Latest / This Week in Yellowstone National Park / This Week in Yellowstone: April 17th to April 23rd, 2025

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This Week in Yellowstone: April 17th to April 23rd, 2025 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

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From the land where it was 70 degrees one day
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and snowy the next, and where people will soon
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be able to see Old Faithful erupt and take in
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the special sights around the Grand Canyon of
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the Yellowstone River, this is That Scott Guy
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You Know and Love with another episode of This
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Week in Yellowstone. What's up everybody? This
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week in Yellowstone National Park, from April
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17th to April 23rd, I will share with you the
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opening of some of the park roads, give you an
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update on what to expect in the interior of the
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park, let you know what to do when you see bad
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behavior in the park, and even give you a unique
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and special to me trail idea. Of course, I'll
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also give you all the weather, wildlife watching
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updates, tips, and information I can to give
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you the best possible trip to America's first
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national park, this week in Yellowstone. Quick
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disclaimer I might miss a few details. So feel
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free to reach out with questions. I also mentioned
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park locations casually So if you're unfamiliar
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a quick search can help this report only covers
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the drivable areas of the park Also, this podcast
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is a passion project. I'm not paid or sponsored
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if you're enjoying it Send me an email Shoot
1:28
me a message. Let me know if you like it if you
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have questions you want or something You want
1:31
me to cover you can do that that way as well?
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To support my work, you can also check out my
1:37
guidebooks on hiking and wildlife watching, or
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join me for a guided Yellowstone tour. For details,
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visit outdoor -society .com or reach out to me
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directly. This week's Yellowstone news! Biggest
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news right now in the park is the opening of
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some of the park roads. Starting on April 18th,
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the West Yellowstone entrance to the park will
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reopen to personal vehicles for the first time
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in 2025. The road from Mammoth to Madison Junction
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will also be opening up, as well as the road
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from Norris to Canyon. The stretch from Madison
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to Old Faithful will also reopen on the 18th.
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So what does this mean exactly? It means that
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starting on the 18th of April, you can now drive
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from Gardner West Yellowstone and reach Canyon,
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Norris, Old Faithful, and Lamar Valley. It means
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you can go see the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone
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River, watch Old Faithful erupt, see the thermal
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features of the park, and scan for wildlife and
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spots previously hidden from the average visitor.
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It also means that traffic in popular spots will
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increase and wildlife delays will be more frequent.
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The next sections of road to open will occur
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on May 2nd, connecting Canyon to Fishing Bridge
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and the east entrance. Until then, there is no
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access to the east entrance or Hayden Valley.
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The south entrance will not be opening until
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May 9th. May 9th is also the time that the road
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to Tower Falls is open, and then the entirety
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of Dunraven Pass will not be opening until May
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23rd. There is some news about visitation. I
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will be covering that. I realized I missed February
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visitation. No one reached out to tell me that
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they missed it. So probably won't do February
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visitation since we're already in April, but
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I will do March in a couple of days. So that's
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all the news that I feel like covering right
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now. There's nothing really too big. There will
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be probably more next week. So this week's random
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Yellowstone tidbit. Today I'm going to briefly
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talk about the old opening day. While we're currently
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celebrating the opening of the park for the year,
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things weren't always like this. In 1925, 100
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years ago, the park opened for vehicles on June
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18th, two days earlier than in 1924. From a 1925
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guidebook to the park, this is what they wrote
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about the tourist season. The tourist season
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extends from June 20th to September 15th. This
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means that tourists may enter the park for a
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complete tour on and between these dates. The
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park utilities, therefore, are actually operated
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from June 20th to September 20th. After the latter
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date, admittance is granted to only the tourists
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who come equipped to camp out along the roads
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or trails. So this is something that I absolutely
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love. That short season right that is something
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we don't have now part of the park is open and
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I don't know if we could have towns like West
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Yellowstone or even Cody Thrive the way that
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they do if the only time people could visit was
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from June to September I know a lot of you saying
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but that's the biggest visitation time of the
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year true But those shoulder seasons would still
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open really are what make or break the communities
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that rely on tourism I found an old thing online.
