Hiking adventure

Sunday afternoon I was able to get a backcountry camping permit for Monday evening at North Fork. Its a popular area for backpacking because of the scenery and a longer loop trail is possible. I started at String Lake and walked along the inflow creek to Jenny Lake. Birds !! This area burned several years ago and now provides open shrubby habitat for birds and small mammals. I saw a female Black-headed Grosbeak, a Williamson's Sapsucker, a MacGillivray's Warbler, and a Western Tanager feeding a young one. An Osprey sat on her platform nest watching me walk by.
The trail climbs up to Inspiration Point and continues into Cascade Canyon. I had hiked part of the canyon before, on this trip I walked the 4 miles to the western end and turned north. The designated camping area is in an incredibly beautiful scenic valley. Alpine vistas, flowers, snow on the high peaks, and a rushing snow-melt creek. After 7 miles I set my pack down on a grassy spot and just watched the scene for awhile.
........In the morning Pine Siskins were squeaking and chattering along with Yellow-rumped Warblers. There was frost on the grass and ground-hugging leaves. At least 30 F !! I took a walk and found Pikas on the rock slide giving alarm calls. Big 2-legged creature !! Squeak, squeak !! I also saw Clark's Nutcrackers, Mt Chickadees, and heard an Olive-sided Flycatcher.
Hiking out I came by some other hikers who had just spotted a Mama Moose and her calf in the forest. !!!!!! Closer to Jenny Lake I took the Horse Trail short-cut that avoids the crowds at Inspiration Point. The disadvantage is, of course, I needed to watch my footing around the horse droppings. A loud sudden rustling in the brush caught my attention. A Black Bear running into the forest, away from me !!!! No bear spray needed. Such a day for wildlife.

A Visit

My brother, Gary, and Nan have started their around the world bicycle adventure. On Saturday they stopped in to visit me for a few days at GT park. Saturday and Sunday afternoons they busied themselves with bicycle maintenance, journals, and other useful things while I was working. Gary cooked wonderful meals for us on his stove using the BakePacker device for making bread and other good things. Monday and Tuesday are my days off, so we went off to have fun.
We rented an aluminum canoe and brought my kayak to Jackson Lake for a morning of paddling. The morning was so pretty with the mountains shining and the water sparkling. Common Mergansers popped up from foraging to look at us, and a family of Otters was exploring the shoreline bushes. The 2 young ones were most curious. Nan took some .photos.
Afternoon found us in Jackson Hole looking for a camping site in the nearby National Forest. Jackson is such a heavily moneyed area that the authorities have banned camping the portions of the NF closest to the city.
Tuesday morning we did a short hike up a creek, found a few birds, and returned to Jackson for errands and Internet at the library. Late afternoon we found a wonderful camping site near Mosquito Creek. The mosquitoes are not as bad now, July was worse for biting insects. Wednesday morning we parted company. Gary had found a backroad going south to avoid traffic, and I needed to return to Colter Bay for my afternoon shift at Cabin Office.
.......Over the past 2 weeks I have noticed signs of the end of Summer. Forests are quiet with only an occasional bird calling. Lupine and Coralroot blooms are fading, being replaced by seed pods. All the rayed yellow composite flowers are dropping their petals and Salsify is showing large fluffy seed heads. Nighttime temperatures are dropping below 40 F.
Tourist season is still in full swing. Overnight accommodations are filled to capacity every night.
......Photos of Gary cooking Cranberry-nut bread on his stove for breakfast. The brown building behind is the dorm I Iive in. Photo #2 is Nan in my kayak on Jackson Lake.

Summer in GT Park

Snow is melting fast, melt water cascades are thundering down the mountainsides, feeding the lakes and Snake River. Saturday morning I joined a Ranger-led paddling trip on Jenny Lake. So beautiful to be out early in the morning !! The mountains sparkled, the water was calm, and we could hear the roaring of 3 snow melt streams in different canyons on the west side of the lake.
.........Wildflowers are simply spectacular now. I have taken so many photos, its a good thing I am not buying film. Butterflies are out, too: Swallowtails, and little Blues, and many more. Mosquitoes are even more abundant. We need more bats to eat mosquitoes !!
.........Moose and Bears continue to entertain visitors with their presence near the main road. Saturday morning as I was driving to Jenny Lake for the paddling trip, I came upon a large bear in to middle of the road. Mama Grizzley !! Her 3 little ones were bouncing on the side of the road. She moved off the road to let me pass.
This morning I hiked along Arizona Creek in the north end of the park. Aspen leaves were quaking in the wind, a verdant meadow was filled with flowers, and the willows looked chewed on. Further along I found an area where 2 Moose had spent time sitting in the shade of a large conifer.
One of the joys of the past 10 days has been an indoor activity. A co-worker purchased the DVD of the Ken Burns film The National Parks: America's Best Idea, and is letting each of us borrow the set. Oh my, what a wonderful video. I was totally entranced watching it, and the wonderful Special Features at the end of each DVD.
........We had a rainstorm yesterday and the mountains are misty. Photos from Jenny Lake, and of Symmetry Spire.

Cascade Canyon

The Lake is now at 102 % full, overflowing into Willow bushes, trees on the shore, and Picnic Beach. I went paddling with 2 co-workers on Friday morning. Channels that had been narrow and shallow were now deep and wide. We paddled around a few islands and headed back to Colter Bay. Clouds were building and looking interesting. Later on those clouds dissipated and did not rain.
A week ago I took the shuttle boat across Jenny Lake and began hiking up to Inspiration Point. The torrents of snow melt had taken out a bridge, so the trail was re-routed up a hillside. Chipmunks were begging from hikers at the Point. I continued on thru the forest and into Cascade Canyon. Its a beautiful alpine canyon, carved by the rushing snow melt each Spring, with snowfields high on the steep mountain slopes. The surprise bird was a MacGillivray's Warbler.
Penstemon is blooming in many colors, as are the Columbine. Buckwheat comes in 2 colors, several types of bright yellow daisy-like composites are growing in different places and Lupine is abundant.

mid July

Birds are fewer now. Golden-crowned Kinglets and Yellow-rumped Warblers who were singing through-out the day when I arrived, are busy feeding young ones and not singing much. A lonely Warbling Vireo is singing during the afternoons outside Cabin Office. Jackson Lake is rising fast and moving into the lowland bushes. Most years Snake River is flowing less than 10,000 cfs, now the flow is nearly 3 times normal.
This morning I launched Dolphin-kayak into an oxbow of the Snake River that is still connected to the river at one point. I was able to paddle between the Willow bushes into areas that usually don't have much water. The mountains are always looking down at the river. Its still surprising to me to see Barrow's Goldeneyes in quiet corners of the oxbow. The other avian excitement was a Trumpeter Swan who trumpeted at me as I came around an island !!! Canada Geese goslings are mostly grown up. I did not see any little ducklings today. A Spotted Sandpiper had 2 little chicks hidden in the flooded grass near the shore when I came in for landing.
........2 days ago I drove to Lupine Meadows trailhead intending to explore the meadow. In front of me, as I parked, was the steep mountainside of Teewinot. A rushing snowmelt stream was cascading down the rocks and disappearing into the Willows and Aspens. Finding an informal trail, I decided to hike up a short distance, It was a spectacular hike and I could not stop until I was halfway up the steep slope. Wildflowers were everywhere, and Balsamroot covered part of the slope with a bright yellow carpet. A Green-tailed Towhee sang from the top of a young Spruce, and a Mountain Bluebird perched briefly on a tall bush.
.......I learned later that my "informal trail" was part of the approach climbers use when climbing to the summit of Teewinot. 50 years ago my Dad climbed Teewinot with some friends.

