Latest / This Week in Yellowstone National Park / This Week in Yellowstone: September 17th to September 23rd, 2026

Transcript

This Week in Yellowstone: September 17th to September 23rd, 2026 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

0:00
From Yellowstone National Park where the mountains
0:02
just got a nice dusting of snow on them This
0:05
is that Scott guy you know in love with a brand
0:07
new episode of this week in Yellowstone What's
0:21
up everybody this week in Yellowstone National
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Park From September 17th to September 23rd, 2026,
0:28
I'll talk about bears and hyperphasia, tell you
0:31
why this is the best time to see great gray owls,
0:33
or one of the best times, and share about the
0:36
things that fell into the thermal areas this
0:38
year. I'll also give you the complete weather
0:40
forecast, really cool trail to hike, the wildlife
0:43
report, and everything else you need to have
0:45
an incredible time. this week in Yellowstone.
0:48
Standard disclaimer, I'm gonna miss a few details
0:50
here and there. I also mentioned park locations
0:53
very casually, so if you're unfamiliar with some
0:55
place I'm talking about, a quick search can help
0:58
or you can reach out to me directly. You can
1:00
email me at theoutdoorsocietyatgmail .com or
1:04
you can send me a text at 406 -589 -1873. Please
1:10
know that this podcast is a passion project of
1:13
mine. I am not paid, I am not sponsored, So if
1:17
you enjoy what you hear, feel free to reach out
1:19
to me and let me know. If you want to support
1:21
my work more, you can check out my hiking and
1:23
wildlife watching guidebooks that are available
1:25
for purchase online at my website outdoor -society
1:29
.com. Ebooks are just $10 and it's a great way
1:32
to say I appreciate what you do if you want to
1:34
purchase one of those. You can also book a tour
1:37
for next year. I am currently taking tours for
1:40
2027. I will be starting in the spring once the
1:44
snow has melted. I'm not doing snowshoe tours
1:46
this year. Breaking news, I guess. I will talk
1:50
about that later. But if you want to book a tour
1:53
next year, please do. It's the best way to really
1:56
get to know how I see the park. And then I tell
1:58
you all sorts of cool places to go the whole
2:00
time, too. With that. Very busy show, so we're
2:04
just going to jump right into this week's Yellowstone
2:06
news. First bit of news here is the superintendent
2:10
is leaving. Yellowstone National Park Superintendent
2:13
Kam Schaale is stepping down in late September
2:15
after nearly 30 years with the National Park
2:17
Service, including almost eight years leading
2:19
Yellowstone. He's a really cool guy, done a lot
2:22
for the park. He's definitely going to be missed.
2:25
He's stepping down to become the chief operating
2:27
officer of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation,
2:30
the nation's largest conservation foundation.
2:33
So they have a very good person that's going
2:35
to be filling some shoes there. Since taking
2:38
over in 2018, Shalya has guided Yellowstone through
2:41
COVID -19, record visitation, and the historic
2:44
2022 floods. During his tenure, the park invested
2:47
more than $1 .5 billion in conservation and infrastructure,
2:51
expanded bison transfers to tribal nations, and
2:54
launched a major employee housing initiative.
2:57
After the 2022 floods, 93 % of Yellowstone reopened
3:01
within 20 days, which is amazing. The National
3:04
Park Service has started to search for Sholley's
3:07
replacement, but hasn't announced who's going
3:09
to take the position. An interim superintendent
3:12
will be named separately. And from what I hear,
3:15
it's going to be the deputy superintendent, Mike
3:17
Tranel, who's 35 -year NPS veteran and served
3:20
Yellowstone since 2021. Next bit of news, August
3:24
visitation. Yellowstone recorded 856 ,467 recreation
3:31
visits in August of 2026. That's a 3 % decrease
3:35
from August of 2025 when that month saw nearly
3:39
882 ,000 visits. August 2026 was also 7 % lower
3:45
than August 2021, which was the park's busiest
3:48
August. Through August 2026 Yellowstone's seen
3:52
just under 3 .5 million recreation visits and
3:56
that's down 2 % from the same period in 2025
3:59
and 3 % from 2021. However, 2026 visitation remains
4:04
slightly below 2024 levels, but exceeds 2023
4:08
and 2022. National Park Service notes that the
4:12
2022 visitation was really impacted by the flooding.
4:16
The north entrance was not really accessible,
4:18
so that those numbers are kind of just thrown
4:21
out. But yeah, the park is still busy. Had a
4:24
busy August, but not record -breaking busy. It's
4:27
kind of hit a plateau, which is... pretty predictable
4:30
with gas prices, a pause in some international
4:34
tourism, things like that. So I don't think this
4:36
comes as any bit of a surprise. I think what
4:39
might come as a surprise will be the September
4:41
numbers because right now there's still lines
4:44
every single morning in West Yellowstone. They
4:47
start at 730 and they usually let up at 1030
4:50
or so. That goes against the conventional wisdom
4:53
that September is an empty month. That's now
4:55
October. We will see how October goes, but I
4:58
wouldn't be surprised if September of this year
5:01
is a busier September than pretty much every
5:04
other September on record. There is one other
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little bit of news right now that I keep teasing
5:09
that I'm going to talk about more, but again,
5:11
I'm waiting for a lot more information to talk
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about this. So if you have a ton of information
5:14
about this following subject, let me know and
5:17
I'll talk about it. I'll talk to you and then
5:18
get some good information. But the wolf hunt
5:21
is starting in Wyoming. I think it started yesterday.
