Into Bear Country

This scenic backcountry valley harbors waterbourne parasites, hot springs that make the creeks run as acidic as lemon juice, and Yellowstone’s densest population of grizzly bears. Several days ago, Jamie and I headed in to look for otter activity. Of course, the trail is nowhere near the creek, so we had to navigate downed trees, steep riverbanks, and trecherous stream crossings on the way.

All over, there were bear beds, bear scats, and scratched trees. And wolf tracks (above). When you see a wolf track, you can just tell, it’s so much bigger than a coyote. We also saw a helicopter overhead, flying to fight a fire further up the valley. Later, it started to hail/snow.

Today, I went further up Pelican creek, helping another researcher retrieve some fish cages. After less than an hour of hiking, we saw a grizzly on the trail (small black dot in picture). Far off, but still much too close. Close enough to necessitate a wide detour around the trail. Further up, thermal features had spewed hot water into the creek, killing all of the fish. On the way out, it hailed.

Yet for all the scariness of the Pelican Valley, it is quite an amazing place. Seeing bear and bison is more fascinating when we are in their spaces rather than they in ours. Wolf kills and carcasses littered the valley, and we found elk skulls with enormous antlers (I honestly don’t see how the can hold up their heads with that weight). As we hiked out, two sandhill cranes flew out of the tall grass, and a pair of osprey circled over our heads, protecting their nest from us intruders.