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This Week in Yellowstone: May 8th to May 14th, 2025 · This Week in Yellowstone National Park

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From Yellowstone National Park where it snowed
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a few days ago, and then a few days later it
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was super warm and sunny This is that Scott guy
0:08
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 May 8th
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to May 14th, I will update even more road. campground,
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store, and lodging openings. I'll also give hikers
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and backcountry campers a truly awesome resource,
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and I'll let everyone know how and where they
0:40
can see bears. I'll also be telling you where
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you can hike for some awesome views and kind
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of a cool picnic area that is a short hike, and
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I'm going to update you on a few road openings
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in the park. Of course, I'm also going to give
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you all the weather, wildlife watching updates,
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tips, and information I can to give you the best
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possible trip to America's first national Park
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this week in Yellowstone. Alright, apologies
1:05
that this episode is going to be missing my fun
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Yellowstone tidbit. All the important information
1:11
is here for this episode. I was just out of town
1:13
the last four and a half five days and I was
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unable to work on things as much as I thought
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I was going to. I just wanted to post this episode
1:20
on time. Next week will be fully back to normal
1:23
again. Most of you aren't going to notice that
1:26
something's missing, and this episode is still
1:28
quite good, so don't worry, I probably didn't
1:31
need this, but if you know me, you know I'm probably
1:34
going to over explain everything too much. Speaking
1:37
of, disclaimer. I might miss a few details, so
1:41
feel free to reach out with questions. I'm also
1:43
going to mention park locations casually, so
1:46
if you're unfamiliar, a quick search can help.
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This report only covers the drivable areas of
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the park, which is almost the whole park now.
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Also, this podcast is a passion project. I'm
1:58
not paid or sponsored if you're enjoying it.
2:00
I'd love a review of this podcast or a quick
2:02
email to say you like it. If you'd like to support
2:05
my work more, you can check out my guidebooks
2:07
on hiking and wildlife watching, or you can join
2:10
me for a guided Yellowstone hiking tour. For
2:13
details, you can visit outdoor -society .com
2:16
or you can reach out to me directly. So this
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week's Yellowstone news. It's been a busy news
2:23
week, so buckle up. On May 4th, a 47 -year -old
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man from Cape Coral, Florida was injured by a
2:30
bison in Yellowstone. At around 3 p .m. in the
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Lake Village area of the park, a man was gored
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by a bison after he approached it too closely.
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The individual sustained minor injuries and was
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treated by emergency medical personnel. The incident
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is currently under investigation and further
2:46
details are unavailable at this time. So this
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is the first reported bison incident of 2025.
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In 2024, there were two incidents and one incident
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occurred in 2023. News story number two. I mentioned
3:02
it last week, but I'm going to again. Yellowstone
3:04
is fully staffed and ready for the anticipated
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record summer visitation. So this is via the
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Cowboy State Daily. Over the last several months,
3:14
national discourse has revolved around staffing
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concerns throughout the National Park Service.
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Yellowstone and Grand Teton have experienced
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record -breaking attendance over the last decade,
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and many were concerned about how the parks would
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handle millions of people with fewer seasonal
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and permanent staff. Yellowstone National Park
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Superintendent Kam Shawley has a quote here,
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I wanted to make sure you're clear that Yellowstone
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is in fantastic shape. Yellowstone staffing is
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higher this year than it has been at any point
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in the last five years going into the summer.
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Shawley brought the numbers to prove it. As of
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May, Yellowstone has 395 permanent and 387 seasonal
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staff positions for a total of 782 staff for
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the upcoming summer. And they'll need all the
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help they can get. Vehicle entries for 2025 are
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already higher than than they were at 2024 at
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this point at the north entrance it's up 6 .24
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percent and at the west entrance it's up 3 .17
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percent and at the east entrance it's up 9 .46
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percent and that entrance has only been open
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to vehicles for less than a week so things in
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the park continue to open up story number three
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pretty much everything is open in the old faithful
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area now most of the stuff isn't open at this
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time No, most of the stuff that isn't open at
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this time will be open on May 9th. Nearly all
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the amenities in Mammoth Hot Springs are also
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open. The General Store at Canyon is also opening
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on May 9th, but the rest of the amenities at
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Canyon, like the lodge, the cabins, and the supporting
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buildings aren't gonna open until the 16th, so
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you have to stay patient at the Canyon area.
