TIME-TEMPERATURE- WEATHER:

Early AM (first light-9AM): 33 at SG with wet snow on the car. Periods of snow and sun alternate all morning.

Late AM (9-noon) off and on snow all morning. I leave Tower around 11:30 to head back east, with weather still unsettled.

Evening: 4:30-9PM I go out around 5. Drive back to SG at 7:30PM.

Snow Level (roads/landscape): All the snow that fell yesterday is already melted out. Even the extra deep snow base in Round Prairie seems to be shrinking. But snow remains roadside from Thunderer to SG.

Water/Ice Level (ponds and rivers): Roadside ponds ice-free as far as I can tell. Rivers swelled and muddy

CROWD: much lessened due to weather. Lamar seems particularly empty this evening.

SUMMARY FOR THE DAY: Much relief is felt when Junctions are seen at Slough this AM. It seems all is normal despite their being spooked away from their home by the runners yesterday. A hunting party heads west and is seen later in the Junction Butte area.

Some people briefly see the Mollies this morning north of Trash Can. The weather is unsettled all morning with alternating periods of snow and sun.

WOLF SIGHTINGS (total; pack; individuals, pullout, time of day): 8 total wolves, all Junctions

8 Junctions 6B/2G first from Bobs, then later hunting on the western slope of Junction Butte. Individuals include 1479F, the limping yearling, 1484M and the uncollared gray).

COMMENTS (wolves): Limited visibility prevents good identification today.

NON-WOLF SIGHTINGS (what & where)

Grizzly: 1 grizzly from Aspen around 6:30PM digging in the meadow in front of the mixed forest, dark with a Yellowstone stripe.

Bison: various, usual spots

Coyote: yes, but specifics not recorded

Elk: western slope of Junction Butte from Tower

Pronghorn: various, usual spots

Bighorn sheep: western slope of Junction Butte from Tower

COMMENTS: Bill is seeing very few bears so far

EARLY MORNING HIGHLIGHTS (first light till 9AM) Rick and I head out to Bobs. Wolves have already been seen in the den area, showing no ill effects from the surprise visit by the two runners. We see three blacks and a gray in the bracken area below the natal den.

One black goes into the natal den and stays inside several minutes. Visibility is too misty for a positive ID.

There is minimal activity for the next hour. Around 8AM the Junctions have a rally, then a hunting party heads west over Aspen Pass. I count 6 blacks (including 1479 and the limping yearling) and 2 grays (1484M and the UCG).

They are out of sight a few minutes, then re-emerge in the Aspen Drainage, just right of the Marge meadow.

They continue that way, eventually passing the Southern Round Tree and then out of sight.

LATE MORNING HIGHLIGHTS (9AM-12 noon) I move to Crystal. Rick goes to Boulder. Others spread out elsewhere. Rick has a brief sighting of wolves climbing up the eastern slope of Junction Butte but I arrive too late.

I end up at Tower looking at the western side of the Butte. A large herd of bison with many calves suddenly bunches up with tails kinked high.

But nothing develops and the bison relax. I keep scanning and see a herd of elk, then a herd of bighorn move into the area. They seem calm but I find it odd to see all three ungulates in the same spot. I suspect they are all moving to avoid the wolves.

I relocate to Yellowstone Picnic and again see bison suddenly bunching. This time I spot a wolf to the right of them.

Kelly, Marissa and Glenda are scoping nearby. They also see a wolf but a different one. I go back to Tower and see scattered wolves (6 blacks) among the bison over the next half hour.

The wolves try various tactics, but the herd is brave and are able to repulse the wolves pretty easily.

Squalls of corn snow blow through, limiting visibility until the sun pokes out again for a few minutes. By 10:30 the wolves seem to have given up. I hang out a while longer, then head back east.

EVENING HIGHLIGHTS (4:30PM-9PM) Despite the unsettled weather I go out around 4:30. It is still quite cloudy and extremely windy. I find no wolves in Lamar nor Slough. I check Junction Butte from Tower but find no activity.

I stop at Aspen on the way back and find a grizzly again, digging in the meadow in front of the mixed forest. He is a dark bear with a Yellowstone stripe.

When people pull in, I show them the bear and make them smile.

WHAT I MISSED: Around 8:30 several Mollies are briefly seen in Lamar north of Trash Can.

FOLLOW UP TO THE RUNNERS STORY: Around 10AM while I am watching Junctions at Tower, a Ranger stops by to talk to me about the runners report last night. (This is how I learn they did the right thing.) She asks if I believed their story or felt they were covering up. I say I believe they are good guys. And that most importantly, the pack was back at the den this morning, as usual.

And then I show her some Junction wolves.

TODAY I SAW: a grizzly bear, bison (and calves), coyotes, elk, bighorn sheep, 8 Junction wolves (2 grays and 6 blacks and the spirits of Allison, Richard, Jeff and Chloe

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF ABBREVIATIONS:

DF: Diagonal Forest (a feature east of the Slough den)

DPH: Dead Puppy Hill, the partly treed hill below the crest of Mt. Norris immediately south of Footbridge pullout. Named by coyote researchers before the 1995 wolf reintroduction. The hill has been a popular area with local wolf packs since wolves were reintroduced. It has held several coyote dens over the years, but to my knowledge, this year is the first time a wolf pack has denned on it. The Mollies chose an area on the western slope above the new growth forest, and produced at least two pups, one black and one gray, which were seen infrequently during June.

HF: Horizontal Forest (another feather east of the Slough den

HR: Hellroaring (large overlook pullout on the Blacktail)

LCW: Lamar Canyon West (pullout on the western side of Lamar Canyon) that overlooks a lot of, but not all of, the area wolves use at Slough.

MST: Marge Simpson Tree (distinctive tree in Slough Flats) In 2024, the Junctions used the meadows below and left of Marge as their August-October rendezvous.

OGR: "The OGR" Old Gardiner Road (current name for the new road hastily constructed after the 2022 flood on top of the former gravel road between Mammoth and Gardiner)

RP: Round Prairie (big meadow south of Pebble Creek campground)

SB: Soda Butte (or SBV Soda Butte Valley) where Soda Butte Creek flows between Round Prairie and its Confluence with the Lamar River)

SG: Silver Gate (small town just outside the northeast Park entrance)

SRT: Southern Round Tree (distinctive tree south of the Marge Simpson Tree)

UCG: Un-collared gray (Junction 2 yr-old bouncy male). Born to the Rescue Creek Pack, he joined the Junction Pack sometime in February 2025.

YGM: Yellow Grass Meadow (a feature east of and upslope of the Horizontal forest at Slough)DF – Diagonal Forest (a feature east of the Slough den)