing. 1479F got up from the stream, shook off, and headed back up to the trees.

Once again, we shared our scopes with Jason and many first-time wolf viewers. People were so polite and grateful for our "kindness" and "friendliness." We were told that the sightings were "the highlight of the trip" and that we "made lifetime memories." We expressed the same, as it has been wonderful to share the wolves with others.

At 2:30, we decided to head back to Gardiner. We had a bison jam near Slough Creek, and then a moose jam at Floating Island Lake. We saw a cow and a calf, first of the trip. We also saw another black bear.

Nine hours of scoping makes for a long day! We are relaxing at our cabin now.

Fourth of July in Yellowstone: Wolves and More New Friends

July 4, 2024

We started the day with clear skies and a timely arrival, though the clouds gathered to the northeast, which blocked the sun for a while early on. Light is key for morning viewing at Slough, especially for videography and photography. 

I dropped John off at the lower lot and went to Dave's Hill as usual. I had the hill to myself for much of the morning. John spotted 907F at 6:00am heading far to the left. She seemed to walk with purpose, but eventually turned around and headed back. We could see her pups anxiously awaiting her return.

907F and her pups reunited, with a brief attempt at nursing, which the alpha female had little patience for. She bedded down, and then the puppies played for nearly an hour under the right group of trees. They wrestled, played keep away with an antler, and tumbled, with the gray pup jumping on the black pup. The gray pup explored on its own to the left.

Eventually, I was able to see 1478M near 907F, both wolves at the same time. We don't know where the other Junction adults were. In time, all wolves disappeared behind the trees.

Jason, whom we met yesterday, joined John first thing, and the two spent the morning spotting together and sharing the wolves with first-timers. A French couple was quite delighted to see the wolves, friendly and happy. Another couple waited for hours but didn't see wolves. I hope they come back tomorrow.

I actually fell asleep in the sunshine alone on Dave's Hill, so I decided to join John for safety reasons. I stopped to talk to Rick M. before joining John to see if there were sightings elsewhere. Joining John below, we also met Steve and Jackie, yearly visitors from Scotland. We had a nice chat with Steve regarding favorite places in the U.S. Just as he was leaving, a woman stopping by with binoculars spotted 907F far to the right when we had missed her. We got her in our scopes and then I ran to let Steve know before he left. He got a glimpse of 907F but Jackie did not. Steve was quite engaging, and we hope to see him and Jackie tomorrow. An older photographer with a heavy accent stopped by to ask for tips and whether an 800mm lens was enough just when Steve arrived. We suggested he try video, with which he had little experience, and told him we would be there tomorrow if he wanted help.

We returned to Gardiner at 1:30 and decided to rest the afternoon and evening. We had vegan bratwurst and potato chips on the deck outside and some wine. It was fairly quiet for the Fourth of July.

A Close(r) Sighting of 907F, the Most Famous Wolf in the World (at This Time)

July 3, 2024: Morning

We left at the usual hour and got up to Slough at 5:39am. It was chilly in the 30s and cloudy but dry at least.

I dropped John at the middle lot with Debbie and headed up to Dave's Hill. At 6:00am, there wasn't much going on until 7:00 when suddenly Jason, who was down with John, spotted 907F coming in from the Secret Passage. She was quite close and John got some nice footage of her, having to quickly turn his camera and find her. 

From my vantage, she was nowhere near as close, but I got to see her cross the river. Those down below cannot see the river. She waded about half way across and then moved into the current. It eventually swept her downriver, but she timed it perfectly so that she reached the other bank in a wide spot where she could hug the bank as it jutted back into a calm area. She climbed out, shook herself, and then began her slow ascent. 

We both had memorable sightings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH_egbmuqOY

She made her way up the hill to the den area where she eventually regurgitated for the pups. I could see them licking her face multiple times. I continually narrated the wolves' whereabouts to John via walkie talkie and John continually relayed that he was letting others use the scope for first-time wolf sightings. The Indian family who was there late yesterday morning came back this morning at 6:00. Thankfully, they got to see the pack this time. John and Debbie made memories for many young families.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXZ9xfoyBTg

After the feeding, she bedded down behind the hill in the trees, and the pups disappeared, too. We did not see them again.

We headed back to Gardiner at 10:00am.