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The park's remaining interior roads open. Mostly,
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that's story four. On the 9th of May, the last
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remaining sections of lowland roads in Yellowstone
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will open. The south entrance and West Thumb
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area will open, connecting Old Faithful and Fishing
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Bridge via the southern portion of the drive
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that is known as like the Southern Loop Drive.
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So that means you can now drive from Jackson
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to the park interior as well as visit the West
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Thumb Geyser Basin and drive along the lake.
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So the road from tower Roosevelt junction to
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tower fall is also opening on May 9th And it's
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giving you a chance to drive up and see calcite
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springs and tower fall without having to walk
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the road So that's going to be very cool after
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these roads open the only stretch of road in
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the park not open like main roads Is the road
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between Canyon and tower over the pass that road
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is scheduled to open on May 23rd and Speaking
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of roads, what's the status of the plug? The
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plug is that nine -mile stretch of Highway 212
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that connects Pilot Creek, Wyoming to Cook City,
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and it allows you to drive from Cody to Cook
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City instead of going through the east entrance.
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Currently, that road is not open. As of 6 .03
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PM on Wednesday, May 7th, it is currently closed.
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I think it's going to open any day now, so keep
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an eye on my social media for the announcement
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that it's open. I don't know where it's going
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to be announced. It might be. It might be announced
6:27
on the Yellowstone National Park website like
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road conditions as well. Not sure. Please keep
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in mind that the plug is not the same as the
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Beartooth Highway. The Beartooth Highway is currently
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being worked on with the goal of it being opened
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by Memorial Day. I will provide updates on that
6:44
as soon as I receive them. My experience of the
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week! This week I decided to talk about searching
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for bears in the northern sections of the park.
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While bears are all over the park and active
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right now, the best place to see them in the
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month of May is in the northern range. It honestly
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doesn't take a ton of work to see a bear in that
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area, just some luck and good timing. Between
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Mammoth and Tower Fall, I have come across 13
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different bears in a single day in early to mid
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May. Some of them were grizzlies and some were
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black bears. If you drive out to Pebble Creek
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and back, through Lamar Valley you may see even
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more bears usually grizzlies. Now that road obviously
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you may not see 13 like that's my best days but
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most days around this time especially last year.
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Last year I averaged three to five bears a day
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every time I went into the park in May and the
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first two weeks of June. That was every day I
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went into the park and that was in the northern
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range. So if you want to see bears get there.
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There's a few tips. that you probably need. You
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may know this already, but I just want to remind
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you, you probably won't see much during the heat
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of the day. But if you look in the mornings and
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evenings, bears are usually quite active then.
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You'll also need to drive back and forth to maximize
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your viewing opportunities. So if you just kind
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of drive one way and then don't see anything
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and then go back. You know that is limiting your
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potential for bears So if you drive up the tower
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then drive back and then do something then drive
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back up to tower again You have a much better
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chance to see bears So as always if you see a
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bear while driving do not stop your car on the
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road last week on the way back from giving a
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tour I had to put on my traffic management hat.
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I don't really have a hat, but you know what
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I mean. There were people jumping out of cars
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parked in the middle of the road near blind corners
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to go see a black bear that was on the side of
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the road near the hell roaring overlook. I yelled
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at them and told them to get back in their vehicles.
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They did, and they drove them to the pullout
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that was open that was a whole 50 feet away.
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So don't stop your car on the road. Do not get
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out of your car on the road. Drive to a pullout
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and watch the bear you will see others exiting
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their vehicles and walking toward the bear Do
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not do this. I know this sounds like common knowledge.