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I'm sorry. I'm pulling that up. I'm very professional
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today Not that it matters, but we just got a
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puppy. So my brain is not exactly Great right
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now. So I pulled up a Old article from the Bozeman
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newspaper that has a picture of a bunch of cars
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and people all dressed up It'll be the cover
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image for this and this is the caption for this
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picture Yellowstone National Park opened on June
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18th this year, two days earlier than ever before,
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to accommodate the tourist hundreds already in
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the West who desired to begin their trips through
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this wonderland as early as possible. Superintendent
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Horace M. Albright, in a communication to A .B.
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Smith, passenger traffic manager of the Northern
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Pacific Railway, stated that both geysers and
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bears are more playful than ever. Mr. Smith said
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that the volume of inquiries from prospective
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travelers indicates a big tourist season. Conservative
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estimates placed the total number of Yellowstone
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visitors at 180 ,000 this year against 144 ,000
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in 1924. The upper picture shows a mother bear
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and her two cubs welcoming one of the first motor
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parties over Yellowstone trails this year Lower
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picture is of the first party of tourists to
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leave Gardiner Gateway for the tour of the park
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So you heard that right that the Bears were out
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celebrating the opening day ceremonies obviously
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used to be big and In case you were curious how
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many people actually visited Yellowstone in 1925,
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the total was 154 ,282. That's roughly one -ninth
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of the total number of visitors that came to
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Yellowstone in June of 2024. We certainly have
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come a long way since waiting and seen only 154
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,000 visitors all year. But there is something
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kind of fun to think back on those days where
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the opening ceremonies were a big deal and people
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in cars and horses lined up in the gateway towns
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of West and Gardiner waiting to enter the park
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on that first day. Now we kind of have the same,
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but it's not quite there. All right. Experience
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of the week. Right now, picking the perfect experience
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to have when visiting Yellowstone, it's next
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to impossible. The roads are opening, so you
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can kinda do anything. You can go watch Old Faithful,
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you can wander the Geyser Basin, and experience
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Grand Prismatic, mostly alone. You can see the
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Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, and come
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across wildlife of all shapes and sizes. You
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can go up to Little America and Lamar, and see
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bears and wolves. Now the road's open, the world
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of Yellowstone is your oyster, and hopefully
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you aren't allergic to shellfish. Therefore,
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the experience of the week I'm recommending is
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to drive to both Old Faithful and Canyon. I know
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it's a basic thing to recommend, but if you're
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like me, it's been a long time since you've had
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a chance to see the majesty and beauty of these
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regions. Not only will you have an opportunity
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to see a few of the sites that helped create
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the National Park, but you'll also be doing so
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when relatively few people will be around. I
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can't promise you'll be alone at either place,
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especially on a weekend, but it will feel empty
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if you visited the areas during the summer. Please
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be aware that the paths around the canyon will
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not be snow -free. The upper overlook where you
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walk up to the stairs at artist point will not
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be open, but the lower one will be. You'll get
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to see the falls in the distance surrounded by
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ice and snow encapsulating just how frigid of
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a winter we have had. The paths around Old Faithful
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look to be in decent shape and better than Canyon
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and are mostly melted out as far as what I can
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see on the webcam. You shouldn't need traction
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devices to walk around, but having them with
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you just in case isn't going to hurt anything
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and it may make your trip a lot better. My tip
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of the week. Help make Yellowstone safe for humans
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and wildlife. Now that the roads are opening
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and some more visitors are heading to the park,
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it's time to review some basics about wildlife
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watching. Now, before I go on this mini tirade,
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I do want to share something important. I may
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be alone in this thought, but I believe that
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park behavior has never been better in Yellowstone.