5:25
Well two days ago from when you're listening
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to this on the 15th So we're gonna see what happens
5:30
with the wolves the molly pack that gained some
5:33
attention for having left the park this year
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is Supposedly back in the park Who knows what's
5:39
going on? So we're just gonna wait and see what
5:43
happens But wolf hunt is starting right now in
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Wyoming and we don't really know what's going
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on with the mollies So I'll talk about that later
5:50
when there is some actual news, but since it's
5:53
all hypotheticals right now, I don't want to
5:56
editorialize too much because there's no point
5:58
in that. I want to report the facts. So with
6:01
that, that's the news. Not a lot going on. It
6:03
did snow, like I said, off the top, but it's
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not really news. It's September. It always snows
6:07
in the mountains in September, or pretty much
6:09
always snows in the mountains. Oh, and if there's
6:13
time in this episode, I'll talk about it at the
6:15
end, but if not, I'll maybe talk about it next
6:17
week. And that is the bear that had to get put
6:20
down in the Tetons at Delta Lake because it became
6:23
habituated off people food. Obviously not good.
6:26
I have a lot to say about that, but busy show.
6:30
We're gonna jump into the experience of the week.
6:33
And that is bears in hyperphasia. By late summer,
6:37
as we know, the days get shorter, temperatures
6:39
start dropping. and you know that winter is approaching.
6:43
Sure we still have fall but fall can be two weeks
6:45
before winter hits or it can be a month and a
6:47
half. It doesn't matter how long it's going to
6:50
last there is this feeling of need by bears and
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that is to eat as much as possible. This period
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of intense feeding is known as hyperphasia and
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it's one of the most important parts of a Yellowstone's
7:03
bear year. Obviously every part is important
7:06
but this time of the year dictates whether or
7:09
not they will make it through the winter healthily.
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Hyperphasia is essentially a biological race
7:16
to build energy reserves before winter. Bears
7:19
spend much of the year eating, but during hyperphasia,
7:22
their behavior changes dramatically. They become
7:25
intensely focused on finding calorie -rich food
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and can spend the majority of their waking hours
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foraging and eating. National Park Service says
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that bears may gain more than three pounds a
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day during this period. For large grizzlies preparing
7:39
for several months in a den, those additional
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pounds can make the difference between successfully
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surviving the winter and emerging in poor condition
7:47
the following spring. If you get a lot of food,
7:50
you're gonna have a lot of fat stores and you're
7:52
gonna be able to come out in the spring still
7:54
decently healthy. Now the word hyperphasia comes
7:57
from Greek for excessive or increased eating.
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but hyperphasia is more than just simply being
8:04
hungry bears metabolism and behavior are shifting
8:07
in preparation for that prolonged period without
8:10
normal access to food there is this feeling or
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that we're taught that bears will sleep all winter
8:16
they do get out of their dens at times i've seen
8:19
bear tracks every month in the park even in the
8:22
middle of winter there's been bear tracks so
8:25
It doesn't mean that they're going to sleep the
8:27
whole time, but they must be able to have substantial
8:29
fat reserves before entering their dens because
8:33
they're going to rely on that for the most part
8:35
to get them through winter. When they leave during
8:38
the winter, when they leave their dens, that
8:40
is usually because they can smell food or the
8:43
temperature is warmer and they know there's something
8:45
around. Female bears also need sufficient reserves
8:49
to support the extraordinary demands of giving
8:52
birth and nursing cubs while still in the den.
8:55
Yellowstone's bears have several months of intense
8:58
feeding behind them by the time autumn arrives.
9:01
During spring and early summer, newly emerged
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bears take advantage of grasses and roots and
9:06
insects, and then any carcasses they may come
9:09
across. As summer progresses, berries and other
9:12
fruits become increasingly important. This year,
9:15
We've seen an increase in the news of bear attacks
9:18
and bear incidents. Part of that is because most
9:21
of the West had a very bad winter and a lot of
9:25
the normal berries and things like that the bears
9:27
eat have been harder to find. There's been issues
9:30
by the the National Forest Service saying you
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know bears are going to be coming into more populated
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areas to look for food. We're seeing that right
9:38
now and bears are hungry and they have to eat
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so we're going to continue to see this. That's
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why one reason when people are emailing me right
9:45
now and they're like where can I see bears in
9:47
the park right now? I struggle to answer that
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because the historic answers are not necessarily
9:52
true this year. So when I give you a weird answer
9:55
when you email or text me it's because it's really
9:58
up in the air and I am getting information day
10:02
by day of where bears are and it's not where
10:06
I've been hearing that they've been. There are
10:08
some places that they're consistently going to
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but largely they're just scavenging and trying
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to find anything they can right now because of
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how weird of a winter, bad spring, bad growing
10:18
season, whatever you want to say about this year
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that's what's been going on. So bears are roamers,
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they love to roam around, and so they're gonna
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go where they can smell food or where they know
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there's food. Generally, roots and berries and
10:31
things like that grow in the same spots year
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after year, so bears will return to the same
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places like I was saying. When they're not there,
10:38
they have to roam. And we're seeing bears roam,
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and right now, best places to see bears roam
10:43
will be those bigger valleys. A lot of the ridges,
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you're gonna see some bears up there. It may
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not be bears right next to the road this year
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like it is sometimes. That's just how it is.
10:54
But I would still go to Lamar. Lamar is a great
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place to scan the hillsides and see grizzlies,
11:00
you know, finding some food. Also, when the wolves
11:04
are there, that's a good place for them to get
11:06
an easy meal when the wolves leave and eat a
11:08
bison or an elk or anything else that's been
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killed. Hayden is also a great spot for those
11:13
exact reasons. Not necessarily the ridge lines,
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but you're gonna have some sweeping views to
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look there. Out the east entrance is also where
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you're gonna have pretty dependable bear sightings.
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I know some people have been seeing them out
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there, especially, you know, beyond Fishing Bridge
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towards Lake Sylvan and Sylvan Pass. That's a
11:31
good place, but there's no reliable schedule,
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no reliable... time frame of when they're going
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to be there. The food's there, they'll be there.
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The food's not there, they won't. One place I've
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had some good luck with bears in previous years
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is south of Swan Lake Flats, kind of by the Grizzly
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Lake Trailhead area before Norris. Sometimes
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that's been really good luck, so I would go there
11:54
and look. Otherwise, it's just gonna be luck.
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I've told somebody today about finding some bears
12:01
on trail. It's just dumb luck. good luck to find
12:04
them also you know keep your distance but also
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know that bears are very protective of food right
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now they always are but during hyperphasia they're
12:14
even more protective there was just a bear attack
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the other day out here in montana where a hunter
12:20
came across a grizzly that had a deer carcass
12:25
nearby and it had cubs and it protected its food
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source the park will be out you know hiking some
12:32
trails and stuff but really this is a hard time
12:35
of the year to know where is safe and where isn't
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so if you're hiking always make sure you're making
12:41
a ton of noise be very aware of your surroundings
12:43
slow your pace down don't rush because the faster
12:47
you go the less time you're giving animals to
12:50
know that you're around Then if you don't want
12:53
to hike have binoculars have a spotting scope
12:55
watch from a far distance We don't want to put
12:57
pressure on these animals while they're eating
13:00
and stress them out more It's already been a
13:02
hard year to find food sources. Let's not make
13:05
it harder and while a lot of people will see
13:09
the fat bear week coming up out in Alaska and
13:12
things like that. There's not really a fat bear
13:14
week in Yellowstone, and I personally am happy
13:16
about that. Bears just need to eat. They don't
13:19
need all that extra attention. So, you know,
13:22
if you see a bear feasting, watch it from a distance.
13:25
Enjoy it. It's a fascinating time. It may not
13:27
be the most exciting thing, to be very honest.
13:29
If you want to see a grizzly bear walking around,
13:32
flipping over some rocks, sitting down and eating.
13:35
walking a little more, flipping over a log, sitting
13:37
down eating, that's what you're mainly going
13:39
to see. They might be on a carcass, that's a
13:42
little more like, wow, but generally when I see
13:44
grizzlies this time of the year, it's just a
13:47
lot of sitting and eating. It's their, I'd like
13:49
to say it's their Thanksgiving, right? They're
13:51
gonna, if they had pants on, they'd undo that
13:53
top button and just hang out. So if you're looking
13:56
for grizzlies right now, hyperphasia makes it
13:59
a good time to see them because they're gonna
14:00
be in an area for a while if there's a food source.
14:05
Knowing that, please be respectful of the noise
14:09
of the atmosphere around there, because again,
14:11
we don't want to put any stress on animals that's
14:13
not needed. And that actually leads me to my
14:16
tip of the week. So my tip of the week is about
14:20
great gray owls. I'm going to be honest with
14:22
you all, I sometimes struggle with what to share
14:25
here. I have a lot of information about the park,
14:28
but I also know there's a balance between sharing
14:30
it with everyone and keeping some things quiet.
14:33
I don't like gatekeeping, but there are some
14:37
things that shouldn't be overrun with lots of
14:39
people. Great gray owl sightings are one of those
14:42
topics. See, if I talk about something on here
14:45
and tell you how to see it, I run the risk of
14:48
having the quieter moments get too crowded and
14:50
busy. Animals are especially sensitive to noises,
14:54
crowds, and everything that comes from a very
14:57
crowded sighting. So before I jump into things
14:59
I want to have a quick and serious chat and this
15:02
is what I was talking about with the bears. Wildlife
15:04
watching in Yellowstone has always been a checklist
15:07
item since day one of the park and to pretend
15:10
like it's a new phenomenon is ignoring the history
15:14
of the park. While I want everyone to see the
15:17
wildlife that they wish to see Sightings of certain
15:20
animals can turn a pullout in the park into a
15:22
wild atmosphere. People are often running around,
15:25
yelling, forgetting that they are near a wild
15:27
animal and that that wild animal will react to
15:31
their behavior. Well, all animals should be watched
15:35
in near silence. That's even bison, that's everything.
15:39
Just be quiet, be slow moving far away from everything.
15:45
Owls are especially sensitive to this chaos.
15:47
If you do find yourself at a great gray owl sighting,
15:50
please, please, please be as silent and calm
15:54
and slow moving as possible. If you don't think
15:57
you can do this, don't stop. I know that sounds
16:00
really harsh, but I mean it. We have to make
16:02
sure that we are keeping these wildlife scenes
16:05
very calm. It also means that when you are at
16:09
a sighting and the animal moves and then there
16:12
might be a pullout that it moved nearby, Maybe
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don't go to that next pullout, get out of your
16:18
car and take more pictures and then keep doing
16:20
the same thing. You will see guides doing this,
16:22
you're going to see photographers doing this.
16:26
There's nothing illegal or wrong about it in
16:29
theory, but what you're doing is you're stalking
16:31
an animal and you're getting it more habituated
16:33
to people the longer you do that. Sure, just
16:36
cuz you're not doing it doesn't mean other people
16:38
aren't, but the more of us that can be doing
16:40
things correctly, or at least more calm, the
16:43
better the park's going to be for everyone. Also,
16:46
once you have your fill of watching something,
16:49
let other people have that moment. That's one
16:51
thing that's been really tough for me the longer
16:53
I've been in the park, is I'll watch wolves,
16:55
they'll be close to the road, and then I realize...
16:58
I should let someone else have this parking spot.
17:01
I've got great pictures. I have everything. I
17:03
don't need to sit here for three to four hours.
17:06
And so I leave. Not everyone's going to do this.
17:09
I understand. I'm just wanting to plant that
17:12
seed of making sure you know your impact on the
17:17
wildlife and of that pullout. That's all. So
17:20
let's get into actual great gray owl stuff because
17:23
I love great gray owls. I think you deserve to
17:25
see one and I want you to see one. So the Great
17:28
Grey Owl is one of North America's largest owls
17:30
by height, but its impressive size is deceptive.
17:34
Much of its bulk comes from really thick fluffy
17:36
feathers, and despite standing nearly two feet
17:39
tall, they can weigh like two pounds. Its broad
17:43
wings, enormous round head, and concentric facial
17:46
markings give it a distinctive appearance, with
17:49
its yellow eyes peering out for mostly grey and
17:51
brown face. The owl's coloring is remarkably
17:55
effective at camouflaging against almost anything,
17:58
allowing it to virtually disappear against the
18:00
trunks of the conifers around. What makes the
18:03
great gray owl particularly remarkable is how
18:05
it hunts. Small mammals like voles, mice, pocket
18:08
gophers, chipmunks, and other rodents make up
18:10
most of its diet, and rather than relying solely
18:13
on sight, the owl can locate prey by sound, even
18:16
when the animal is hidden beneath snow. Its ear
18:19
openings are asymmetrical, with one positioned
18:22
higher on the head than the other, and that allows
18:24
the owl to pinpoint the direction of sound with
18:27
extraordinary precision. Once it locates a rodent,
18:31
it can hover over a spot and plunge feet -first
18:33
through the snow, or whatever may be there, to
18:36
seize it with its talons. According to the Cornell
18:39
Lab of Ornithology, grey crayals can break through
18:42
really hard snow. In one reported case, an owl
18:46
punched through snow that was firm enough to
18:48
support a 176 pound person. Very specific number.
18:53
I want to do more research on that, but I also
18:55
wanted to share that because that's wild. During
18:58
the winter, an owl may consume as many as seven
19:01
vole -sized mammals a day. We're not in winter
19:03
right now, so seeing them is going to be a bit
19:06
different. Great growls are generally associated
19:09
with dense conifer forests adjoining open meadows.
19:13
So if we think about the park and think about
19:15
the layout, the best place to have some trees
19:18
and open meadows, a lot of you may say everywhere,
19:21
that's a lot of the park, but there's a really
19:23
good area that has been consistent. One place
19:26
that people have had good luck is up by Canyon.
19:28
The other place that people have had good luck
19:30
is down by Fishing Bridge and Lake. That's where
19:33
I've had my best luck and that's where honestly
19:35
I know some people have been seeing them recently
19:37
so that's why I'm talking about them. This is
19:40
a good place to see them because that's where
19:42
they like to hang out. Time of the day to see
19:45
them. Some people will say the mornings. I've
19:49
never seen a great gray owl in the morning. I
19:51
always see them in the evening. A couple hours
19:53
before sunset and then right around in the sunset.
19:56
That's when I see them. You may not see them
20:00
even if you're looking. No matter how hard you
20:03
scan for them you won't see them more than likely
20:05
unless you're just trained to do that or you
20:08
see it fly and land. That's one reason why knowing
20:11
kind of where they hang out in the terrain that
20:13
they like is very important. I have the best
20:17
luck in that southern portion of this park which
20:20
is a large portion of the species range in Yellowstone
20:23
and that's a really good place to start. More
20:26
than likely you're going to get to a scene and
20:29
there'll already be people there. Every time
20:31
I've seen great gray owls, there are people that
20:33
will drive by and say, oh, what are you looking
20:35
at? And we're like, oh, an owl. And they'll keep
20:37
driving. Stop and look at the owl. I know you
20:40
may think, oh, I've seen owls before. Chances
20:42
are you've never seen a great gray owl. They
20:45
are amazing. They're pretty rare. and if you
20:48
love owls you will probably love this one the
20:51
most unless you love the little burrowing owls
20:53
because those are really cute too but gray gray
20:55
owls are just huge they're really cool and if
20:58
you get to see one sitting in a tree flying hunting
21:00
it is a magical experience that i want you to
21:03
have just remember quiet slow movements be respectful
21:08
don't chase it my random yellowstone fact of
21:12
the week things found in hot springs this year
21:16
So if you've seen the news from the Yellowstone
21:19
Volcanic Observatory in the USGS, then you already
21:22
know this, but I wanted to mention it because
21:24
it's fascinating. On September 14th, the Yellowstone
21:28
Volcanic Observatory released a little article
21:31
that told what was found this year by park staff
21:34
in the thermal areas. By early September, staff
21:38
had removed more than 20 ,100 pieces of trash
21:42
5 ,600 rocks and sticks, and more than 280 hats
21:47
from hydrothermal areas. The debris included
21:51
camera lens caps, sunglasses, hotel keys, like
21:55
the hotel key cards, children's toys, golf tees,
21:59
air pods, fake fingernails, Invisalign retainers,
22:04
Pokemon cards, and even glittery pink slime.
