Yellowstone National Park - September 2018 - Part Three

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The Grand Adventure - Summer 2018 - Part Eight

Wolves, bison, and speed goats, oh my!

Bottom line - Yellowstone is an amazing place. Put up with the crowds. Visit Yellowstone.

Ted & Donna were, again, off before sunup on their quest to watch wolves. We had only a couple of miles to drive to our trailhead so after our morning walk around the campground and breakfast we set out.

Our destination was the sulphur springs up Cache Creek. The round trip was around ten or eleven miles without much elevation gain or loss, so this would be a relaxing day. We could linger at anything that caught our eye. Our plans almost came to a sudden halt.

I caught up to the Lady at the bridge over Soda Butte Creek. She was looking into the deep run beneath the bridge and chatting with a gentleman all decked out in his fly fishing gear.

"Where can he get a fishing permit for the day? The closest place?" I overheard her ask the fellow as I got within earshot.

"Probably the closest spot," the man replied, "Is up at Silver Gate, the northeast entrance to the Park."

"You thinking about fly fishing?" I asked the Lady and smiled over to the gentleman.

"Look at these Yellowstone Cutthroat!" the Lady exclaimed.

She pointed out trout after trout. "He says they go up to 20 inches here. It's all catch and release fly fishing only and he fishes nymphs in the morning and switches to dries if he starts seeing adults."

"So are we changing plans, driving up to Silver Gate, getting a permit, and going fishing?" I asked.

"No, we've already started on our hike," she answered, "But we're coming back on a trip just to fly fish. We can have fun here. I want you to fish more! "

Soda Butte Creek flows into the Lamar River in the broad Lamar Valley, one of the Park's hotspots for wildlife viewing.

We headed up the Lamar River to Cache Creek.

We looked back down Lamar Valley dotted with speed goats and bison.

We met a young couple hiking out back to the trailhead. Both of us tend to assess people we meet on the trail. This was a urban couple as shown by their clothes and footwear. You've seen clothing like theirs. It looks outdoorsy but the main goal is fashion and appearance. And, it was new. We are not judgmental in our assessments but just paying attention. They both had small daypacks. These two were hiking out early in the day with very little with them. When and from where did they start?

Most folks we meet on the trail are talkative and very friendly, happy to share information along with how happy they are to be out in the backcountry. These two were not friendly. They did not stop, just gave a quick "Hello".

My guess is they were part of a guided horse packing trip. This was their last day and were hiking out on their own and in a hurry to catch a plane ride.

Why do I mention these two? I have a saying that I borrowed from Bruce Tremper, one of my favorite instructors when I attended National Avalanche School - "It's our habits that save our lives."

We need to pay attention when in the backcountry - everywhere, for that matter - and a good habit is to look behind often. It's a simple thing.

I wonder if these two had looked behind and back down the trail if they would have seen the wolf that had followed them for over a mile and a half.  50 yards up the trail from our meeting the couple their shoe tracks were covered by wolf tracks.

Perhaps we would have seen the wolf slip away if we hadn't been checking out the clothes on the urban hikers?  And, I wonder how the couple would have felt if they knew a wolf was right behind them, quietly following.

This was glorious terrain to travel through.

We reached our turnoff for the Cache Creek Trail.

The Lady, as always, kept us "found" on her map - "It's our habits that save our lives."

From this point on we were in a canyon. In places the vegetation was thick.

Fall was also evident with the changing colors.

Cache Creek was beautiful below us the few times it was visible.

We have years of experience with close encounters with large animals while on foot in the backcountry - black bear, grizzly, elk, sheep, pronghorn, mountain goats, moose. Meeting these creatures in their territory, on their terms, up close and personal, is an intimate and thrilling experience. We have a great deal of respect for these animals.

Be sure and read up and learn all the precautions and regulations that agencies provide for your and the wildlife's safety. Make it a habit. "It's our habits that save our lives."

You need to be ready for what could be around the next corner.

The Lady stopped dead in her tracks in the trail in front of me after the deep grunt, out of sight right ahead of us in the thicket of small lodgepole pines. "Bison or grizzly?" she quickly asked.

I was right behind her. Nothing moved ahead of us. "Let's move back and to the side," I said carefully in the same volume and tone as our ongoing conversation - noise - when we moved through places with limited visibility. "We may be able to see it and give it an opportunity to see us better."

