Yellowstone National Park 2013 Trip Reports
Trip Report ~ Bear & Wolf Sightings ~ by Bill Hamblin
25 August thru 15 September 2013
Glacier National Park Trip Report
~ August 2013 ~
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The bear watching was VERY VERY slow this year. Apparently the hot and dry weather in July and August burnt up most of the berries on the east side of Glacier National Park. So very few bears, particularly grizzlies, to be viewed. The weather was usually warm during my 21 day stay. Morning temperatures from 41 degrees to 61 degrees. Highs of 63 degrees to 87 degrees. We had three nice rains while I was up there. The first came in the middle of the afternoon while I was up the Red Rock Lake trail. I stayed too long to head back and then heard of a bull moose in Fisher Cap Lake, which I went down to see. It rained, hailed, rained in sheets, and blew for an hour. I was only 8 minutes from the Swiftcurrent Inn but was soaked all the way through by the time a made it.
Sunday - 25 August
It took be 7 and 3/4 hours and 475 miles to get to Two Medicine Campground. As I got close, Ralph N. called and was slightly behind me coming up. Found a campground site at Two Medicine for the night, and also stayed there my third night also. All my other nights were spend in Many Glacier Campground. Ralph and I found a nice place to glass for the afternoon and evening on Highway 49 where we both had seen grizzlies and black bears before. At 3:20 p.m. I found a black bear and a cub grazing on berries. At 6:15 p.m. I noticed something black in a clearing about 3/4 mile away. Putting the scope on the spot I found a smaller black wolf and a larger gray wolf. My first wolves in Glacier (actually looking at the map, they could have been about one mile outside of the park). Unfortunately, Ralph did not get to my site before they went out of site. My guess at that time was an adult gray and a this years black pup. Later sightings in my trip would change my opinion to a pair of adult wolves, most likely the two of them were the entire pack.
Monday - 26 August
Back in Many Glacier for the day. At 1:50 p.m. I spotted a small silver grizzly across Lake Sherburne (this is the one that got chased off as a yearling by the sow and called Little Silver). At 6:10 p.m. I found a cinnamon black bear north of the Many Glacier Hotel.
Tuesday - 27 August
Since it was slow at Many Glacier, Ralph and I headed back to Two Medicine for today. At 6:35 a.m. we had a large black bear from our viewing spot on Highway 49. At 7:30 a.m. we watched a black bear farther back off from Highway 49. At 1:00 p.m. Ralph found a cinnamon black bear on the hill across from our Two Medicine campsite. At 6:35 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear near the highway 49 viewing spot. At 8:30 p.m. I found a black bear just off the road near Two Medicine Campground.
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Wednesday - 28 August
Back in Many Glacier for the day. At 9:55 a.m. I spotted a large cinnamon black bear north and east of Sheep Curve. At 7:00 p.m. we had a cinnamon black bear on Grinnell Point.
Thursday - 29 August
From 8:00 a.m. to 10:20 a.m. and again for 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. I had a nice grizzly eating berries on Grinnell Point. During the morning viewing Betsy R. found a cow moose running past the grizzly. It scared both the grizzly and the cow moose.
Friday - 30 August
At 7:00 a.m. a large black bear crossed the road near Poia Lake Trail head. At 8:30 a.m. I spotted a cinnamon black bear on Grinnell Point.
Saturday - 31 August
At 10:30 a.m. I found a cinnamon black bear above Lake Josephine. At 3:30 p.m. Kevin and Barb from Minnesota spotted a black bear on Grinnell Point viewed from the Lake Josephine east trail.
~ September 2013 ~
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Sunday - 01 September
At 8:00 a.m. I found a bear coming over some rocks on Swiftcurrent Mountain -- too far to identify if a grizzly or a black bear. At 9:30 a.m. thru 1:30 p.m. we watched Little Silver grizzly above the Swiftcurrent Inn. In view most of the time, if fact Kevin and Barb ordered pizza and we watched in lawn chairs.