22:07
Some of these items were dropped accidentally
22:09
or blown away while others were deliberately
22:12
tossed into thermal features. The issue with
22:15
having things that fall into thermal features
22:17
is more often than not they can cause serious
22:22
damage to whatever they fall into. Foreign objects
22:25
can clog vents, block or redirect runoff, or
22:29
introduce chemicals and sediment into highly
22:31
specialized systems. Damage can permanently alter
22:34
a hydrothermal feature. During 2026, the program
22:39
that was used to collect everything found more
22:42
than $18 in coins, that's US currency, pesos,
22:46
yen, euros, and Canadian dollars. Coins can accumulate
22:49
around vents, interfere with water flow, and
22:51
damage bacterial and algal communities whose
22:54
recovery may take months or years. Morning Glory
22:59
Pool provides one of Yellowstone's clearest examples
23:01
of damage to athermal area. Generations of visitors
23:06
tossed rocks, coins, and other debris into the
23:08
upper geyser basin spring, restricting hot water
23:11
circulation and lowering its temperature. The
23:15
temperature change altered the microbial communities
23:18
and replacing the pools former intense blue with
23:21
orange, yellow, and green colors that now surround
23:24
much of it. Damage became serious enough that
23:27
park employees partially drained the pool once
23:29
to remove debris. Some people may hear this and
23:32
think oh, well if they can just remove debris
23:34
then it's easy. They'll do it, but thermal areas
23:38
are unstable and dangerous and While there are
23:41
ways to clean them It doesn't mean that everything
23:45
is getting removed and the people that are doing
23:47
it are taking some risks at some point to do
23:49
this so Don't do this ever. I know most of us
23:54
know this but Every year when they publish this,
23:57
it's nice to remind people like, hey, don't do
23:59
this. Now, some people will say, oh, it's this
24:03
new generation of park visitors. I can't believe
24:05
they're doing this. This is not a new feature
24:08
to the park. This has been going on since day
24:11
one the park was established, even before that,
24:14
when people were just visiting the region. This
24:16
is something that people do. It is humanity.
24:20
It's the same as people getting too close to
24:22
animals. It's just human behavior. We only hear
24:25
about it more because more people are visiting
24:27
the park and now we have ways to tell everybody
24:30
about it. There's a place called Minit Geyser
24:32
in Norris Geyser Basin and in 1947 someone threw
24:36
a rock and it lodged into the vent and the plumbing
24:40
stopped the geyser from erupting. The incident
24:44
shows just how precisely hydrothermal systems
24:46
depend on pathways for water and steam and how
24:50
disrupting them can shut down a feature active
24:52
for thousands of years. Obviously a tree can
24:55
fall and do this, but that's natural. If a stick
24:58
falls in it because it gets blown in a windstorm,
25:01
that's a natural thing. The goal of the park
25:04
is to allow nature to be nature. That's why when
25:06
an animal dies in a field, it gets eaten by animals
25:09
and we all get to see that. It's not necessarily
25:12
taken away or if an animal is injured, the park's
25:15
not gonna shoot it and help it along. It's going
25:17
to live its life until it dies in that pain.
25:20
It's the same with everything else in the park,
25:23
so thermal features are allowed to have natural
25:25
things happen to them. The handkerchief pool
25:28
is another example of human behavior, and this
25:31
pool was a tourist attraction because visitors
25:33
could toss a handkerchief into it, watch the
25:36
water apparently swallow the handkerchief, and
25:39
later return the cloth. The spectacle encouraged
25:42
experimentation with coins, rocks, broken bottles,
25:46
and hairpins. The debris eventually interfered
25:49
with the plumbing, and a handkerchief pool stopped
25:52
functioning in 1927 and did not recover for about
25:56
two decades. Yellowstone also has a history of
26:00
visitors deliberately placing objects in hot
26:02
springs or minerals so they would get coated
26:04
and look special. The park actually like Old
26:08
Faithful Inn place like that. didn't i don't
26:10
want to say encouraged it but um i'm pretty sure
26:13
it was a thing you could pay for you could buy
26:16
a souvenir and the store would then set it in
26:20
something and then it would become covered up
26:22
with all of the thermophiles and all of that
26:24
so this is nothing new this is this was part
26:27
of tourism it eventually was prohibited but it's
26:32
something that the park is struggling with today
26:34
and it always has yellowstone protects thermal
26:38
areas because they're not simply for the scenery
26:40
but they contain but because they contain active
26:43
geological and biological processes these hot
26:47
springs are alive it's easy to think they're
26:50
just water but every differentiating color the
26:52
oranges the blues all of that different levels
26:56
of bacteria grow at different temperatures and
26:59
that's what you're seeing i will say that not
27:01
everybody that loses things is mischievous or
27:04
trying to do something special or funny or whatever
27:08
Wind is a serious thing in the park. The wind
27:11
can carry tissues, maps, wrappers, food scraps,
27:14
and other lightweight litter into thermal areas.
27:16
Most of the time what happens for that is somebody
27:19
reaches into a pocket to get their phone out
27:20
to take a picture. Something goes flying out.
27:23
They open a car door and the wind is whipping
27:25
and something flies out. One thing I do recommend
27:28
for people to do is have some garbage bags, have
27:31
some ziplock bags with you, and put all loose
27:33
papers and things like that in those ziplock
27:35
bags so that way when you open your door they're
27:37
not at risk to just get blown out. One of the
27:40
things you're almost guaranteed to see at some
27:42
of the thermal basins, hats. In 2026 they have
27:46
280 hats, more than 280 hats, so 281. I don't
27:51
know why they put more than in the official number,
27:53
but that's that's a different conversation. But
27:55
there's tons of hats. Usually when I go to walk
27:59
the lower boardwalk at Grand Prismatic, there'll
28:02
be a couple hats out there. And we always play
28:05
like an over -under game. Like, will there be
28:07
more than three or less than three hats? And
28:09
you never know. But hats are something that you
28:12
walk out there, gust of wind hits, gets blown
28:14
off your head into a thermal area. Don't go retrieve
28:17
it. The park will pick that up. But also, if
28:19
you're gonna wear a hat, hold onto it. Know it's
28:22
gonna be windy. and expect that things might
28:25
fall out of your pocket. The more prepared you
28:27
can be beforehand, empty your pockets before
28:30
you get out of the car, put them in a Ziploc
28:31
bag, only bring your phone and keys, and you
28:34
should be set. Hold on to your hats. Everything
28:36
should be good. Also lens caps are just something
28:38
that, you know, obviously you don't want to lose.