A large bison was in the trail ahead of us. It saw us and had no reaction. We continued to move back and to find a detour around it. We were near our destination and it was time to head across country anyway. The lodgepoles gave way to an open meadow, busy with several of the bison's buddies.

When you are on foot and one of these beasts are a few yards away, you have a new respect for how really big these creatures are.

We threaded our way around bison as we worked our way to Cache Creek. Wahb Springs, a sulphur springs erupts right in the bed of the river. This is what we were looking for.

As we reached the cut bank, the spring was directly below us. The Lady's navigation skills are excellent.

We moved along the cut bank to find a way down. The biggest bison of them all blocked our way.

He was alert but appeared unconcerned. We looked for any sign of anxiety, tenseness, belligerence, or concern about our presence - breathing, tail movement, ears, eyes, trembling. I believe it is very important to have a calm and confident demeanor during close encounters like this. We moved slowly and carefully by and dropped down to the springs.

This was an amazing place, a place where all your sulphur dreams can come true. If sulphur denotes hell and the devil, both were very close by. The water was cold. This was a cold vent that opened in the creek bed. We moved upstream and away from the fumes - the "Devil's Breath" we simultaneously named it. The water was clear and clean upstream so we soaked our feet, snacked, drank water, and watched for wildlife. We saw no other people during our time along Cache Creek.

We threaded our way back through the bison and hiked back down the Cache Creek Trail. Thunderheads were building to the south and to the east. It was time to head back.

Rain came as we reached the trail intersection. We put the rain flies on our packs and I stashed the camera inside. We had only met a few people on the Lamar River Trail and no one on our hike up Cache Creek. This was the Yellowstone experience we loved.

As we hiked back to the trailhead we saw two people ahead of us, also hiking out. We slowly gained on them and caught up as they stopped for the young woman to take photos of a close by group of speed goats.

We met Kyle and Kat from Oxford, England. They have been together for a year and Kyle, especially, is stricken with the wanderlust bug. He works long enough to get money for the next trip. Kat is enjoying it also, seeing the world. She is scheduled to return to her job in February. They are on that instantgram thing. Take a look for them if you know how to navigate in those parts.

They had planned to backpack for the night but the threatening thunderstorms had turned them around.

We watched the pronghorn buck, marking his territory and claiming this group of lady speed goats as his. He pawed the earth where other bucks had urinated. He ripped sage apart with his horns. The rut is coming to Yellowstone. I could not get a good photo without him peeing on something.

We had such an enjoyable mile and a half or so hiking back with Kyle and Kat. The Lady mostly chatted and walked with Kyle and I enjoyed Kat's company. Their accents and word usage was lyrical. It was easy and a joy to listen to. Their views on the world, the West, nature were informative and insightful.  As we neared Soda Butte Creek, Kat had so many questions about fly fishing - something she was planning for on another stop in their travels in the West. Yes, she won my heart .

We talked on with our new friends at the trailhead until it was time to bid farewell. We wish Kyle and Kat our best and safe travels.

The Teds were back at Pebble Creek when we returned. They were thrilled. They had been "on to wolves" in wonderful wildlife watching. It had been a great day for all of us.

I chatted with a young couple from Truckee camped near us, also in a pop up truck camper. They were here for the fly fishing and liked to hike a bit to leave other anglers behind. They shared a few secrets with me.  It looks like I can make the Lady happy with a return to Yellowstone with an emphasis on giving her ghost net a workout.

One of the boys walked into the next camp and used the picnic table as a scratching post.

That cable is to a deployed portable solar panel. A bad idea with buffalo about.

Another male bison showed up in the campground meadow. He was not welcomed by the two residents. Buffalo raced back and forth and into the campsites. It was exciting. Ted hid behind our camper.

It was our last night in Yellowstone National Park. We walked in the evening and out into the vast valley of Soda Butte Creek. It was quiet and we were alone.

We said goodbye to our friends Ted & Donna and thanked them for the invitation to join them. They are special people. They hoped to be "on to wolves" early the next morning before beginning their journey home. We left at dawn also after our morning coffee. We were off to do something insanely civilized for us - a sit down breakfast at the Lake Yellowstone Hotel.

With a nice breakfast in our bellies and a short walk around the grounds, it was time for us to begin our journey home......................................