Scoutmaster banning scouts from meeting!? Is this right?

[GernBlansten]

Packsaddle, you are making Yellowstone sound like a place not to be missed!

I live in the west and we never even considered it. Always sounded like a place that old people in motorhomes go to when the weather is nice. Or folk from the mid-west hit when the kids are out of school. You know, like the Corn Palace in South Dakota.

 

We (the family) have have been planning our fall break in October and I just might introduce Yellowstone to the home boys as a possible destination. About a 5 hour trip for us, might be a bit cold but that makes it less crowded eh? Never seen a griz eat a baby moose. That would be way cool.

[packsaddle]

Gern, there is no place on earth that can compare with the diversity of wonders you'll find there. But if you go at the wrong time, you will be left with a really bad taste for those road-choking masses of conspicuous consumption.

My favorite time is May, right when snow melt has swollen the streams and the wildlife are probably the most active and concentrated of any time. I am going to take a chance and clip into this message a little essay I wrote a while back. You guys can play editor on me if you want but it captures just a little of the flavor of that time.

My next favorite time is right around the time of closing for much of the park, around the first of September. One of my first treks there as a twenty-something was during that time of year. I walked about a hundred miles in the back-country and only met three people the whole time. Paradise. I got lucky and didn't get caught by an early snow, though. Might chance it again someday. But that time was great, there were almost no tourists still around and it was absolutely beautiful to watch a cloud go by in the distance, painting a white swath across the forest.

BTW, I didn't mention the fishing. When I was really young you could catch your fill of cutthroat in just a few minutes. But someone illegally got lake trout started in Yellowstone Lake and they threaten to wipe out the cutthroats there. The only upside to this is...you can keep every lake trout you can catch out of the lake, no limit, actually it's illegal I think to put them back. Like they say in the card game, Go Fish.

Here goes:

 

When I arrived, the snow was still piled high and it was below freezing every night. During the many trips into the Beartooth Mountains and into Yellowstone, the wildlife seemed more abundant than at any other time of the year. Everything was active and starting the new season. This was the best time of year to be in the park.

 

The morning sun was bright at this altitude and I was on the trail as early as possible. I would take the less traveled trails to gain access to areas that were rarely visited. Sometimes I left the trail completely and just climbed slopes that seemed endless, many new things could be discovered way away from the roads and trails. Crowds had not arrived so the animals were less concerned with humans. But when hiking off-trail I had to be careful because I, too, could be considered food.

 

In the morning, mountain goats dotted the cliffs above, sometimes big horn sheep stood on hills opposite mine, and the river valleys were always teeming with bison, elk, deer, and pronghorn antelope. This is also the time of year for new life and the bison and elk, especially, were dropping their calves. Everywhere there were mothers and babies continuing their cycle of life. I spent each day watching this panorama.

 

But this is also a time for the predators; black bears, grizzly bears, coyotes, and wolf packs. They had babies of their own. And they feasted on the other wildlife this time of year. I found bones of different ages nearly everywhere. Every place here is a killing ground.

 

One evening as night approached, the Lamar Valley was still a place teeming with wildlife. In the lower flats on either side of the Lamar River, the snow was gone and there were so many animals that it was like a scene from Africa...except that we were at 7000 feet elevation and the slopes went up to 10,000 feet and were still covered with snow. The snow was melting and the rivers and streams were swollen with muddy, icy water. Some had flooded into the surrounding areas and all were rushing dangerously. This afternoon it was especially cold, dark, and rainy.

 

An elk cow and her calf were on the other side of the Lamar River with many others. Bison were everywhere with their babies as well. The fog of their breath was visible in the cold, damp air. With every breath it blew away in the wind. A wolf pack had a kill a short distance down the valley and they could be heard as they feasted on their prey. Wolves and bears feast this time of year, especially on babies. They separate a mother from her baby and then move in to kill. Every place here is a killing ground.

 

The elk cow wanted to cross the swollen river with her calf. It was cold, wet, and getting dark. She entered the river and was immediately swept away by the current. Her massive, powerful body was barely able to fight through the swift current but she eventually made it to the other side. She emerged exhausted. Then she called her baby.

 

The calf called back and approached the river. The icy water was deep and swift. The rain was cold. The calf tried to enter and turned back after nearly being swept away. The cow called again, her eyes wild with alarm, and the calf responded with great distress and tried again. And again it failed. This continued for some time as the sky became darker and darker. The calf simply could not survive the river and it seemed to know this. But the elk cow could not seem to understand. They called to each other and then, inexplicably, the cow gave up calling and went on, as if driven by some other force.

 

The calf had been abandoned. It called and called. It tried the river and could not cross. The wolves were moving again. Perhaps in the calf's mind a decision was made. It gave up trying to cross the river where it would certainly be killed. Instead, it kneeled on the bank and waited its fate. Darkness descended upon everything.

 

In the dark, the only sounds were the rain, the river, and an occasional call from the calf for a mother that was no longer there...and the wolves. Eventually, wolves found the calf, its last cry recorded as it was devoured to make new life for baby wolves. The river was still icy, swift, and choked with mud. The wind was still strong and the rain was still cold. And the night was very, very dark.