Elk Hunting

Earlier this month I spent quite a few days "hunting elk."  Not hunting in the traditional sense, but the kind of 'hunting' the marmot hunter engages in.  Estes Park is one of the best places to view elk especially in the fall/winter/spring.  The elk come down from the high country, and can be seen in large herds and smaller groups throughout the valleys in the park.  Most people see elk from the road in their cars, sometimes at quite a distance with binoculars.  Very few go hiking in the woods and see them up close:

This little 'spike' was just about to cross the trail I was on.  While most of the meadows in RMNP are closed to human travel while the rut is going on, there are plenty of trails you can hike that go through prime elk habitat.  The young bull above was hanging out on the periphery of a harem.  There are usually a few smaller bulls that hang out this way, hoping to sneak in and get it on.  Usually the big bull chases them until they're a comfortable distance away, but there was no threat from this youngster.

I watched the large bull above chomp on grass and occasionally herd his harem.  Eventually the herd got too far away, and I decided to head back to my car.  It couldn't have been much more than 5 minutes later that I stumbled across another big bull with a harem:

Though he is one big wapiti, he's only a 6x5 as the last tine (point) on the right antler has broken off.  This seems to be fairly common, as I saw quite a few larger bulls with asymmetrical antlers.  I imagine they break when fighting for dominance, but they may also break when sharpening them in preparation for battle.  Plus, if you've ever seen a big bull walking through dense woods (as I have), you can imagine how they might break in other ways.

I don't know if this bull was just more confident than others I've seen, but he was completely disinterested in me.  He was mainly concerned with eating.  He looked over at his harem occasionally, but besides bugling a few times, he made no effort to chase off any of the smaller bulls, nor did he sniff at any of the cows or try to herd them in any way.  At one point he gave this smaller bull the ice grill, but then went back to chomping on grass:

I didn't see a single person hiking that day, but I saw a ton of elk.  Elk aren't the only animal you can find hiking the 'low' country trails.  A day earlier, I saw four coyotes crossing a meadow.  This one briefly posed for me:

With a little patience, you can usually find something.  Here's a mule deer buck I encountered in the woods:

But if you just want to see elk, forget the National Park and forget hiking, just drive around Estes Park.  The golf course is good place to start.  If you come up empty, just head to the ball fields:

The biggest bulls I've seen have been around town.  This guy was a legit 7-point bull and I found him at the softball fields.  He had an absolutely massive harem, plus a plethora of well-watered green grass to enjoy.

Now, you don't get the same experience of encountering them in the wild, but you definitely get an experience.  A man from Texas remarked to me, "you don't see this everyday," to which I responded, "you do if you live in Estes Park."  While the elk herds in town always attract a crowd (with all manner of idiots present), there are no prohibitions as to where you can go, how far away you have to be, etc.  One day I hope to see an elk deservedly attack someone.  Even without any goring, there is plenty of fascinating behavior to observe.

This bull had been chased off by the 7-point bull (a couple of photos back).  He wandered around the outside of the field for awhile until he found this convenient open gate.  I saw a distant cow hop the fence at one point, but this was definitely the easier route.

He walked over to this soccer goal post, where he watched his nemesis for a couple of minutes.

Once he determined the coast was clear, he wandered over to this cow and tried to sniff her butt.  She was very much uninterested and promptly walked away.  Maybe next year fella.

I couldn't resist one more picture of this bull.  He may be the largest I seen to date.  I can't imagine carrying around antlers like that, but I'm not an elk, so I guess I don't have to worry...  At one point a cow was standing on the pitchers mound, unfortunately I wasn't at the right angle to get a picture.  It's hard to catch all the action with these large herds, since they're spread out and you never know where to focus your attention.  After watching them for awhile, I finally packed it in and went home.  Another successful elk hunt.

Fall in the Rockies

Since we're about to be buried by the first major snowstorm of the season, I thought it would be good to look back on our first fall in Boulder.  To me, there are two things that define fall in the Rockies: aspens and the rut!!  My friend Larry from Brooklyn visited us at the beginning of the month, and got a little taste of both.  On our Tour de Colorado we passed this spectacular view of Lime Creek in the San Juan Mountains:

Aspens are basically the only deciduous tree at higher elevations here.  There are others trees that shed their leaves in Colorado, but once you get into the mountains, it's pretty much just aspens and conifers (evergreens).  Earlier that same day, we stopped to photograph this view of Engineer Mountain:

A few days later, I went to Caribou Ranch outside Nederland to photograph more aspens:

Aspens mostly turn a yellow/orange color, though you do see red ones occasionally.

Which brings me to the rut!!!  I think the elk rut is the most impressive of all the charismatic megafauna.  I'd also like to see bighorn sheep ramming (which would likewise be quite impressive), but so far have had no luck (and probably won't).  Male elk gather in the fall and compete to establish harems for breeding.  Only mature bulls (6-point or larger antlers) have a chance at snagging ladies.