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Like I say this and people like yeah, why would
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you do that? I will tell a story quickly. I was
9:34
giving a I was driving some friends around and
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telling them kind of all these stories of like
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me seeing people and we saw a bear and I pulled
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off to the side at a pullout and the bear was
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75 to 80 yards away and there was a crowd of
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people there and I just got done telling everybody
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in my car that hey like don't go close to bear
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and everybody gets out of the car and walks toward
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where everybody else is with the bear. I know
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it's tempting and It's just one of those things
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that you will get caught up in the moment 99
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.9 percent of visitors to the park are gonna
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get caught up in the moment Try to not do that
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If you do see a bear don't exit your vehicle
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if the bear is super close and don't approach
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the bear Now I know some of you are still saying
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I'll never do that. I Can promise that even the
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most seasoned Yellowstone visitors do this far
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too often? Professional photographers do this.
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Tour guides allow their clients to do this. It
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is just common practice. So seeing a bear is
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exciting. And when one does see it, especially
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when other humans are around, reason and safety
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tend to vanish out of one's brain. Once the person
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walks towards it, everyone else gets braver.
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And soon the scene descends into chaos. Eventually
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a ranger is going to arrive, yell at everybody.
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Create a perimeter of safe viewing that safe
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viewing perimeter. The Ranger sets up maybe closer
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than 100 yards, but those Rangers and volunteers
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know what they're doing. The average person doesn't
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so trust the Rangers. Don't trust just someone
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with a nice camera lens. And. You know, do the
11:13
best you can. I understand that again, sometimes
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things happen. I'm just letting you know that
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things happen. We all do this, but. Do the best
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you can. The problem with getting too close to
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bears is bears will eventually get habituated
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to be around people. And the more they're around
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people, the higher likelihood that they're either
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going to be close to a road and get hit by a
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car, or they may charge at somebody or even bite
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somebody. And if they do that, those bears are
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killed. So we don't want any bears killed. I
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do want you to see a bear. I do want you to get
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good pictures of it. I want you to have an amazing
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experience, but I also want you to be a good
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steward of the park. Do not do something because
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others are doing it. Follow the rules and if
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you don't get a chance to take that perfect picture
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of the bear, just be happy you saw it. My first
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seven or eight years in the park, we didn't see
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a single bear. I can remember seeing that first
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bear and it changed everything. I don't have
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a picture of that bear, but in my head, I have
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a picture of that bear. I remember all the details.
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So soak in the moment. Even if you can't pull
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off to the side of the road, you know, slow down,
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look at it and drive away. Don't don't slow traffic
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down. And, you know, you may also have the past.
12:29
You may also like have this chance. I'm getting
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excited about this. But you may also have the
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chance like there's a bear and you don't have
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a place to stop. So you kind of drive by and
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you look at it and you can think, oh, that's
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unfortunate. I didn't get to see a bear. This
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is the time where you may have an experience
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like that. Drive around two more corners and
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have a black bear walk right in front of your
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car. That's happened to me numerous times. So
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there could be another great bear sighting just
12:55
around a corner. So enjoy each one as best you
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can and as safe as you can. My tip of the week
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This week's tip is for listeners who are hikers
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and backcountry campers and while I do my best
13:07
to provide updates on trail conditions There's
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so much information I probably should be sharing
13:13
that I want to direct you to a fantastic resource
13:16
on the Yellowstone National Park website I could
13:18
talk about trail conditions. It would take me
13:21
a 30 to 40 minute episode alone just on trail
13:25
conditions if I wanted to tell you where you
13:27
can and cannot hike and honestly, that's too
13:29
much for anybody. Especially because this resource
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exists. The website I'm referring to is the Yellowstone
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National Park Backcountry Situation Report. And
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if you plan on hiking or backcountry camping
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in the park, you need to visit this site. Even
13:46
if you don't plan on being active in the park,
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it's a good way to get a gauge on how things
13:50
are around the region. The website has a map
13:53
on it, as well as a list of trails and backcountry
13:56
campgrounds, and it's broken up by areas of the
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park. The map uses colors red, yellow and green
14:02
to let you know what is open and how it is. Red
14:06
is usually closed and snowy. Yellow is less than
14:10
ideal and green means that the area is awesome
14:13
and ready for trouble free use. Probably. I mean,
14:16
you know, it's not going to be perfect, but it
14:19
will be good enough to hike without being sketchy.
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The website is also updated when trails are closed
14:26
due to wildlife activity or when trails are experienced
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in some runoff and if there's a creek crossing
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and you can't do that creek crossing and it's
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unsafe, this website will tell you which creek
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crossings are unsafe. It is incredibly useful
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when planning your day. The site is updated by
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backcountry rangers and park staff who do their
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best to update it. However, know that the park
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is a huge place and while they update it often,
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sometimes it's a day or two behind. So your best
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bet is to check that and then talk to a ranger
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when you're in the park at a visitor center.
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Alright, the weather for the coming week. Lamar
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Valley. Thursday through Saturday currently looks
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great, with highs in the 60s and lows in the
15:11
30s and 40s. There's a slight chance of rain
15:14
each day, but nothing major. That changes on
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Sunday and Monday when there's around a 30 %
15:19
chance of rain showers and highs in the 50s and
15:22
low 60s. On Tuesday, the high drops to the 40s
15:26
and the low is around 30. There is a chance for
15:29
an inch or two of snow, but it could also fall
15:32
as rain. And that is like Tuesday afternoon into
15:36
the evening. Wednesday also looks to be wet and
15:38
cool with highs in the 40s and a low around 30.
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Cook City. Cook City looks almost identical to
15:46
Lamar Valley from Thursday through Monday. Tuesday
15:49
and Wednesday are currently forecast to see 3
15:51
inches of wet snow, with highs in the low 40s
15:54
and lows in the upper 20s. Gardner From Thursday
15:59
through Sunday, Gardner will have highs in the
16:01
70s and lows in the upper 30s or 40s. Temperatures
16:04
drop to the 60s and 50s as highs on Sunday and
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Monday, with an increasing chance of showers
16:10
and a low in the 30s. Tuesday and Wednesday will
16:13
potentially be wet and cool, with highs in the
16:15
40s and lows around freezing. West Yellowstone
16:20
Thursday through Sunday will see highs in the
16:22
60s and low 70s, with a chance of thunderstorms
16:25
on Thursday afternoon. It should be dry through
16:28
Saturday, but expect rain on Sunday with a high
16:31
of 60 and a low in the 30s. Monday will be even
16:34
cooler, with a high of just 50 and a low below
16:38
freezing. There is a potential for some wet snow
16:40
on Tuesday, especially in the evening going into
16:45
Wednesday. Both days will have highs in the 40s
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and lows in the 20s. And Old Faithful. Expect
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Old Faithful to have a similar forecast as West
16:56
Yellowstone, but temperatures will be colder
16:58
and snowfall could be a little heavier on Tuesday.
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Now next week I will be adding Canyon and maybe
17:06
Cody. As far as right now goes, expect Canyon
17:11
to be a lot like Lamar Valley or even Cook City.
17:17
So expect some snow. It should be sunny until
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Sunday. There should be some rain or snow. Sunday,
17:22
Monday, Tuesday, and then Wednesday will start
17:25
getting a little better. speaking of snow it
17:29
did snow recently in the park and people were
17:31
shocked don't be shocked it's gonna snow multiple
17:33
more times in May might snow in June could possibly
17:36
snow in July and August and then September for
17:39
sure and October for sure so it could snow every
17:42
month of the year right now this is our wet season
17:45
so expect more cold weather and snow the snowpack
17:48
as of May 7th is still in great shape most of
17:52
the park is in the high 80 and low 90 percent
17:55
of normal range. The heat this week is going
17:58
to help melt some of this off, so we made it
18:00
dip down like five percent or so. However, this
18:03
isn't anything to worry about, as it looks like
18:06
the following week, as I've mentioned, is going
18:08
to have some wetter days and have some more high
18:11
elevation snow to kind of even that back out.