Monday - 02 September
At 2:30 p.m. we watched a large orange ear tagged cinnamon black bear in the river just below the Lake Sherburne Dam cooling off.
Tuesday - 03 September
At 7:00 a.m. I spotted a dark brown black bear crossed road east of Sheep Curve. At 6:30 p.m. we watched a traditional looking grizzly (with the ban of silver around it and behind its shoulders) on Mr. Wilber. At 7:00 p.m. a large grizzly high on Mt. Wilber.
Wednesday - 04 September
At 7:15 p.m. I found a grizzly going over the hill on Mt. Wilber. At 7:30 p.m. we had the traditional grizzly on Mt. Wilber.
Thursday - 05 September
At 6:00 a.m. we had a black bear across the road from the Many Glacier Hotel. At 10:30 a.m. I spotted a large cinnamon black bear on Sheep Curve. At 5:00 p.m. we watched a black bear just off the road near Sheep Curve.
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Friday - 06 September
At 9:00 a.m. we had a small cinnamon black bear on Sheep Curve. At 10:00 a.m. we watched a large black bear at the Poia Lake Trail head. At 6:30 p.m. I spotted a large grizzly on Mt. Wilber.
Saturday - 07 September
Back in the Two Medicine area today (Calvin and Lynette were up and looking for wolves, we set up where I had wolves back on August 25th). At 7:20 a.m. we had a black bear from our viewing place on Highway 49. At 8:30 a.m. we had another black bear from our viewing spot on Highway 49. Returning to Many Glacier in the evening we found a small cinnamon black bear north and east of Sheep Curve at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday - 08 September
I got an early morning call from Calvin and Lynette saying that Laurie D. found a carcass with two grizzlies on it from the viewing spot on Highway 49 near Two Medicine. Of course when I arrived nothing was in sight. But at 10:15 a.m. a large ear tagged grizzly came into the carcass. He looked pretty large. Back in Many Glacier for the evening. At 2:00 p.m. we had a small black bear off road at the concrete barricade near the dam of Lake Sherburne. At 7:00 p.m. we watched a large black bear high south of Windy Creek. At 7:15 p.m. our last sighting was a cinnamon black bear in the river corridor just east of the Hotel.
Monday - 09 September
Calvin and Lynette headed for Yellowstone. I returned to the Highway 49 viewing spot. From 7:45 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. we had a colorful grizzly on the carcass from the Highway 49 viewing place. From 8:40 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. the large gray and smaller black wolf came to the carcass. Note: the carcass was out of sight most of the time. Every once in a while you could see a leg of two, it looked dark like a moose. From 10:55 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. the ear collared grizzly came to the carcass. He left for five minutes and then returned from 11:20 a.m. to 11:35 a.m. At 11:40 a.m. to 12:00 noon the two wolves returned to the carcass. The gray chased a coyote off the carcass. At 1:45 a.m. we had a really large black bear in a high meadow at Kiowa Junction. I chuckled at a car in front of me pulling off the road to take a picture of the black cow in the meadow. But I put up the glasses to find it was a really large black bear. Back to Many Glacier for the afternoon and evening. At 3:00 p.m. we had a black bear on Sheep Curve. At 7:30 p.m. Kim and Betsy and I were watching at least 21 mountain goats high on Mt. Wilber. We were all looking for bears when a young women with a baby stopped by. She would not mind looking at goats. So I put the scope on the goats for her to see. See hollered that the goats were running and a bear was chasing them. I grabbed the scope and sure enough a nice grizzly was chasing the goats all over Mt. Wilber. It never got within 30 yards of them, but it looked like it was having fun.