On being an Employee

Colter Bay employee housing is mostly 2-story buildings, divided into Men's dorms and Women's dorms. I live in the one-story building for the "over 55" and retired people, who actually go to sleep at night. The Rec room is a favorite hang-out for the younger employees, with TV sports, a pool table, and bring your own beer. The buildings are surrounded by pine trees which makes taking photos difficult. Just imagine some un-exciting brown buildings with windows and a door at each end.
My first room-mate lasted about 2 weeks. She treated me the same way she treated the guests. Two weeks after I moved to a different room, she was asked to leave the park. I had room 11 to myself for 2 weeks, then a young woman from Turkey moved in. She stayed for about 10 days, until the Housing Director found a room for her at the Jackson Lake employee area. (closer to her work location)
Each room at North Rim had a full bathroom, the rooms at Big Bend Park had a sink with the bathroom down the hall. The bedrooms here at GT Park have neither. The bathroom is down the hall.
I solved the camera problem by setting up the old XP machine on the now empty 2nd bed. The old camera wanted to talk to the old computer, not this new-fangled Windows 7 laptop. I did lose a set of photos in the last incompatibility rout.
Most of the guests I talk to during the day/ evening are happy to be here and enjoying the park. "Could we have another pillow? ......Where is the horse-back riding ?.......What time does the (whatever) open ? Only a few dislike our rustic cabins, cannot sleep in a room without a TV, or an AC unit. "My cabin does not look like the photos on your website .........We can't see the lake from our bedroom......... Well, you can't make everybody happy, especially when they have decided not to be.
I had today off so I set out to go hiking at Phelps Lake. 5 miles down the road a large group of cars had formed another Wildlife Jam. Its usually worth stopping to see what is going on. The Elk herd had gathered in a meadow surrounded by willow bushes. Young calves are bigger now, faster, and more difficult catch. Suddenly 6 Wolves came out of the willows and began chasing the herd down the length of the field. Experienced with these Wolves, the Elk stopped suddenly and reversed direction. After a few laps of the field, the Wolves closed in on a young calf and pulled it down. The adult Elk came back on the aggressive, kicking and distracting the Wolves until the young one got away. It was an amazing show.
Photos of Spotted Coralroot in bloom, and the Snake River in early morning.

Time Off

The schedule finally turned in my favor, and I was given consecutive days off. I packed up tent, sleeping bag, binoculars and camera and headed north. Yellowstone Park was full of people, as usual. The day was incredibly windy, at one point I was nearly blown off the boardwalk by a strong blast of wind. I stopped at a few of the geothermal features. It was an odd sensation to have the cold windiness on my back, and have the hot breath of a geyser on my front. The wind blew the steam and water droplets from the Old Faithful Geyser onto the visitors.
..........I continued north into Montana and spent the night. I was following reports from the ebird program of grassland birds found in places of good prairie habitat. In the morning the air was cool and the wind was down. I drove another hour north to the dirt road off Hwy 191 mentioned in the reports and started looking for birds in the short grass prairie. Meadowlarks and Horned Larks were singing. LONGSPURS made occasional song flights into the sky. Chestnut-collared Longspurs landed on the fence, while the McCown's preferred to land on the road. Previously I had seen these birds only in winter drab plumage. It was exciting to see the males in breeding plumage.
The landscape was beautiful. Prairie grass stretched as far as I could see in all directions. Little flowers bloomed among the grasses, and a rugged snow-covered mountain range rose up in the west. By 9:30 am the strong gusty winds had returned and I went back to the safety of the truck. I wanted to visit another location the next morning, so I needed to wait out the approaching weather.
Eastlick Road turned out to be another gem. The storm had passed during the night and the morning was calm and clear. I found Vesper Sparrows, Lark Buntings, Meadowlarks, and Horned Larks as I walked the old road past an abandoned farmstead. As I turned the corner to another farm road an Eastern Kingbird flew up and SPRAGUE'S PIPITS flew down to the road. Long billed Curlews flew past and called in alarm, Prairie Dogs similarly barked their alarm calls from burrow entrances. I watched the Pipits for awhile before continuing to a flooded field pond ahead. A male Eared Grebe was swimming past a large Mallard family. Mama Mallard had at least 10 little ducklings following her. The males were sleeping on the shore, and preening.
On my return trip to GT Park I took Hwy 212 into the northeast corner of Yellowstone. Beartooth Scenic Hwy climbs to nearly 11,000 feet elevation and has spectacular alpine scenery. Snow is still deep in places, ranging from 6 inches to snowbanks towering over the truck. At the top of the pass mountain winds had cleared off some patches of tundra where tiny alpine flowers were blooming.