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Why do I say this? In 2024, Yellowstone saw 4
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.74 million visitors. I'll conservatively say
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that 99 % of those visitors were on their best
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behavior, or at least good behavior. If that's
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true, that means that 47 ,400 people were breaking
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the rules. That would be 129 people a day, every
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day, in 2024. That number seems too high to me,
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especially if the trouble we are talking about
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is going off the boardwalks and or approaching
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wildlife. If you want to throw in speeding, drunk
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driving, drug use, things like that, then maybe
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that's going to be a little more accurate. But
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that's not what people talk about when they talk
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about poor park behavior. They talk about going
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off boardwalks and approaching wildlife. Realistically,
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less than 1 % of park visitors are causing any
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trouble. That is amazing. And that means that
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99 % of the people or more are doing a fantastic
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job. So that being said, issues in poor park
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behavior still exist. So what do you do when
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you encounter poor behavior? If you see someone
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breaking the rules, do the following. First,
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be polite, calm and patient and remind the person
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of the park rules and see if you can have them
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return to a safe distance. I know the easy thing
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to do is to yell but one thing that I've learned
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from all of my years here is if you see somebody
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starting to do something just just talk to them
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and be like oh hey this is an exciting day isn't
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it and just talk to them normal and be like oh
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you know we are supposed to stay back a little
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bit like you know I don't want you to ruin your
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trip by getting a big ticket or potentially being
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banned from the park like why don't we why don't
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we come stand over here Obviously that's not
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in everyone's wheelhouse to do it's a conversation
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So if you can't do any of that if you can't be
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polite calm and patient Then do the following
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take a picture of the people and the car that
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they're in and get the license plate of the vehicle
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Immediately report them to a Ranger the Rangers
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will do their best to track them down and do
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what they feel is a right punishment as always
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Always stay within 100 yards of wolves and bears
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when outside of vehicles. Even if there is a
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crowd of people closer, do not join them unless
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there is a ranger present telling you it's okay.
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For bison, elk, and all other animals, always
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stay 25 yards from them when not in a vehicle.
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If an animal approaches you while you're on a
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trail or outside at a pullout, you still must
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maintain the appropriate distance at all times.
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Do not let animals walk up to you. I've seen
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this time and time again. Don't do that. If an
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animal is blocking the trail, wait for it to
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move or hike off trail far away from it. Be smart,
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be safe, be ready for whatever the park decides
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to throw at you. Here's what not to do when you
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see someone breaking rules. Do not film the perpetrators
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from a distance and later share them with a certain
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social media account so they can shame the visitors
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later. Those sites are the absolute worst and
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do nothing but create a spiral of negativity
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and toxicity based on an untrue reality. Yes,
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people will break the rules this year. Someone
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will more than likely get gored by a bison. Someone
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will leave the boardwalks and walk in a geothermal
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area. People will break the rules. But, and there's
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always a but, as I started this section off with,
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facts matter. Over 99 % of Yellowstone National
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Park visitors are amazing and follow the rules
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and regulations. If you see somebody breaking
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the rules, document it and report it to a ranger.
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The rangers will take care of things, social
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media won't. Alright, the weather for the coming
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week. Starting with Lamar Valley on Thursday,
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Lamar Valley will have a high of 30 degrees and
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a low of 14 and receive potentially an inch of
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snow after three inches of snow on Wednesday.
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Friday and Saturday look to be a bit sunnier
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high on Friday 37 low at 10 Saturday 48 and 27
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Sunday will be 47 and 28 with a chance of an
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inch of snow Monday will be 45 and 19 with a
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chance of half an inch of snow or less Tuesday
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will be partly sunny 47 and 24 and Wednesday
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will be 51 and 25 with a slight chance of snow
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showers here and there in Cook City Expect a
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high of just 25 degrees and a low of 11 on Thursday.
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It will snow 4 inches on Wednesday night and
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another inch on Thursday. Friday and Saturday
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will be sunny. Friday is going to be the coldest
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day with a high of 31, low of 8. Saturday will
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be 43 and 25. Sunday will be 43 and 25 with an
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inch of snow. Monday will be 40 and 18 with half
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an inch of snow. Tuesday will be 42 and 22 and
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partly sunny and Wednesday will be 46 and 24
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with a slight chance of snow. West Yellowstone,
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yeah, I'm adding West finally. West Yellowstone
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is going to get about an inch of snow Wednesday
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night into Thursday. Thursday could see less
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than a half inch of snow, high of 31, low of
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16. Friday and Saturday will be partly sunny.