18:13
It's obviously going to start melting out, but
18:16
it's going to be kind of melt quick, get a little
18:19
snow. Then it kind of just roller coasters up
18:22
and down until we lose our snowpack. The road
18:26
conditions. With no real snow or serious precipitation
18:30
in the forecast, roads should be great, except
18:32
for that Tuesday, Wednesday, like that Tuesday,
18:35
Wednesday could be kind of interesting. So keep
18:38
an eye on that. I mean, if it gets a little colder
18:40
on Sunday and Monday, that could also be something,
18:43
but I'm not anticipating that. But Tuesday, Wednesday,
18:46
Tuesday evening, Wednesday morning could be.
18:48
Little less than ideal. So keep an eye open Also,
18:53
keep it alert for any construction vehicles on
18:56
the road and potential delays starting near the
18:59
old and new bridge side of tower The construction
19:02
is kind of happening, but not quite it probably
19:05
won't be picking up this week But it's better
19:08
to expect it and then be happy when nothing's
19:10
going on. There's also going to be some construction
19:13
going on near the Buffalo Ranch in Lamar Valley
19:16
and that's going to impact the pullouts in that
19:18
area right near the Buffalo Ranch. The rest of
19:21
Lamar Valley should be fine. So for up -to -date
19:24
information you can call 307 -344 -2117 for recorded
19:30
road information or you can sign up to receive
19:32
the Yellowstone Road Alerts on your cell phone
19:35
by texting 82190 to the number 888 -777. The
19:42
camping information So this week more camping
19:46
options are opening up as always mammoth hot
19:49
springs campground is open The Madison campground
19:52
near the West Yellowstone entrance is also open
19:54
and the fishing bridge RV park opens up on May
19:58
9th So there are going to be three open campgrounds
20:02
one of which is RV only All right, the wildlife
20:06
watching update. All right Currently, I can tell
20:11
you that like every week, I mean, I talked about
20:16
the bears earlier, right? If you want to see
20:19
the best wildlife in the park right now, go to
20:22
the Northern Range. You will see bison. You'll
20:25
see other animals elsewhere in the park. You
20:27
might even see some bears. But if you want just
20:32
amazing wildlife right now, you need to drive
20:35
back and forth from Mammoth to Kind of the Pebble
20:40
Creek campground area and back just a couple
20:43
of times, especially early in the morning, late
20:47
in the evening and afternoon or on a cooler day.
20:50
Right now there are tons of bears. Lots of wolf
20:54
sightings. Wolves are out getting bison, bears
20:57
are out, and they will start getting the grizzly
20:59
boars are going to start getting the bison babies.
21:03
There's tons of bison babies out there, obviously.
21:05
There have been some badger sightings. There
21:07
have been lots of hawks and eagles and osprey.
21:10
But really, bears and wolves have been putting
21:13
on a display in that northern range, especially
21:17
from the tower junction out to Soda Butte Creek.
21:22
And so to Butte Cone and back, this is the time
21:26
of the year that if you want to see things, you
21:30
have to go there. This is if I'm going to the
21:33
park and I'm going to go see wildlife, this is
21:35
where I am going. I'm not going to hope I see
21:39
something else down near Old Faithful. I'm going
21:42
to go to wildlife in the northern range, specifically
21:45
from tower or that tower area up to, you know,
21:49
tower fall. or Tower Junction out to Pebble Creek
21:53
and back, even the Hell Roaring area. Last time
21:57
I was in the park, I saw three bears in a day.
22:00
I have heard that people have seen over 10 grizzlies
22:03
in a day this last week, most of them way off
22:07
in the distance. But still like by way of in
22:10
the distance, I mean like three to five miles.
22:12
But if you have a spotting scope and you have
22:14
binoculars and you're willing to stop and look
22:17
where other people are looking, there's a chance
22:19
you're going to see a lot of wildlife. If you
22:22
drive back and forth without stopping, you might
22:25
see some bears and stuff like that. But if you
22:28
want to see wolves and bears stop where other
22:30
people are stopped, park in only designated pullouts.
22:35
Don't just pull off on the side of the road.