Tuesday - 10 September
Back to Two Medicine and Highway 49 this morning. I was a little late getting there, missing the ear tagged grizzly leaving the carcass. However, at 7:30 a.m. three grizzlies were still in view. Apparently the ear tagged grizzly was not the biggest. Of the three still around, the largest was a brown grizzly with a little silver. The next biggest was a traditional colored grizzly and the smallest was a light silver grizzly. The carcass must have been pretty much gone, and the three grizzlies roamed around a 30 yard circle getting pieces here and there. At 7:40 a.m. Laurie D. found a black bear away from the carcass. At 8:55 a.m. I spotted the two wolves running full out for the carcass. Strange them running well over 1/2 mile as if they were chasing something, but only coming to the carcass again. At 10:00 a.m. Laurie found another black bear this one about 4 miles to the north. Back to Many Glacier for the rest of my trip. At 11:55 a.m. a large black bear crossed the road east of Sheep Curve. At 2:45 p.m. we had a black bear with two black cubs high on Sheep Curve. At 7:30 p.m. my last sighting for the day was a cinnamon black bear on Grinnell Point.
Wednesday - 11 September
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At 7:05 a.m. we had a black bear high south of Windy Creek. From 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the black bear with two black cubs were west and north of Sheep Curve. At 5:35 p.m. we watched a large cinnamon black bear on Sheep Curve. At 5:40 p.m. I spotted a large cinnamon black bear north and east of Sheep Curve.
Thursday - 12 September
At 7:05 a.m. I found a brown black bear with one brown cub in the river corridor south and east of Sheep Curve. At 9:00 a.m. we had a large black bear north and east of Windy Creek. At 9:30 a.m. a cinnamon black bear crosses the road at Sheep Curve and was in view for over an hour. At 12:00 p.m. we spotted Little Silver grizzly high above the Swiftcurrent Inn in view for almost an hour.
Friday - 13 September
At 6:50 a.m. I spotted a large black bear on Sheep Curve. At 6:55 a.m. we had a large black bear north and east of Sheep Curve. At 1:30 p.m. we found a small black bear on the road 1/2 mile west of Babb. At 4:00 p.m. we watched a cinnamon black bear near Sheep Curve.
Saturday - 14 September
At 6:50 a.m. I found a big black bear on Sheep Curve. At 7:05 a.m. we had a black bear north of Windy Creek. At 1:30 p.m. we watched a smaller black bear on Sheep Curve.
Sunday - 15 September
At 6:55 a.m. we spotted a large black bear on Sheep Curve. At 5:00 p.m. we had a black bear on Sheep Curve. At 5:10 p.m. my last sighting was the black bear with the two black cubs high above the black bear on Sheep Curve.
Other Wildlife
Lots of mountain goats. Lots of bighorn sheep the ewes and lambs. Only a few bighorn rams high up on Mr. Wilber. Whitetail deer around the Inn and down near Fisher Cap Lake. Moose almost every day most of them in and around Fisher Cap Lake. Calvin showed me three from Highway 49. The last day I walked the east side of Lake Josephine and walked within 20 feet of a bedded moose cow and her calf. I was making a lot of noise, but it was a good cow moose that did not bother me. The two were still bedded two hours later when I returned, and were not bothered by six or so tourists taking their picture right off the trail. One fox. About a dozen grouse. A few rabbits. Six coyotes, all around the carcass on Highway 49. One bat. A few elk, good viewing for the first week of two separate large elk bulls and a couple of cows on Grinnell Point. One kingfisher. Quite a few bald and golden eagles near Lake Sherburne, Ospreys still fishing for the kids on Lake Sherburne.
People Seen
Ralph N., Laurie D., Calvin and Lynette, Doug M. from Gardiner, Professor Bob, Kim and Betsy from Kansas, Kevin and Barb from Minnesota, Ken from Kentucky, Bill K., Bob C. from Canada, Jim and Karen from Wisconsin, Ron and Dottie (Watchable Wildlife), Jack G. from Bozeman, Joseph from Montana, Rain from Wyoming, Mike and Kaye from Arkansas.
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