Evening

After a couple hours of much needed sleep, we had appetizers, and then I made mushroom tacos to take to Floating Island Lake. Unfortunately, there was a grizzly jam there so we decided to move on to the Lamar Valley. We ate there and scoped the valley, seeing plenty of bison and pronghorn. The radio chatter was quiet, so we went to Slough. There, the light was terrible and it was extremely windy. I gave up because my eyes were watering and my scope shaking. John eventually did, too, and we headed home at 8:30.

Many Junction Butte Wolves and a Grizzly Bear

 

July 2, 2024: Morning

Our morning departure was a bit of a jumble but we managed to get to Slough at pretty much the same time as previous days. It was 42 degrees but no wind, so we were warmer. 

I dropped John off and headed for Dave's Hill, only to discover that my walkie talkie was dead. I headed back down to John below, much to his surprise. He and Debbie were set up and already had a few wolves. The clouds moved in for a bit, obscuring the sage den area, but eventually the sun came out and burned them off.

The excitement began early with 907F going down for a drink at 6:24. We had occasional sightings as the morning went on, but the most fun began at 9:00 when we saw five adults (three blacks and two grays, including 1479F and 907F) and the two puppies. Several wolves came out from the trees at once and headed down and to the left of the sage den. 

We had many first-time wolf watchers, young and old, that we shared our scopes with. John made an excellent video of the various sightings, and half the fun of it is listening to people's delight at seeing a wolf.

We saw the large brown-gray wolf again, learning from the wolf reports that he is actually a former Junction visiting from the Mollie's pack.

We noticed magpies in the pine trees for the first time today, and in watching the videos back at the cabin, it was quite apparent that they flew up from behind the trees whenever a wolf dashed back there, and they did indeed dash back in a motion we have seen before to scare off pesky scavengers. We believe they have a carcass behind the trees!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz5vTyvlO-w&t=30s

While talking to an Indian family, we somehow managed to miss the brown-gray wolf at 10:15. We tried in vain to find a wolf for them until 11:00, when we finally gave up. We went to Dorothy's to take a nap in the warm sun in the car, then headed back to Gardiner.

We had our usual iced latte and sat in the rocking chairs outside Yellowstone Forever at around 5:00 pm.

Evening

We chose Blacktail Ponds for our evening viewing and dinner site. It was only a 25-minute drive, and we didn't much care whether or not we saw any wildlife. Having finished our spaghetti, we used the binocs to looks around—saw a bald eagle being chased by a redwing blackbird and some geese. At about 7:00, I noticed the cars to the west near the next pullout were stopped in the road, which means only one thing: wildlife.

A large golden brown male grizzly crossed the road there and moved across the sage and then finally up the hill at a diagonal, disappearing into the forest. He was huge, nearly the size of a bison and rimmed in sunlight. About 20 minutes later, a woman stopped and pointed out two black bears, one brown (male) and one black (female). We watched them move up and along the hill beyond the ponds, running at times. The brown bear tried to mount the black bear (it is mating season After all), but she did not appreciate his attentions and they scuffled a bit.

Satisfied, we succumbed to fatigue at 8:00 and headed back to Gardiner.

Making a New Friend and Sharing Wolves with First-time Viewers

July 1, 2024

We got up and out the door in about 15 minutes—record time. It was just starting to get light when we left at 4:45.​ For the first time since we arrived in June, we had to show our pass in the morning. The morning was cloudy and the pavement was wet from last night's rain.

I dropped John off at the second lot at Slough, where he set up for scoping and pictures with the 600mm lens with the 2x converter. I parked back up on the road and walked up to Dave's Hill. There, I encountered Helena, Rick M. and I believe the Spanish tourist we encountered Saturday at Exclosure. Later, another person who knew Rick joined. It was apparent that Rick and Helena were friends by the personal nature of their conversation. I fear Rick is ill, with his talk about clearing the clutter from his Silver Gate home, making a will, and a mention of assisted living. He also didn't seem to be able to keep track of the wolves as well and had to look through Helena's scope several times. I complimented Helena on her posts on Yellowstone Reports, which she appreciated. She was nice, though not as forthcoming as other watchers we have met. Maybe it was because Rick was there, and it was clear they were friends and colleagues. Rick said he would be donating 13,000 pages of typed notes to the Yellowstone research archives.

At any rate, I saw one gray as soon as I arrived at 6:15. Eventually, I was able to spot 907F, an uncollared gray male, and a black wolf, though I couldn't tell whether or not it had a collar (1479F). I also saw the two pups, though their appearance was brief and mostly camouflaged by the sage. They appeared to nurse briefly with 907F's leg in the air in an involuntary movement we noticed the previous time they nursed.

