Since the snowfall prediction is for 8 inches, I decide to delay my departure until first light.

But when I get outside at 6:45 I am happily surprised to find a mere two inches on the ground.

I always enjoy seeing tracks in fresh snowfall. This morning there is evidence of a passing fox, coyote and a few bison.

Then just east of Baronette, the fox itself appears. At Thunderer, I start to see larger tracks. Aha! Wolf!

At Round Prairie, Taylor stands in the “off-limits” area, scope pointed north above the willows. 50 yards to the west, past the final orange cone stand three visitors, looking in the same spot.

Smiling faces confirm they are seeing wolves.

I park in the regular lot and carry my scope about 300 yards back to the viewing spot.

There are four uncollared grays bedded above the willows, below the crest of the snow-covered hill. Three are obviously pups because they are roughhousing with each other. The other is their older brother, the one I saw two mornings ago.

They all wrestle playfully, jumping on each other, biting and pulling each other’s legs, having a great time. Their older brother is bedded above them in a “sphinx” position, calmly watching his younger siblings.

Suddenly the newly-collared black female appears at the edge of the trees, looking down at her siblings. More visitors arrive, most with cameras. The emergence of the black wolf creates a sensation, as she is the only black and so much easier to see.

As she starts down the hill I notice a gray wolf peeking out of the treeline. This must be one of the alphas, but I’m not sure which one.

The black female joins the pups in play for a bit, then heads into the willows, where the carcass remains hidden. I suspect there is a good deal of it left as there are plenty of ravens and magpies flitting about.

The other wolves follow their sister, leaving just one gray pup in view for a while. This pup has found something to chew on.

I glance back up to the wolf peeking out of the forest. It’s still there. Then magically the head becomes a whole wolf, 1228F herself! I am so happy to see her! She moves across the slope and beds down with a view of her family.

Then I notice a second collared gray that I somehow missed before. This must be her mate, the newly-collared alpha male. I’ve got the whole pack!

The alpha male is bedded broadside, about fifty yards from 1228, calmly watching his family below. He turns his head to look at his beautiful mate and I see a couple of golden bolts on his new collar.

1228F seems quite relaxed; her chin rests on a low mound of frozen snow, one front leg stretched out in front. I can see her paw pads. Her collar has golden studs all around, and they are clearly visible in my scope.

The black female emerges from willows further to the right. She’s licking her chops. She passes close to the alpha male; he responds by getting up. She continues east over to 1228F and he follows.

The black passes 1228 and goes further up the hill towards the thickest Douglas fir. The male re-beds close to 1228F.

The black seems the most restless in the pack, but I wouldn’t call her antsy. Once she disappears into the forest, the alphas get up and walk slowly in that direction, too.

One by one they disappear silently into the forest.

I give up my spot to other arriving visitors and walk back to my car.

I reflect on how my short delay in leaving this morning worked out in my favor. I am just thrilled with this sighting. I have not seen all the Shrimps together since before these gray pups were born. This has more than made up for my wolfless day yesterday!

At Hitching Post I see Rick and Kathie so I check in with them. They had a brief look at 1385F, Rescue 1392M and the uncollared black up at the bull elk carcass above the ledge trail.

A snow squall arrives, creating a white-out. I bundle up and talk with Rick and Kathie a while. None of us realize that Laurie and Dan drove by during the squall. They ended up going all the way to Hellroaring!

The wind is fierce so I retreat to my car to wait it out.

When it lets up a bit, Kathie and I drive to Trash Can to see if we can find the three black wolves. Instead we see the limping coyote.

At 11:20 I check my temperature gauge and realize the day is getting colder. Snow begins again, quite heavily.

I call it a day and head back east. When Laurie and Dan get back we spend the rest of the day indoors. Laurie doesn’t feel well today so Dan and I try to help.

Today I saw: bison, coyotes, elk, a fox, 7 Shrimp Lake wolves (including 1228F, newly collared alpha male, newly collared black female, 2 yr old gray and 3 gray pups) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.