28:41
But this is something I wanted to talk about.
28:44
It's been in the news. It's going to continue
28:47
to happen. It's not necessarily because Tourists
28:50
are worse now than they've ever been or a narrative
28:53
I've seen posted by some tour companies recently.
28:56
It's not that. This is what happens in the park.
28:59
Most of the time this is accidents. Some of the
29:02
time it's on purpose. People have been doing
29:04
this on purpose since they've been visiting the
29:06
park. It's just what it is. And the more of us
29:09
that can behave, be ready for the wind, be ready
29:11
for things falling out of our pocket, the less
29:14
accidental stuff will fall out and the cleaner
29:16
the park's going to be. and the better the thermal
29:19
basins are going to look and the colors are going
29:21
to be good and all of that so hold on to all
29:24
your stuff know that things do happen but end
29:28
of the day um yeah there's maybe don't toss a
29:32
invisible line retainer uh whoever had that I'm
29:36
guessing it was a kid that just didn't want it
29:38
anymore, mate. I don't know. I'm not gonna speculate.
29:40
But lots of things fell in the thermal areas,
29:42
and every year the story comes out. I forgot
29:45
to compare it to previous years, but I'll do
29:47
that some point in the winter when there's nothing
29:49
better to talk about if that happens. Okay, enough
29:53
rambling about thermal areas and trash. Let's
29:55
get to the important things. The weather. Let's
29:59
start with Lamar Valley. Just before I do that,
30:01
just know that I'm doing the best I can with
30:03
this weather forecast. I'm recording at 4 o 'clock
30:07
on Wednesday, September 16th. Weather forecasts
30:10
do change from time to time, so use this as kind
30:12
of like a rough outline of what to expect. Temperatures
30:15
may not be the same, rainfall may not be the
30:17
same. So you all know that, appreciate you. Let's
30:20
start with Lamar Valley. On Thursday, highest
30:23
69, low of 43, cloudy, 24 % chance of rain. Friday,
30:28
66 and 42, 63 % chance of a quarter inch of rain,
30:32
some lightning. Saturday, 56 and 38, 66 % chance
30:37
of a quarter inch of rain. Sunday, 61 and 34,
30:41
rain should stop in the morning to late afternoon,
30:45
and 23 % chance of that. Monday, 68 and 35, 7
30:49
% chance of rain. Tuesday, 69 and 38, and Wednesday,
30:53
71 and 39. Gardner, Montana Thursday 72 and 46
30:59
24 percent chance of rain Friday 69 and 44 55
31:04
percent chance about a quarter inch of rain some
31:06
lightning then to Saturday 58 and 40 75 percent
31:11
chance of a quarter inch of rain Sunday 66 and
31:14
37 15 percent chance of rain Monday 72 and 39
31:19
6 % chance Tuesday 73 and 41 4 % chance and Wednesday
31:24
75 and 42 4 % chance West Yellowstone Thursday
31:29
75 and 40 40 % chance of nearly a third of an
31:33
inch of rain thunderstorms throughout the night
31:36
potentially friday thunderstorms as well 62 and
31:39
38 with a 55 chance of a quarter inch of rain
31:43
saturday 55 and 34 with a 60 chance about a tenth
31:47
of an inch of rain sunday 62 and 31 some rain
31:51
in the morning 18 chance monday 67 and 33 with
31:56
a 7 % chance. Tuesday, 68 and 35, 4 % chance.
32:00
And Wednesday, 70 and 36, 4 % chance. Cody Wyoming.
32:05
Before I jump into this, if anybody cares about
32:09
the Cody forecast will you let me know I've been
32:11
saying it but I don't really hear a lot of people
32:13
coming from Cody into the park so I'm just curious
32:16
if this is useful information or not if it is
32:18
great if it's not and I really don't hear from
32:20
anybody I might drop it next year but that's
32:23
a next year problem I'm just curious this year
32:25
So Cody, Thursday 72 and 56, 23 % chance of rain.
32:30
Friday 74 and 53, 70 % chance of a third of an
32:34
inch of rain with thunderstorms. Saturday thunderstorms,
32:38
59. Is a high, 48 is a low, 72 % chance of a
32:42
third of an inch of rain. Sunday, 37 % chance
32:45
of rain, high of 62, low of 48. Monday, 70 and
32:49
49. Tuesday, 74 and 52. And Wednesday, 76 and
32:54
51. I do like talking about Cody, though, because
32:56
it's always like warmer and drier. Finally, Cook
33:00
City, Montana. I'm gonna talk about this one
33:02
forever, don't worry. Thursday, high of 66, low
33:05
of 43, 24 % chance of rain. Friday potential
33:09
thunderstorms high of 63 low of 42 73 73 percent
33:14
chance of a third of an inch of rain Saturday
33:17
high of 52 low of 38 80 percent chance of a third
33:21
of an inch of rain Sunday 58 and 35 41 percent
33:25
chance of some rain Monday 64 and 38 7 percent
33:29
chance of rain Tuesday 65 and 40 4 % chance of
33:33
rain and Wednesday 68 and 41 with a 6 % chance
33:37
of rain. Road conditions. So no main park roads
33:42
are closed right now. There are some spots of
33:45
construction here and there, but those will only
33:47
be minimal delays. And this is the time of year
33:50
where some of these temperatures are pretty cold
33:52
and there is precipitation, so there could be
33:55
snow that falls on roads. And if it's enough,
33:58
roads may close. If you need the information,
34:02
I'm pretty sure it's 1610 and your AM radio if
34:05
you're driving in the park. You can also call
34:08
307 -344 -2117 for recorded information on the
34:12
roads or you can sign up to receive Yellowstone
34:15
Road Alerts on your cell phone by texting the
34:17
number 82190 to the number 888 -777. Now I'm
34:23
not anticipating any road closures. I think some
34:26
of the dirt roads are going to close like Blacktail
34:29
Plateau, Road up to Chittenden, things like that.
