Stories from someone just fumbling through
My field partner and I had fantastic luck this year with finding the unfindable. Seriously. Just like the salamanders hanging out in the Observation wetland, Mary Bay was even more of an unexpected surprise. There are only a handful of wetlands in the Park that have all four amphibian species and we were able to add… Continue reading Yellowstone: Mary Bay
Yup, still working my way through Yellowstone pics. These ones will not disappoint! No way in heck! Solfatara is another fun site with tons of wetlands which are not too far from a trail. The trail is an absolute godsend because the forest is all downfall with sparse regrowth from previous burns so there's a fair amount of… Continue reading Yellowstone: Solfatara
Welcome to Disneyland people! This site was another first for me and I certainly hope it's not my last. Honestly, as soon as we parked our car and started hiking, we had elk bounding across our path and birds were perched on our shoulders singing Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah. I felt like I was in a cartoon. We… Continue reading Yellowstone: Blacktail Plateau Drive
Storm Point is my absolute favorite hiking trail in Yellowstone. It's short, non-strenuous, easy to get to and the views are breathtaking. Additionally, I always have interesting animal encounters here. Last year it was an overly-friendly squirrel doing vaudeville, complete with a top hat and cane, right there at my feet. This year was no different. I witnessed a nail-biter… Continue reading Yellowstone: Storm Point
Dunraven is another favorite of mine. It has beautiful old-growth forest with lots of small, manageable wetlands to survey. Even better, the hike is super majestic and downright enjoyable. You honestly expect trolls and fairies to pop right out and strike up a conversation. Despite its awesomeness, this year was a bit of a mess when it comes… Continue reading Yellowstone: Dunraven
I love Lewis Lake. It's like working at a luxury resort and if they ever try to give it to another field crew I'll go all Cuckoo's Nest on them. Sadly, many of its wetland sites are permanently drying up. That's the bittersweet part of surveying here. Still, I'll enjoy it while it lasts. This is a site… Continue reading Yellowstone: Lewis Lake
Although I enjoy crawdads (or crayfish to us northeasterners), I do NOT enjoy Crawfish Creek. Remember the fire swamp in The Princess Bride? It's just like that. It's fun to watch in a movie but not fun to experience in real life. One minute you're tromping through the forest and the next you're being swallowed whole by thermal, mucky quicksand. For a… Continue reading Yellowstone: Crawfish Creek
Welcome to Winter Creek, just past Grizzly Lake! This site was a first for me. I'm not sure how after all these years I've managed to avoid it but I finally got a taste. It was a little more than a three mile hike to our campsite but it felt more like ten with our… Continue reading Yellowstone: Winter Creek
This outing took two teams to accomplish because of the five mile walk to the wetlands and the potential for sketchy wildlife encounters. A few years ago, my field partner was almost attacked by a grizzly mother with two cubs during the hike in. The mother literally swam across the river, with her cubs in… Continue reading Yellowstone: Gardner River
The Unmaker 