I’m out at 6:20. It’s even windier today! We had snow overnight but the wind blew it away leaving no accumulation on the car.

By the time I get to Dorothy’s the wind has lessened, so I hop out and scope from here a while.

My friend Veronica pulls in for a chat. She is on her way to Cooke for more fox photos. After she heads east, there is a report from Hellroaring, so I drive there.

Kai has a signal for the newly-collared Junction pup (1479) but so far no one has found her. After about 45 minutes, with many eyes looking but not finding, I reluctantly pack up and head back east.

I join Lynette and Rick at Elk Creek, searching the usual routes taken by wolves as they travel east from Hellroaring. Lynette and Rick get a few brief glimpses of four separate wolves, most likely Junctions, as they pass tiny openings in the forest. Rick lets me look through his scope but I’m not quick enough.

He says they’ve gone out of sight behind Flat Top hill, likely headed to the dreaded Trough. I relocate to Petrified Tree but by 11AM I still have yet to spot a wolf.

I join Laurie and Dan at Boulder. Kathie arrives, too. We scope hard but still find nothing.

Kathie and I decide to walk out the campground road at Slough while Laurie, Dan & Rick try a higher view from Lamar Canyon West.

But we all come up empty. Slough looks beautiful and see a few bison but still no wolves. And the wind returns with a vengeance.

We are ready to call it a day. I stop at Footbridge for another try at seeing a cougar. The single goat has moved from its crevice to a different recess in the cliff that is likely out of the wind. I think this goat must be injured, poor thing.

Snow starts falling so I continue back to Silver Gate. We hunker down for the rest of the day, chatting about this and that. At least we’re out of the wind!

Today I saw: bison, elk, a mountain goat, and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.