Larry and I saw this bull in RMNP as he herded his harem across Trail Ridge Road.  I was surprised to see him this high (almost 12,000 ft), as elk usually retreat to the lower elevations for the rut.

One of the most exciting aspects is when males bugle to attract females and challenge other bulls.  It is one of the most distinct sounds in nature, and not what you'd expect from such a large animal.  "Get at me!"

Bulls also engage in antler wrestling to establish dominance.  These bulls below must have been practicing for next year:

They were only 5-point bulls, and didn't have any harem game.  At one point a similarly sized bull came over and seemed to be refereeing.

Elk behavior is fascinating.  This bull watched intently as the cow in the background chewed on what appeared to be a bone:

More commonly, a bull will go sniff the butt of a cow:

I believe this is to see if the female is in estrus.  Despite seeing some bulls with gigantic harems, I've yet to see any bull 'get lucky.'

Fall also brings one more change: substantial fresh snow at higher elevations.  This is Mt. Ypsilon in the Mummy Range:

There will be a lot more snow real soon!

Yellowstone Day 3

Our final day in Yellowstone started with a tour on a historic White Motor Company yellow bus.  Here is our swagged-out crew posing for a photo.  Thanks to Kourtney (our driver) for the photo.

At the end of the tour, we caught Old Faithful one last time:

Kourtney had mad knowledge of geysers, and hooked us up with some good places to explore.  On her advice we walked over to Black Sand Pool, which had been exhibiting some unusual behavior recently.  Every few minutes a menacing thumping could be heard far below us, and the ground would shake as if some heavy machinery was operating nearby.  Normally the pool is inactive.  It was an odd sensation when the ground shook, and I was glad to leave after a few thumping cycles.  On the way back, we passed the far less ominous Opalescent Pool near the Black Sand Basin parking lot:

Again taking Kourtney's advice, we drove to the Fairy Falls trailhead in order to view Grand Prismatic Spring.  After a short walk, we climbed a hillside and were rewarded with this spectacular view:

This is definitely the best place to view Grand Prismatic; it's far better than the boardwalk trail we had taken earlier.  At this point, Laura's parents headed towards West Yellowstone (and home), and we drove with my parents to West Thumb.  The West Thumb Geyser Basin isn't very large or active, but it is quite scenic since it's right on the shore of Yellowstone Lake:

After a quick tour of the West Thumb Basin, we headed towards Cody, Wyoming where we would spend the night.  Our last (mini) beast jam was for this rugged and thugged bison on the way out of the park:

Yellowstone Day 2

After a night spent dreaming of large mammals, we hit the road in search of more adventure.  During a brief visit to the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone, we overheard talk of wolves in the Hayden Valley and quickly headed south.  While there were no wolves to be found, we did spot a very distant grizzly bear on the far west side of the valley!  Sadly, I have no photos as he was too far away, but it was awesome just watching him lope across the meadow.

After an uneventful trip back north, we stopped at Tower Falls where Laura and I walked down to the Yellowstone River.  The large yellow cliffs on the far side of the river are one of many formations that give Yellowstone its name.

After lunch in Gardiner Montana, we took a 'family' photo at the Roosevelt Arch with a newly added temporary relation.  This is the north entrance to the park.

Back on the road, we encountered an elk jam near the Mammoth Hot Springs campground.  It's mating season and the bull elk are assembling their harems.  This good looking male bugled just as we pulled up, then herded his ladies across the road.

After watching the action for a little while, we drove into town, where we encountered this big bull:

He had a prime spot on the nicely manicured green grass - right in the middle of town!  After scanning for threats to his breeding dominance, he finally decided cars and people were no match for his 6-point rack, and laid down in the grass near his collection of ladies.

At this point, we pressed on towards the Lamar Valley to continue our megafauna auto-tour.  Right before the Yellowstone River bridge, we passed this lone bison walking down the middle of the road.  Just as he passed us, he decided to switch lanes and oppose oncoming traffic.

The Lamar Valley is a great place to see wildlife.  In addition to the ever-present bison, there are opportunities to see pronghorn, elk, bears, wolves, and coyotes, in addition to many smaller animals.

At one point I thought I saw a pack of wolves emerge from the woods, but it was just a group of pronghorn.  Even so, the late afternoon light was magical for photography, especially with all the dramatic clouds.

After turning around and heading back towards Tower Junction, we got stuck in a massive bison jam.  There are quite a few large herds in the Lamar Valley, and one group always seems to be blocking the road.

It was awesome watching these humongous beasts pass by.  There were also quite a few calves still staying close to their mothers.  After enjoying the delay, the road finally cleared and we headed back towards Canyon Village.

On the way back, we witnessed this awesome sunset as we approached Dunraven Pass.  Despite my best attempts, I couldn't do it justice: the mountaintops literally looked as if they were on fire.  With some regret we returned to our rooms; tomorrow would be our last day in the park before heading to Cody Wyoming.

