I head out in the dark at 5AM

When I get to Lamar, I notice several cars and people scoping for Mollies, but no one looks like they see anything.

I continue to Slough where I park along the road. At first, I just enjoy being here, in the dark under the stars. It’s not light enough for me to climb Dave’s hill yet so I pack up slowly.

For once I am the first to arrive on Dave’s hill! But I am soon joined by Dusty, Ginny and Celia, then Kate & Ger. They are south west of the western trees, moving down a low rocky knob on the same hill as the small diagonal forest. I have a single black adult and all the pups (four black and one gray). Then I see a second black adult. One is 1479F and the other is likely 1385F.

Rick arrives and since they are heading to the flats, we suggest he set up at Bob’s Knob. He does and finds them quickly.

Celia and Ginny and I study the pups to discover distinct markings that might aid us in future ID’s. The gray pup is particularly beautiful. One of the black pups has a white star on its chest. Two other black pups seem to have a bit of mottling on the sides. I joke that they may turn into cocoa pups.

One of the black pups seems unusually big and I keep mistaking it for an adult. Celia spots a collared gray trailing the group. It’s 907F.

The wolves reach the flats. We are surprised to discover that the Stephen King tree is now lying on its side. I guess the wind last night was too much for it. I also suspect that the flood of 2022 altered the creek enough to rob this tree of enough water.

Well, it’s still visible but not nearly as distinctive in this new position.

The wolf group moves towards a curve of the creek that has a sloping sandy/mud “beach”. We find the alpha male down here, comfortably bedded.

The water takes on a golden hue, due to the rising sun. The wolves splash around in it, playing adorably. The gray pup is very feisty, stomping on several siblings/litter mates. They all seem to be enjoying their “day at the beach” this morning.

907 finds an easy chair near her mate. They seem content to watch the five pups and their older siblings playing heartily together.

The pups move south, exploring a section of cut bank, trying (and failing) to jump up to the top. A black pup face- plants but scrambles the rest of the way up. The gray pup jumps down from above, right on top of a different black pup. They seem to love climbing around in this soft soil, tumbling and leaping and sliding down.

Around 8:45, they begin a slow, wandering return up to the den area, trudging up the lion meadow trail. When they arrive, they all almost instantly disappear into the gully.

Back in the flats, we see two coyotes mousing, several sandhills and some pronghorn. We chat happily and Dusty tells an amusing story of visitors yesterday who asked if he enjoyed seeing “the emus”? They were looking at sandhills!

Celia finds a new black wolf approaching the den area from the southwest. It’s 1386F, carrying a bone. We track her past the small diagonal forest and the parrot rock. When she gets to the western trees, the pups rush to greet her. She drops the bone and gives them a feeding.

1479F and 1385F hurry over to get their share. Even the alphas want some. 1386 provides for all. They all bed down to digest for a short while.

The gray pup presses 1386 for more food, but she moves away, in a westerly direction. At first, I think she is just avoiding the pup but soon it’s clear she is moving with purpose.

In fact, she is now leading all the pups as well as all the adults, in that “on a mission” style trot. Hmmm. I suspect she knows where fresh food is.

The wolves follow her route over the rocky hills back down to the flats. And they keep going, passing the fallen Stephen King, paralleling the creek all the way to Marge.

And still they keep going, now aiming for the southern Round Tree. Here the group slows down a bit, sniffing all around and allowing the pups to engage in more play.

They set off once more, continuing south until they disappear from our view.

Where are they going?

It’s nearly 10AM so most of us decide to drive west to see if they re-appear somewhere.

When I get to Straightaway, I see dozens and dozens of cars lining the road on both sides as far west as I can see. Over a hundred people are walking in small groups out across the sage meadows to the north, like religious pilgrims at Lourdes.

On the next hilltop, four or five clumps of 10-15 people stand still, looking down to the flat below.

At what???

I pull over and notice a man walking back to his car. I wait for him to arrive and ask “What are they seeing out there?”

The man looks a bit annoyed. “It’s a dead bison” he answers. “And there’s about 10 black wolves up in the rocks. Some of the people are 10 feet from the carcass.”

I thank the man and tell Celia and Krystina that I need to alert a Ranger. People are still streaming out from the road, most of them probably have no idea why they are going, nor that it is dangerous and ill-advised.

At Tower I report what I know. When I return, an LE Ranger has already arrived on the scene and is getting people to return to the road. A new volunteer seasonal Ranger (Debbie) is doing the same.

Dusty has found an even better solution by climbing a low hill on the south side of the road, distinguished by a large square boulder. He locates the carcass and people start to join him in a much safer spot.

Dusty’s discovery gives all these visitors a way to watch whatever action might develop, and allows the Junctions (and any bears) to access another easy meal. Yay, Dusty!

Celia and I join him. The carcass (the fifth rut-killed bison in Junction territory in as many weeks) is partially visible in front of three boulders. We see no wolves on it, nor do we see the Junctions anywhere on the low slopes of the middle Peregrine Hill further north. I’m sure they are hiding due to all the people who initially went out there.

We do see two turkey vultures nearby.

We speculate that 1386 found this carcass on her travels and brought the news back to her pack and the pups.

It’s nearly noon and it’s time for my break, so I bid my friends adieu and head east.

In Silver Gate I call Rick to make sure he knows about the new carcass.

A little before 5PM I head back to the Valley. It’s still hot at 82 degrees!

I join my friends in the Peregrine area around 5:30.

Rangers have put up a row of signs just north of the road, temporarily closing the carcass area. Celia tells me two wolves came to feed while I was gone: 1479 and 1386.

I catch a glimpse of the latter just as she disappears over the hill left of the Southern Round Tree.

We can see a pond east of the carcass area, which is big enough to host quite a few ducks and a great blue heron.

While waiting for more to happen, I wander upslope to the south to see if the view is better from a higher spot. I happen to swing my scope to the southeast and find several petrified tree stumps on Specimen Ridge that I’ve never seen before. Cool!

As I make my way back to the big boulder, I can tell something has just happened. People are suddenly glued to their scopes in a way they weren’t before.

907 has come to the carcass. Everyone is thrilled.

She feeds a while, then carries off a chunk to the north. A live bison wanders by, then a pair of sandhills. Two coyotes make a short visit, grabbing bites.

The road in both directions and on both sides is packed with cars, all the way from Boulder Pond to Longs. This is one of the biggest wolf jams I’ve ever seen. Luckily, the shoulder on both sides is quite flat, but some drivers still don’t pull over far enough, which creates a bottleneck for traffic trying to get through.

But it’s a nice night with good friends and a new “sure thing” to watch.

Around 8PM I call it a night and go back east.

Today I saw: bison (and calves), coyotes, ducks, a great blue heron, pronghorn, sandhills, 10 Junction wolves (including 907, alpha male, 1385, 1386, 1479 plus all five pups) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.