It’s 42 degrees outside when I leave at 5:30.

Two mule deer cross the road near Baronette and the local fox is patrolling at Lower.

The moon peeks out briefly then hides behind clouds again.

The rain has stopped but it’s left fog just about everywhere. Most of the time, when Lamar is socked in, the Slough area remains clear.

Today, however, proves to be the exception.

I park roadside at Slough and slowly pack up, waiting for a bit more light. There are several early birds at the top of Dave’s hill when I arrive.

Thick fog obscures the low meadows between Marge and the Round Tree. The den area is clear at first but clouds of fog waft in and out, becoming very thick. Still, I search every clear space for wolves or bears.

We hear a coyote chorus behind us answered by one in front of us. But there is too much fog to see these animals. I find a bald eagle in a tree for a moment, then the fog thickens and hides it again.

We try scoping to the south to any clear spot there, but the fog continues to waft in and out. The place where it never wafts at all is right where we want to look, below Marge.

It takes until 8:45 for the veil to finally lift. As soon as it does, we start to see wolves. See? They were there all along.

I see a black bedded on the low, bare hill left of Marge. Sharper-eyed watchers see a GPS collar, making this wolf 1477F.

There are two other black wolves moving behind the Marge tree, and at least two more bedded in the flats.

1477 gets up and travels north towards the Mixed forest. I lose her as she continues upslope behind the trees.

Eventually we ID the others: 907F, 1479F, two black pups and the gray pup. Then another black joins the group, 1386F.

Sun finally emerges around 9:30 warming us up to about 50. The sky remains mostly cloudy, but at least it doesn’t rain.

The wolves are now in clear view but nothing much is happening. They seem content to remain bedded in their current favorite spot.

Around 10AM I head down for my break.

When I head back to the valley around 5, the day is much more sunny, and warmer, at 58.

I park at Bob’s lot but a stiff wind has once again arrived. I try walking out to the knob but it blows so hard I nearly lose my scope.

The Junctions are very likely still bedded in the thick sage behind Marge but we cannot manage to find a single one.

Instead, we watch some pronghorn and a lone coyote, mousing.

We make it an early night and drive back east.

Today I saw: bison, coyotes, mule deer, a bald eagle, a fox, pronghorn, 7 Junction wolves (including 907, 1386, 1477, 1479, two black pups and the gray pup) and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe.