More snow falls overnight, but it’s a lot less than predicted. In fact, I find merely a trace on Laurie’s driveway; not even enough to produce tracks in the road.

Visibility is somewhat restricted on the higher slopes but not too bad.

I stop at Canyon West to scope the Slough rendezvous, even though I believe the wolves are likely still up on Specimen.

To my surprise, I see a line of black shapes traveling from left to right through the flats below Marge.

I make a quick count of six and alert other watchers, following the wolf procession as they continue north, moving behind Marge. It looks like they are on their usual route north of the mixed forest which leads to Junction pass.

I move to Slough and catch sight of them again as they pass the distinctive rock formation. This time I count eight; seven blacks and one gray. I check above the rock and see some of them a second time as they curve west.

Once the wolves disappear, I join the exodus of cars from Slough. We gather again at Boulder. I set up in the lot near Calvin and Lynette.

We scan the top of Mom’s Ridge, Little Mom’s and the high meadows on either side. A fog bank up there proves problematic, as it shrouds much of the usual route.

After a while, Lynette finds a single black east of Mom’s, then two more. It’s a hard spot to describe and the wafting of the fog doesn’t help. I finally find one of her wolves, then three more nearby.

A small bison herd grazing nearby makes for an easier mark to find. Their location helps others find the wolves.

Dale and Fay and Stacy scope the same area from Rick’s pullout but the fog appears to be worse from their angle.

I stay at Boulder with Calvin and Lynette because the wolves we saw were not moving west but seemed to have stalled out for some reason. But the fog has been hiding them for a while now so we don’t really know where they are.

I begin to wonder if they continued west after all, so at 10AM I head off to check Hellroaring.

I set up here and find several small herds of bull elk on the open slope, plus a large herd of cows and calves further downslope by the creek.

I remember Bob Landis told me years ago that wolves follow elk, so if you wanna find wolves, look for elk.

Fay and Dale join me here, while Calvin and Lynette decide to continue to Blacktail.

Suddenly the highest herd of bull elk start running. Fay sees a black wolf behind them. I see more blacks behind that one!

Two bulls split from the herd and dash downslope and slightly east with at least six wolves behind them.

I frantically radio “come to Hellroaring”. Luckily, Calvin is still within radio distance. He responds “copy”.

Soon the pullout is filling up and we all get a great Junction sighting.

The wolves give upon the first set of bulls, then chase the other group across the slope to the west. Alas for the wolves; the bulls easily outpace them.

The pack now gathers for a rally high on the bare slope. I grin, because to me this is such a cool thing wolves do. Even though they just failed at two chases, they still celebrate together.

The rally offers me a chance to do another count. I get 15, in fact, we all do.

The wolves start downslope again with their tails flying high. They suddenly stop and gather again, sniffing excitedly all over, tails high in excitement.

I realize they have stopped at the carcass spot from Saturday. They are likely smelling the scent of other wolves; possibly 1384’s group, or maybe Rescues. Maybe even the injured 1048M, or all of the above.

Once they’ve given this spot a good sniff, they set off again as a group, downslope and slightly east. They stop in another spot, again doing another excited sniff-search.

Stacy remarks that they are at the location of a different carcass from perhaps two weeks ago.

Once they are satisfied with the news they gather here, the pack has another rally, then moves once more. This time they pass through a bison herd, showing little interest in any of them, stopping a third time in a spot that Fay recognizes as the location of a carcass 1384’s group had a week ago.

The wolves are now much lower on the slope and consequently have become much harder to follow due to the many foreground trees.

We have to constantly reposition our scopes to keep them in view.

Lynette and Calvin and Stacy are all leaving today, so around noon we bid our sad farewells, grateful for the excellent sighting we were able to share today.

Now it’s just Fay and Dale and me.

It’s ironic that while the wolves were high on the slope and easy to see, the only people here were regular watchers. Now, with a pullout full of first-time visitors, eager to see a wolf, the animals are nearly impossible to see!

The pack has been travelling steadily west just above the Yellowstone sporadically visible between tree branches. The cow-calf group of elk have moved ahead of them, seeking safety at the edge of the cliffs, as they frequently do.

While trying to find an unobstructed spot, I notice three elk above the cliffs, staring alertly east, while a line of about seven black wolves travels directly below them heading west.

Both species seem unaware of the other. Finally, a single black realizes there are elk above. This wolf starts uphill while the three elk remain stationary, intently looking east.

The black gets closer and closer to the elk. I keep expecting to see other wolves join in, but they don’t.

The wolf pauses a long while, then suddenly charges. All three elk bolt, wheel and run west with the wolf close on their heels. The wolf makes brief contact with the trailing elk, but it shifts into a higher gear and gets away.

These three elk join about six others already huddled on a precarious ledge of the cliffs above the river, where I’ve seen them often take refuge.

The failed pursuer wolf climbs a slope above the cliffs and disappears behind that ridge.

Since I can’t show them wolves, I help visitors see these huddled elk. While I am sharing this view, three more individual elk join the original group, each approaching from a different direction.

The visitors ask lots of questions about the bunched elk, and I’m happy to be able to answer most of them.

Unit 337 calls in a report from their location to the west on “the perch”. From their spot they can see a group of eight Junctions having a rally. We cannot see them from here due to a ridge, but now I know where they are.

Val says they have now bedded down.

I re-join Dale and Fay, bemoaning the fact that we have no more wolves in view.

I drive east to the Lower lot, hoping to be able to find the Junctions’ bedding spot from here, but I’m still blocked by the same ridge.

So, at 1PM, I head back east.

As I cruise through Round Prairie, I see two cars stopped ahead at the Pebble Creek bridge. Aha, I think to myself, I’m about to see a moose!

I approach slowly and stop behind the east-bound car. The driver of the vehicle in the west-bound lane is standing outside his car, aiming his camera east.

From the north-side woods and onto the road steps a sow grizzly, followed by two cubs. One is big, the other little. The sow looks west, then proceeds east, right along the center line, followed by her cubs.

The family lumbers along into the east-bound lane to warily pass a white pickup parked in the small trailhead lot.

Each cub takes a moment to rise on its hind legs, checking behind them.

Just before the speed limit sign they re-enter the forest to the south.

It’s a measure of how empty the Park has finally become, that I sit in my car with my flashers on watching these bears for a full 15 minutes before any other car appears in my rear-view mirror.

The car pulls alongside me and stops. The people ask why we are stopped. I tell them and their eyes go wide. They cross the bridge and stop near the speed limit sign, so I suspect the bears are still in view there.

I feel very lucky to have witnessed this family so close. Once all the cars are gone I go east myself.

I stop in Silver Gate to give Krisztina an update and to show my phone photo of the bears. She recognizes this family as the one with one yearling and one coy. Of course! That explains the size difference I noticed.

So cool!

After such an amazing day, I end up staying in this evening.

Today I saw: 3 grizzly bears (including 2 cubs), bison, a coyote, elk, 15 Junction wolves including 907F, alpha male, 1385F, 1386F, 1479F, black male, dark gray male, uncollared gray female, one other black female (either 1477F or the uncollared black female) plus all 5 pups and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.