Yellowstone Day 1

After Matt and Cat's wedding in Big Sky Montana, Laura and I planned to visit Yellowstone National Park for some much anticipated beast viewing!!!  After consuming a months supply of bacon at breakfast on Sunday, we (my parents, Laura, and I) caravaned south with Laura's cousin Tony and wife Erika to the West Yellowstone entrance.  Upon entry, Laura was given this awesome illustrated warning:

It reads: "Warning, Many visitors have been gored by buffalo, Do not approach buffalo."  We were very thankful to have this helpful information, as I had been planning on hugging as many bison as possible!

After meeting up with Laura's parents, we saw this bison grazing by the Firehole River while waiting for the Riverside Geyser to erupt.  Much to my disappointment, no one approached and no one was gored.

After a long wait, the Riverside Geyser finally went off.  Our patience was rewarded with this nice rainbow:

Despite pinpointing the source, I was unable to find any gold...  On the way back to our car we hoped to catch Grand Geyser erupting, but had to settle for Old Faithful instead:

It was getting late, so we left Old Faithful and the Upper Geyser Basin headed for our rooms at Canyon Village.  We passed a herd of elk at West Thumb on Yellowstone Lake:

A little further along, we hit the jackpot: A BEAST JAM!!  Bison are very adept at standing in the road.  At least this one was in the proper lane:

After enjoying our drive-thru safari, we entered the Hayden Valley at dusk.  Unfortunately, a wolf jam was dissipating just as we arrived.  Usually a prime beast jam area, we saw only distant elk and bison, plus a couple of bald eagles.  Thankfully, there would be more opportunities to see wildlife tomorrow.

Tour de Indian

The weekend after climbing Apache and Navajo, we returned to the Indian Peaks for a somewhat easier traverse.  This time we planned to do a circular hike utilizing the two major trailheads at Brainard Lake.  Once again, we left the Long Lake trailhead in the dark, this time headed for Pawnee Pass.  We planned on climbing 3 sub-13,000 ft peaks: Shoshoni Peak (12,967), Pawnee Peak (12,943), and Mount Toll (12,979), with a return via the Mitchell Lake Trail.

Shortly after VERY carefully crossing an ice covered bridge, we were greeted by the first rays of sunshine.  Once we passed treeline, we got our first glimpse of Shoshoni:

Soon we were climbing the switchbacks to Pawnee Pass.  This was a far easier hike than when we did it in early July, as the trail was snow free all the way to the top.

Once at the pass, we climbed an unnamed high point and headed south towards Shoshoni.  After some up and down scrambling, it became a straight forward tundra walk to the summit.

From the summit of Shoshoni, we could see (from left to right) Navajo Peak, Dicker's Peck with the Navajo Snowfield below it, Apache Peak, and Isabelle Glacier below it.  Most of the the route we took last week was visible, and it was cool to see everything from this perspective.

After a short rest, we headed back across the tundra towards Pawnee Pass.

Once at the pass, we made short work of Pawnee Peak, and descended towards the saddle between Pawnee and Mount Toll.  After a fun scramble to the summit, we had a snack and soaked up the views.  To the northeast we could see Mt. Audubon with Blue Lake to the far right:

To complete the hike, we would have to bushwhack down to Blue Lake where we could pick up the trail to Mitchell Lake.  This was the only part of the hike that would require any real route finding.

After hanging out a bit, we began to make our way down.  There hadn't been any marmots on this hike, though we had seen a few distant ptarmigan on the way up Pawnee Peak.  I saw this marmot chilling near Blue Lake a couple of days earlier.  I think many of the marmots are already hibernating, as I've seen fewer and fewer lately.

We did see one more ptarmigan on the way down to Blue Lake.  This time, he was very close!!

He was standing completely still, doing his best I am hiding in plain-sight pose...  Luckily I wasn't a hungry predator, or he would have been lunch.

Further down we encountered some sizable snowfields.  Instead of trying to avoid them, we decided to attempt a glissade.  While it was definitely faster than hiking down, the snow was very rough and made for a less than thrilling descent.

Once past the snowfields, we crossed a wet area above Blue Lake and passed this small tarn:

After skirting the cliffs above the lake, we found some cairns leading us to the trail.  Mount Toll dominates the view from the east side of Blue Lake:

Another view of Mt. Toll and Blue Lake:

It was a quick hike back to the Mitchell Lake trailhead, followed by a half mile of road walking to our car at Long Lake.  No push-ups this time, as Laura and I both agreed that the degree of difficulty didn't warrant them.  Once back in Boulder, we realized this might be our last snow-free, high-country hike of the year.  Next weekend we would be in Montana for Matt's wedding (Laura's brother), followed by a side trip to Yellowstone for some big beast viewing!!!