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High of 39, low of 13 on Friday. High of 48 and
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27 on Saturday. Sunday and Monday, expect a high
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of 47, a low in the 20s with a chance of rain
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or snow. Tuesday will return to partly sunny
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with 49 and 25, and Wednesday will be 52 and
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26. Then that brings us to Gardner, which will
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be similar. Expect an inch of snow over Wednesday
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night into Thursday. Then maybe a half inch on
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Thursday with a high of 34, low of 21. Friday
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and Saturday going to be partly sunny. High of
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41, low of 17 on Friday. High of 53, low of 32
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on Saturday. Then a chance of rain on Sunday
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and Monday with high of right around 50 and a
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low right around 27, 28 for both days. Then Tuesday,
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high of 51, low of 29, partly sunny. And Wednesday
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will be rainy with a high of 53. and low of 31.
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The snowpack update. The snowpack for most of
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the park is still in the 90 % of normal range
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and should stay that way through this week. The
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lowest snowpack total as of Tuesday, April 15th,
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is 88 % of normal out by the east entrance. While
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snow is in the forecast, it's nearly always in
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the forecast this time of year, so it's pretty
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normal, and snowpack numbers shouldn't jump much
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higher or drop too low. The road conditions.
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So obviously that Thursday morning will be a
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little snowy. Could have some snow over the weekend,
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especially in the higher elevation sections.
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But in lowlands, there's not going to be a lot
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of precipitation in the forecast, so it could
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just be a dusting. However, expect things to
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change. We can't really predict these storms
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too well in the park interior, so be ready for
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heavier snow just in case. For up -to -date information
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on the roads, you can call area code 307 -344
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-2117 for recorded information, or you can sign
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up to receive Yellowstone Road Alerts on your
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mobile phone by texting 82190 to the number 888
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-777. Okay, camping information! Mammoth Hot
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Springs remains the only open campground in the
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park and will be the only open campground in
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the park until May. However, additional camping
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options are available and will continue to open
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up outside the park. If you need somewhere to
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camp, reach out and I can share a few spots that
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I know. The wildlife watching update. So obviously
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I can only talk about the parts of the road that
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are open right now as I haven't been able to
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get into the interior so I don't know what anybody
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has been seen down around Old Faithful. For that
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I apologize and I you know I don't need to apologize
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but I like to know things and I like to share
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it so I'll have a lot more information next week.
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about the interior wildlife sightings but for
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now this is still going to be the northern range
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between mammoth and cook city so bears are active
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there have been bear jams around um all over
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there have been some black bears some grizzlies
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if you go out by blacktail ponds there are some
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there's a bison that fell through the ice and
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there's been coyotes trying to pull at it that
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means bears are going to come potentially wolves
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um Wolves have really been still out by Slough
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Creek this week and I would expect that to remain
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the case. Otherwise just keep driving back and
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forth and looking to see what's there. However
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I think most of you if you are visiting the park
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Probably going to just head out and go down to
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Old Faithful and Canyon. There is a good chance
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I know that there have been grizzlies walking
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around Old Faithful and also people have been
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hearing wolves howling out there. Some of the
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people that I know that work and live out there
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have been talking about it online. So head down
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there, see what you see, but if you want some
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more reliable wildlife sightings, obviously head
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north and go out. Just drive from Mammoth to
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Cook City and back. You'll probably see a couple
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of moose. There's been some active foxes. A lot
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of coyotes, like I said. Big horn sheep here
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and there, but generally things are just waking
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up and keep your eyes peeled for more baby animals
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because it's going to be that time. Oh, another
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update on the bear den that is by the petrified
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tree. Sow has been coming out with the cubs a
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little more We shall see if that continues with
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this colder wetter weather It has been really
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sunny and warm this last week. So things are
19:06
a little more active, but we'll see what happens
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Until then if you love what you've heard on this
19:12
podcast and want more information on wildlife
19:14
watching Consider getting a copy of my wildlife
19:16
watching guidebook to the region It's available
19:19
in both ebook and paperback formats and this
19:22
book is designed to help you spot wildlife like
19:24
a season local If you do want a copy of my book
19:27
Please consider buying a book directly from me
19:30
as I make nothing when they're sold on Amazon
19:32
and billionaires make money if they're sold on
19:34
Amazon I don't think billionaires need more money
19:37
But I think the rest of us do so if you'd like
19:41
to purchase a book grab your copy now at outdoor
19:43
-society .com Alright, so hiking news and updates
19:48
This week's hiking conditions are going to be
19:50
all over the place. I won't know the true conditions
19:52
until I get into the interior, but this is what
19:55
I can safely say. South -facing trails, especially
19:58
in the northern range, will be decently melted
20:00
out, and some of the boardwalks around Old Faithful
20:03
should be snow -free. Expect snow on the paths
20:06
at Norris, the Grand Canada Yellowstone, and
20:09
pretty much everywhere else in the interior.