34:32
The main road should be fine. The main areas
34:34
will be Craig Pass south of Old Faithful going
34:37
toward West Thumb. Also out the east entrance
34:40
Sylvan Pass and then over Dunraven Pass between
34:44
Canyon and Tower. Those are your main areas.
34:46
If you're driving the Beartooth Highway this
34:48
weekend, good luck. I don't have a lot of hope
34:52
you're not going to get snowed on this weekend
34:54
on the Beartooth Highway. It might even close.
34:57
So if it's wet snow, it may close. Plan ahead,
35:00
especially if you're entering or leaving the
35:01
park that way. Camping information. So some campgrounds
35:05
are closing or have closed. Bridge Bay Campground
35:09
is closed. Indian Creek Campground is closed.
35:13
On September 19th, Canyon Campground closes.
35:17
So things are starting to close up. Roosevelt
35:19
Lodge cabins are closed. I will have the operating
35:23
dates website. linked in the show notes if you
35:26
want to know what else is open and closed. It's
35:28
the best resource. It's gonna be up to date for
35:30
the day that you want. You can scroll through
35:32
and look what's gonna be open. But the main one
35:34
that's gonna be closing right now is Canyon Campground
35:37
on the 19th. Grant Village closes on the 26th,
35:41
but that's next week. All right, remember...
35:44
Hold on I didn't introduce it the wildlife report
35:47
now remember how just earlier I was telling you
35:49
like oh bears are kind of hard to see well I
35:51
was saving this information for here, but bear
35:53
sightings have been really good especially grizzly
35:55
bears in Lamar Valley there have been some carcasses
35:59
out there as of late and Grizzlies have been
36:02
there getting chased away by wolves That is as
36:05
of a few days ago. I would head out there because
36:08
a food source is a food source, and at the very
36:11
least you might have a younger grizzly going
36:13
there or coyotes or something. The wolves would
36:15
probably have picked it clean by then, but they
36:17
might have another carcass. The northern range,
36:20
that's where it's at right now. For me, that's
36:23
what I recommend. Also, when you head out that
36:25
way, there's more moose. Pebble Creek, out to
36:29
Cook City, really good for moose right now, including
36:31
some big bulls with great racks. Elk, I've seen
36:34
a lot of people online complaining that they
36:36
haven't seen Elk and Mammoth, and that's just
36:38
timing. When I've been going through Mammoth,
36:41
they've been there, or they haven't. It's just
36:43
a matter of luck again. Evenings are usually
36:45
better. I would recommend being there a couple
36:48
hours before a sunset, but that's also the best
36:50
time to see some bears or to see some great grails
36:52
that are down by Fishing Bridge and all of that.
36:55
So, you kind of have to pick and choose what
36:57
you want to see. The Northern Range outside the
37:00
park, out by Mammoth, out by Gardener, all the
37:03
way up to Yellowstone Hot Springs and Devil's
37:06
Slide area. That's been really good for elk too.
37:10
There've also been some really cool sightings
37:12
in Hayden recently and some more bear sightings
37:16
popping out the east entrance. That's really
37:19
where I would focus my attention if you're coming
37:20
specifically for wildlife. Northern Range from
37:25
Mammoth out to Cook City. You're going to see
37:28
pretty much everything the park has to offer.
37:30
then or if it's out you're going to see that
37:32
no guarantees. You also might start seeing some
37:36
bighorn sheep gathering north of the park by
37:39
Devil's Slide and Yellowstone Hot Springs are
37:42
privately owned hot springs it's not like a little
37:44
riverside that you can dip into privately owned
37:46
pool hot springs all of that. then Hayden has
37:49
been pretty good. It just hasn't been as consistent
37:51
as Lamar and Little America and places like that.
37:55
So if I had one choice, I would stay in the Northern
37:59
Range the whole day for wildlife watching. I
38:01
would get out to Lamar early, drive out to Cook
38:05
City, see what else is there, drive back, then
38:09
either decide to go to Mammoth for the elk, which
38:12
the elk rut's still going on, or just stay back
38:15
in Lamar. This is the time where Late in the
38:18
evening in Lamar. I like to stay out in Cook
38:20
City or Silvergate this time of the year and
38:23
drive in Right at dusk and I almost always see
38:26
a grizzly walking somewhere But again, as I mentioned
38:30
food sources haven't been as dependable, so I
38:32
don't want to say that's going to happen this
38:34
year It just has been dependable in many years.
38:37
So great corrals near the lake Hayden is pretty
38:42
good. Lamar is really good right now. And then
38:45
out the east entrance could net you some really
38:47
good grizzly sightings and some bighorn sheep
38:49
sightings. Bighorn sheep also north of the park.
38:52
A lot of elk also north of the park. So if you
38:54
want more information on wildlife watching, I
38:57
do have a book for that. You can get a $10 ebook
39:00
copy. It's a great way to show your support for
39:02
the podcast and also get most of the knowledge
39:05
that I have because while wildlife is not predictable
39:08
it's pretty dependable in certain areas and I've
39:10
broken it down section by section on what you'll
39:12
see and when so I've got good reviews from it
39:15
people seem to love it I've gotten a lot of people
39:16
saying thank you for it so if you want wildlife
39:19
and my knowledge pick that up also if there's
39:22
something specific animal wise that you want
39:23
to see reach out to me via text 406 -589 -1873
39:27
or shoot me an email there's a few of you that
39:30
I have not responded to I sincerely apologize
39:33
If your date of your questions that I'm going
39:36
to be here early September, the reason I haven't
39:38
answered you is just because you've already visited
39:40
the park and left. I apologize for not answering
39:42
earlier. I hope you had a great trip. Those of
39:45
you who know who you are, I am speaking directly
39:48
at you and I sincerely apologize for not getting
39:50
back to you on time. Trail alerts and updates.
