It’s 27 degrees and very dark outside as I pack up.

I stop at Trash Can and enjoy the pre-dawn quiet. It’s just wonderful to feel like I’m the only one here. I just love the shoulder seasons.

A flock of geese starts to squawk as they fly. I can’t see them but I follow their sound south. In the distance, a single coyote howls.

I move on to Canyon West, finding it’s still quite dark. I guess I don’t need to get going quite so early! I sit in my car sipping my coffee, waiting for enough light to scope. Several coyote voices greet the morning.

Eventually a beautiful sunrise begins behind me; the deep purples and pinks are just stunning.

Stacy is scoping two pullouts behind me at the original Canyon West. He can see parts of the Slough creek flats that are blocked at my lower angle. He calls to say he’s found wolves.

I join him and quickly get ten wolves in view, seven black and three grays. They are wandering through the creek corridor, trending slowly south.

Thanks to Stacy’s call, other watchers find them from various pullouts along the Slough campground road. After about a half hour here, Stacy and I abandon this spot and climb up Dave’s hill.

Dave’s higher location gives the best view of the Slough area, plus areas to the south, west and north. My wolf count rises to 14. They are still meandering without much purpose, as if simply enjoying being back in their familiar “family room”.

The hill fills up with many of my wolf watcher buds: Calvin and Lynette, Dale & Fay & Stacy. Rick is scoping from Bob’s. He has to leave around 8:30 for his flight to Sundance.

As the wolves reach the cut-bank section of the creek, several games of chase and tackle erupt. I never tire of seeing wolves at play.

Some of the older wolves bed down in the flats, while a few others prefer the deep sage behind Marge.

The pack gradually shifts further and further south, with one black adult going past the southern Round tree.

The pups and younger wolves continue to play and explore, ambushing each other and play-fighting. We see three rallies over the course of the morning as well.

The sky remains overcast, and a brisk wind blows from the southeast. Individual wolves lift their heads to howl from time to time.

The play eventually winds down and all the wolves begin an extended rest. I am able to ID all five grays (907, 1478F, dark gray male, uncollared gray female and the gray pup) and 9 blacks (the alpha male, 1479F, two blacks with gray faces (probably 1386F and 1385F), the young black male and all four black pups.

(Missing wolves would be 1477F and the uncollared black female.)

We also see several coyotes down by the creek, sniffing where the wolves had been earlier. And there is a bald eagle in the “eagle tree”.

The day barely warms at all, though, between the heavy cloud cover and the stiff wind. By 10:30, it’s still only 35!

The wolves are all bedded by now, so I head down to my car and drive east to do my stretches.

According to the weather report, this might be the last “nice” day for a while. Snow is coming.

After a break, I return to the valley at 3PM and find a much warmer day (64). It’s still very windy, though.

As I pass through Lower Baronette I hear the sound of a chain saw.

What?

Two guys from a pick-up truck are south of the lot, cutting up a large fallen tree.

I ask what’s up and learn that they are living and working at the Ranch through the winter. They have permission from the Park Service to cut firewood from dead and down timber.

I continue through the valley and stop at Canyon West. Hmm, the Junctions are no longer where I left them. I call out on my radio but get no response.

I drive west and stop at Lower Hellroaring. I check the carcass spot from yesterday, finding it thanks to the dark “water hole” spot. But I see no wolves nor any coyotes. Not even birds. Hmmm

The sky is blue and cloudless but the wind is stronger than before.

I head back east and stop at Elk Creek, turning my scope to scan Specimen. I check in over the radio again. Stacy is looking from Canyon West but has no wolves, either.

Eventually I go back and re-join him, Dale & Fay. They have been scoping for about an hour with nothing in view. I try to position my car as a wind break but nothing really works.

We visit and share info a while. Finally, Stacy spots a single black near Marge. It noses around a while, as if looking for a scent trail, then heads south and disappears.

I leave around 6:15 to go back to Silver Gate.

Today I saw: bison, coyotes, 14 Junction wolves (including 907, alpha male, 1385F, 1386F, 1478F, 1479F, black male, dark gray male, uncollared gray female plus all five pups) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.