20:11
If places are melted out, expect mud, especially
20:14
if it's going to be wet like the forecast says.
20:18
my truck of the week. So I was going to recommend
20:21
the path to Grand Prismatic Overlook this week,
20:24
but I'm anticipating a few things that will make
20:26
it not ideal for right now. The first is the
20:29
amount of snow at the Overlook. It may not be
20:32
open because the snow is going to be too deep.
20:35
I don't know. We won't know until we can drive
20:38
by. The park hasn't really updated anything with
20:40
that, and I don't want to tell you to go somewhere
20:42
that's not open. Also, It's going to be pretty
20:45
chilly and therefore it'll be pretty steamy,
20:48
putting a damper on having that kind of iconic
20:50
view where you can really look into the pool.
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Instead, I'm recommending a trek that few ever
20:55
do, as it's a road that most will drive later
20:58
in the year. The trek is the Firehole Canyon
21:00
Road. While you can hike it from either side,
21:04
I tend to start on the southern end and hike
21:07
up, as this starting point is ridiculously scenic.
21:11
Plus, there's a pullout right nearby, so you're
21:14
not going to be parking anywhere sketchy, so
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I highly recommend starting on the southern end
21:19
of it. The Firehole Canyon Drive is two miles
21:21
one way and will have you walking on a canyon
21:24
rim, seeing waterfalls, narrow canyons, and an
21:27
osprey nest, and so much more. Being a closed
21:30
road, this path is graded nicely, and it's easy
21:33
to walk, even if you need to do it in snowshoes.
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And you may need them. Again, don't know the
21:38
conditions of it yet, so be ready. You also may
21:42
not need them. So I called the park and asked
21:44
about the conditions and didn't hear back So
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I did what I could guys. Sorry Even if you just
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walk from the southern end of the road to the
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swimming area, which is less than a mile each
21:55
way You'll have a unique experience in this region
21:58
and gain a new appreciation for the Firehole
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River This is a small trek. I do pretty much
22:03
every year and is one I'm excited to return to
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if you do the whole thing all four miles You'll
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truly love it and I know that you'll come away
22:12
from the experience happy you did so. At the
22:15
southern end of the road, take some time and
22:18
adventure around the rocks to the west. So if
22:20
you're at the pullout, just walk toward the river.
22:24
The wide river narrows right at the pullout and
22:27
it's been carved in a truly gorgeous canyon.
22:31
There's rocks that are all pointy. It's spectacular.
22:35
It's a place I stop at Really often when I'm
22:37
in that region of the park pretty much every
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time I'm down there I'll stop at this pullout
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and go stand by the river and I think you'll
22:44
enjoy it and I hope you do that, too All right,
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that's the end of this episode. So in next week's
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episode I'll be giving you a much more detailed
22:53
report about what the park's interior looks like
22:56
share some new tours I have for the summer give
22:58
yet another perfect for the week hike and provide
23:01
everything else You've come to expect when you
23:03
listen to this week in Yellowstone Until then,
23:07
happy trails!