I kept John informed of what I could see, as my view was better, via walkie talkie. Unbeknownst to me, a crew of people with John were listening to my directions to spot the wolves as well. He shared the scope with several first-time wolf sighters, and chatted with Debbie, whose husband, unit 11, doesn't come out in the park anymore. She indicated our unit number, 229, isn't as high as it sounds since many of the original watchers are no longer alive or coming to the park.

John got some nice footage of 907F getting a drink and the uncollared gray as well as the unidentified black. He was happy with the focus setting on low and the 2x converter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcISRpHZ_UM

With the temperature at 54 and only occasional sunbreaks but a constant cold wind, the black clouds and impending rain ushered me to the car and by the time I reached John, fat drops of rain were plopping on the scope and camera. Debbie helped us load his things into the car. We checked out Trout Lake, as we'd heard on the radio that five wolves had been spotted there. No one was there when we arrived, so we turned around at Pebble Creek and headed back. All was quiet on the radio, with people stopping for bison all too often.

Junction Buttes and a Mollie's Wolf

June 29, 2024

What a sighting we had this morning! Clear skies and 33 degrees greeted us as we headed up Dave's Hill at 6:00. By 6:10, we had 1479F bedded in front of the two right trees. Shortly after, 907F was up and wandered over to a black and disappeared over the sage hill, which we now know is called Flower Hill. The black was up for a moment and then bedded down again. During this time, John photographed aspen and pronghorn from Aspen pullout.

At 7:11, 907F headed down Flower Hill for water, with the puppies following all the way to the bottom but no more. The black pup got up onto a rock and then jumped onto the gray pup. 

At 7:33, the adults howled and gathered for a rally. The puppies went off by themselves in the rocks as the six adults (four blacks two grays) walked in a line to the diagonal forest.

Next, we went to Exclosure where we saw a very hard to see Molly's wolf. With the glare and the heat waves, it was hard to make out. It got up and disappeared behind sage. We shared information with others around us, including a young man from Washington and his mom, from Portland. 

We had lunch at Round Prairie: there was a black bear behind us, three goats on the rocks in front of us, and stupid traffic/crowds. We went to Slough Creek after where we had bugs, a beautiful view, and an interesting perspective of the sage den to scope. We took a nap at Picnic, ate some dinner there and then went to Round Prairie to look for 1228 and the Shrimp Lake pack. We had another bear and stupid traffic so we left.

Next, we stopped at Exclosure to look for the Molly's wolf again. We had no luck but saw a coyote and prairie dogs. We had a brown black bear on the way home, much to our annoyance because the traffic stopped in both directions.

Taking tomorrow off.

Junction Butte Pack and Blacktail Plateau Haiku

June 28, 2024: Morning

We got up at 4:30 to a clear sky and made it to Dave's Hill at Slough by 6:10. We both agreed it was a better view from there than anywhere else. We immediately found 1479F in front of the right-most tree.

At 6:45, we noticed a collared adult gray hidden in the sage near the black. At 7:10, the black pup and then the gray came to nurse on 907F. A second gray adult lay nearby in a pancake but eventually popped its head up at 7:30. We had six out of the seven pack members, all but the alpha male: 907F, 1479F, the two pups, and two grays (one collared and one not).  1479F went to the water for a drink and the puppies followed her half way. A little later, 1479F and 907F took the puppies over to some rocks to the right of the trees to play, then bedded down again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/eREt18GqbAPcHx4T9

Evening

We headed for the park at 5:00 and drove the Blacktail Plateau road to find a spot to have dinner. We stopped at the top and placed our chairs in the meadow of purple flowers and enjoyed the view of the mountains, cottony clouds, blue sky, and sunshine. There, we wrote a haiku poem and ate burgers and potato salad. 

Evening on the Blacktail Plateau Haiku

Clouds graze the blue sky.

A stout breeze tossles the grass.

Bird calls fill the air.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ZdcmuRHo6fPHHK8n7

At 8:00 pm, we stopped at Round Prairie East to look for 1228F and her Shrimp Lake pack. There, we saw a black bear and her three cubs. All were munching and the cubs practiced climbing trees, walking on logs, and general scampering around. We also saw a lovely hawk and a mountain goat.

On the drive back, we saw a heron next to the road in a stream and stopped for a few shots.