22:37
Go where it is legal to stop and go and look
22:40
honestly like this is where you need to go If
22:43
you love wildlife watching this is at the time
22:46
This is what I will be doing this weekend even
22:49
though the weather may not be good on Sunday,
22:51
so Trust me on this go to the northern range
22:55
to see wildlife This is the time from now until
22:59
about mid -june Where you're going to be able
23:01
to see a lot of wildlife and then it's really
23:04
going to drop off around mid -june July is going
23:07
to be a lot harder to see animals than right
23:09
now right now is The absolute best time to see
23:13
animals, especially in the northern range. So
23:15
go there Don't stop in the road only use Approved
23:20
pullouts, but other than that enjoy yourself.
23:23
It's going to be incredible Alright, so that
23:27
is my wildlife watching update if you want more
23:29
wildlife watching tips. I do have a guidebook
23:32
It's available in both ebook and paperback formats
23:35
and this book I wrote to help you see wildlife
23:39
like a seasoned local It goes section by section
23:42
of the park telling you what you can see when
23:45
and where This is based on my 30 almost 40 years
23:49
of visiting the park. Yes, wildlife is wild but
23:54
wildlife also has routines and my book kind of
23:59
helps you with that routine or understand those
24:02
routines so if you want that You can pick up
24:05
that book at outdoor -society .com. I would rather
24:08
you buy it directly from me and not through Amazon
24:11
as Amazon takes a decent cut of the book and
24:15
then you're just giving money to billionaires.
24:18
So support small business. Don't support billionaires.
24:22
Come to Yellowstone. Watch wildlife like a pro
24:24
with my guidebook. Okay, hiking news and updates.
24:29
Right now, the best snow -free hiking experiences
24:31
are going to be found in the Northern Range and
24:33
around the Geyser Basins. Trails out the east
24:36
entrance and down by Canyon are going to be hit
24:38
and miss with snow. Pelican Creek and Storm Point
24:41
by the lake are in good shape right now, as are
24:45
the paved paths in Canyon. Red Rock Point and
24:48
Brink of the Lower Falls are currently closed,
24:50
but that could change soon. Speaking of the geyser
24:52
basins that I mentioned earlier the Grand Prismatic
24:56
overlook trail is now snow free and open go there
25:00
highly recommend it and Then if you're hiking
25:03
near Mammoth You could do Bunsen peak if you
25:06
didn't mind a few patches of snow and a little
25:08
off -trail route finding This is about the time
25:10
that I start doing it. It's not the You know
25:14
switch back route. It's a little steeper, but
25:16
it's you can still get up it but Sepulcher peak
25:21
doing things like part of specimen ridge that's
25:25
still going to be a little snowy so don't recommend
25:27
that right now also it's going to be a little
25:29
muddy up there so finally be aware that any trail
25:34
with a creek crossing is going to be dicey since
25:36
water levels are going to be rising this week
25:38
with the warm weather this all leads me to my
25:42
trek of the week Which I was going to write something
25:46
a lot longer. Um, I had another trail in mind,
25:49
but with me trying to get this done, I'm recommending
25:52
a very fun trail that I love. I've mentioned
25:56
it. Months ago, I think to do in the winter.
25:59
I haven't mentioned it right now. Um, this is
26:01
also a good one for father's day, that sort of
26:04
time, like early June, late May, early June.
26:06
I'll tell why, but the trail I'm recommending
26:08
right now is the trout Lake trail. And. You know
26:13
right now this is a good one because it's going
26:15
to be doable and there's still some mud that
26:18
we want to dry up before some of the other trails
26:21
that I really want to recommend are really doable
26:23
so you know if this trail sounds too easy message
26:26
me and I can give you a handful of longer treks
26:28
you're gonna love or you can pick up my hiking
26:30
guidebook. But Trout Lake is a stunning small
26:33
lake in the northern range of Yellowstone and
26:36
it dazzles those who make the uphill trek. It
26:39
shimmers in the summer it's surrounded by mountains
26:42
and it's a spot of serenity and natural beauty
26:45
that no matter the month and no matter the weather
26:48
it is truly gorgeous there's opportunities for
26:52
wildlife watching there could be bison up there
26:55
elk coyotes foxes and maybe even like a bear
26:59
up there um i have seen bears up there i've seen
27:02
bear prints too and there could be even be otters
27:04
in the lake There could also be fish. There could
27:08
be hawks fishing in there. It's really cool.