39:55
I only mention this now just as a way to remind
39:57
you that in the show notes, the Backcountry Conditions
40:00
page is linked. That's going to be your most
40:02
updated place to go to see what's going on that
40:04
day in case there's a trail closure. Bears are
40:07
going to be out, carry bear spray, have it readily
40:10
accessible and not in a backpack, and know how
40:12
to use it confidently. My trail of the week!
40:17
So while the park has no shortage of amazing
40:19
trails right now, One of the points of this section
40:22
of the podcast, why I included it, is to talk
40:25
to you about where I enjoy hiking and where I
40:27
think you'll enjoy hiking right now too. Sometimes
40:30
these locations are in the park and sometimes
40:33
they're out of the park. This week I'm sharing
40:35
a favorite fall trek of mine north of Gardner.
40:39
So this is the Passage Creek Falls and it's located
40:42
outside of the park off of Mill Creek in the
40:45
Absaroka Bear Tooth Wilderness, however you want
40:48
to say it. This is a great little trail because
40:52
what you do is you get off of Highway 89 at Mill
40:55
Creek, you drive a paved road for a while, then
40:58
you drive a dirt road for a while, and then there
41:00
is Passage Creek Trailhead on the right side
41:04
before the road basically ends. This is a really
41:07
cool spot to go hiking because it's an old burn
41:10
area and so it's really open. You start out,
41:13
you cross a bridge over the creek, then you hike
41:15
in a narrow canyon, and then it opens up really
41:19
spectacularly. The wind will be whipping through
41:21
there, but what makes this good right now is
41:23
it's a little higher elevation than in Paradise
41:26
Valley or in some places that you may want to
41:29
hike, and so the fall colors hit a little earlier.
41:32
There's also some bears out there. There's coyotes
41:34
out there. It has some surprising wildlife, and
41:38
I like going out there, but it also leads to
41:39
a waterfall. The majority of the trail is really
41:42
flat. There's good scenery, like I said, good
41:44
fall colors, but you're just out where not a
41:47
lot of people are hiking. It is a local favorite,
41:49
so you probably won't be alone unless you do
41:51
it at sunset, which, you know, it's bare territory,
41:53
maybe not the smartest idea. I do like it at
41:55
sunset, though, but shh, don't tell anybody.
41:58
The whole thing is like five miles total. It
42:01
will have 700 feet or so of elevation gain if
42:05
you decide to climb down the trail down to the
42:08
waterfall itself. It's a gorgeous waterfall tucked
42:11
away. pouring down really pretty. The trail from
42:15
the main trail down to the waterfall is not necessarily
42:18
the best trail. It's loose footing. If you've
42:21
done things in the backcountry or you've hiked
42:23
just non -maintained trails that are steep, you'll
42:26
be fine. Just be careful. Take your time. Trekking
42:28
poles really help. If you have animals, you know,
42:32
make sure they're under control because you might
42:34
encounter people going up or down. What I really
42:37
like about this is just the gentleness of the
42:40
incline for most of it. It's really comfortable
42:43
to walk. In two miles you only gain 200 feet
42:47
and then you gain a lot more after that. In the
42:50
next half mile you gain 200 more feet, but it's
42:54
one big hill and then you get to look at this
42:57
private cabin with a big mountain in the background
42:59
and then decide if you want to drop down to the
43:00
falls. If you don't want to drop down to the
43:02
falls but still want to see the waterfall, Stay
43:05
up top and follow the boot path. Don't enter
43:07
the private property. Stay on the boot path and
43:09
you can get basically to the top of the falls
43:11
or a good view of it. Again, really pretty. It's
43:14
off of Mill Creek Road, Passage Creek Falls.
43:18
Give it a look. It's in my guidebook. I have
43:20
a hiking guidebook that has over 50 of my favorite
43:22
trails if you paid attention earlier i was making
43:25
fun of like the 280 so i said 281 it's 51 of
43:29
my favorite trails so it's over 50 but it's it's
43:32
51 of my favorite trails in the region half are
43:35
in about half are inside the park half are out
43:37
i think it's 25 in the park 26 out But the whole
43:41
area is worthwhile hiking. Yellowstone does not
43:43
stop at the boundary. The magic of the trails
43:45
don't stop at the park boundary. Highly recommend
43:48
if you're looking for a pretty gentle trail where
43:51
you're just outside the park, but only by a half
43:53
hour or 40 minutes. Passage Creek is where it's
43:56
at. I may even see you there once the rain stops
43:58
this weekend, so we'll see. All right, that is
44:02
it for this week. In the next episode, I'm going
44:04
to return with all the information you need to
44:06
have a good week in the park. That includes the
44:08
wildlife update, the weather forecast, and a
44:11
good trail, as well as any news, anything like
44:13
that that's going on. Until next week, please
44:17
consider picking up a guidebook of mine. I would
44:19
really appreciate that. It's a nice way to know
44:21
that I'm not speaking to dead air. I also would
44:24
love it if you would review me online on whatever
44:28
podcast app you have, or just shoot me a text
44:31
or email, theoutdoorsocietyatgmail .com, or text
44:34
at 406 -589 -1873. I appreciate all of you, thank
44:39
you so much for listening, and happy trails.
45:04
Otherwise, keep listening and I hope to see you
45:07
in Yellowstone. Copyright 2026, baby!