27:11
And the short trail is a great detour from like
27:14
the pavement when you're driving back and forth.
27:17
It's honestly one of the many day hikes in Yellowstone
27:20
that's overlooked for a lot of reasons. One of
27:24
the reasons it's overlooked is because the distance
27:26
is super short and many hikers are not going
27:30
to consider it as a day hike. Which is fine,
27:32
you know, it doesn't have to be. But you can
27:35
do lots of short day hikes and still get, you
27:37
know, 10 miles in the day and absolutely crush
27:39
it. Another reason people overlook this and said
27:43
it's located far from the other frequently visited
27:45
areas of the park. It's a trailhead that is,
27:50
you know, it's beyond Lamar Valley, right? So
27:54
anybody going in Lamar Valley is just going to
27:56
drive and turn around. It's also that the trail
27:59
isn't super well signed and cars zip between
28:01
the northeast entrance and Lamar back and forth
28:04
without really seeing it and more often than
28:06
not it's overlooked because few people go beyond
28:10
the boardwalks when they're visiting Yellowstone.
28:12
The reason I'm recommending it right now is that
28:15
this short trek is like that perfect break from
28:18
driving back and forth in Lamar. Like I said,
28:21
you should drive back and forth to look for bears
28:22
and wolves. So in the middle of the day, you
28:24
need something to do and you want this really
28:26
awesome lunch spot to carry your lunch to. This
28:29
is that trail. It's a favorite of mine to quickly
28:32
walk up a hill and just find a place to sit and
28:36
hang out. What I do recommend doing is, after
28:40
you climb up the hill, which is roughly 300 feet,
28:44
hang a left once you get down to the lake. If
28:46
you walk around the lake, it really lets you
28:50
take in every view. If you just walk to the lake
28:52
and back, it's fine, but walk around the lake.
28:55
Trust me, it's worth it. When you go to the left,
28:58
you can also hang even further left and get up
29:01
on a ridge line and then look into Lamar Valley
29:03
from there. That is kind of where I have lunch.
29:07
There's a couple rocks You can sit on it is a
29:09
cool spot the overall distance of this hike with
29:13
all these little detours I'm talking about will
29:15
be a total of 1 .25 miles and it's gonna be around
29:19
300 feet of elevation gain all at the beginning.
29:22
It's short and steep It's three tenths of a mile,
29:25
but once you're up you are there and it's absolutely
29:29
stunning now That is kind of a place where I
29:35
love going and I'm going to tell you something
29:37
else. If you walk around the lake, you're going
29:41
to cross a bridge on the far side of the lake.
29:43
There is a boot path you can go up that follows
29:46
a little creek. When you're there and the landlocked
29:50
salmon that roam the region are in their spawning
29:55
season, they will all be swimming up that little
29:58
creek, beyond the lake and up that little creek.
30:01
and it is a sight to see. That's going to be
30:04
at the end of May, early June, and I will be
30:08
updating when that's going on if I can, but go
30:11
and check it out now. If you want to do, if you're
30:14
a little bit more of a person that wants to explore
30:17
and you want to do something a little off trail,
30:19
there's also a couple of little lakes beyond
30:22
that first lake. Won't tell you where they are
30:25
because that's kind of the fun. Pull up a map,
30:27
look at it, and you're definitely going to see
30:31
that, oh, there is a lot that goes beyond the
30:35
trails. There's a lot to be found once you take
30:37
that even further layer up into the wilderness.
30:42
All right. That is it for this week. Next week's
30:46
episode, I'm going to return with all of the
30:48
information you need to have another great week
30:50
in the park, including the wildlife, the weather,
30:53
trail updates, news, and my random Yellowstone
30:57
history tidbit will be back. I appreciate you
31:00
all. Thank you so much for listening and until
31:03
next week, happy trails and have a fantastic
31:06
time in Yellowstone. This week in Yellowstone
31:18
is brought to you by the Outdoor Society because
31:20
that's my company and that's where this is hosted
31:23
There are no sponsors. This is a labor of love.
31:26
So thank you all for listening Copyright 2025,
31:30
baby