October 2017 Current conditions

Share your latest adventure in Yellowstone.

Moderators: Bruce, DPS

Post Reply
Stonebridge
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:32 pm

October 2017 Current conditions

Post by Stonebridge »

Has anyone travelled through YNP recently? Update on roads and any wildlife sightings? I will be visiting YNP October 16th-20th and will report my findings at that time. Thanks



User avatar
Max
Posts: 195
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 12:27 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by Max »

Snow overnight in places. Some roads were icy (apparently there was a van on its side off the road near Phantom Lake this morning), but Dunraven was open.

Max



RikWriter
Posts: 488
Joined: Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:36 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by RikWriter »

Beartooth is closed.



yellvet
Posts: 224
Joined: Tue Aug 01, 2017 5:54 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by yellvet »

If you go to the Official Yellowstone website, the Park provides all the latest info on road conditions and road closures.

The north slope of the Beartooth Mountains were covered with snow this morning but the roads in the foothills are still dry. Went to Billings early this morning and saw a big herd of cow elk grazing in the grass between Columbus and Absarokee about 6:45am. You can see them from Hwy 78. Also been seeing some very nice mulee and white tailed bucks by our house near Nye. Most birds have already gone south but I did see a flock of geese making a brief rest stop yesterday along the Stillwater River near Nye along with a couple of year-round bald eagles. Tomorrow, I'm going to check on our local bighorn sheep herd. The rams usually start gathering up, sometime in October. The rut doesn't get going in earnest until the first week in December. So, if you're in the Nye area at that time be sure that you check 'em out. Lot's of charges and head crunches going on at that time. To watch the ram's protocol right before they engage in a charge, is a sight not to miss. Best part, you can take pix of the herd right from the safety of your car. The rut usually runs from about the first week in December until about Xmas. If you're looking for exciting, action-packed photo ops, the Stillwater Bighorn Sheep herd won't disappoint you. Their winter range is near the Stillwater Mine about 7 miles SW of Nye, MT on Hwy 419 (Nye is NE of Slough Creek on the MT side of the Beartooth Mtns). If you'd like to see some sample pix of the rams in rut, check out my Flickr site. I've got several years of images of of my most favorite neighbors. Just keep in mind that the Stillwater Bighorn Sheep herd is a very fragile and sensitive herd that rarely sees humans. So if you decide to check 'em out, please be very quiet and always stay in your car.



Stonebridge
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:32 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by Stonebridge »

Thank you for the information. Always helpful to get some local insight into current conditions. I check YNP website and weather daily to see how things have been recently. Hopefully after the latest storms things will be okay for a couple of weeks. If anybody is interested in doing some hiking the week of October 16th please let me know? I had a great time hiking with TNBob in May in the backcountry and would enjoy meeting others who are regulars on the website.
Peter



billandkaren
Posts: 129
Joined: Fri Aug 04, 2017 8:50 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by billandkaren »

We were there last weekend (Oct 5-7) and were treated to a great view of the Hayden wolfpack. Saw at least 11 of the pack in South Hayden on Thursday. Went back on Saturday but all was quiet. Just missed a bear in the trees near Slough Creek. Conflicting reports whether black or Griz, but from the location I would guess black. Other than that it was pretty quiet.

Bill and Karen



Kat
Posts: 40
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2017 4:22 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by Kat »

We were in YNP October 4-11. We spent one day around Hayden and saw nothing, but there was enough activity in the northern end of the park to keep us happy. Bison were plentiful, particularly in Lamar. Elk seemed near the end of the rut, but there was still morning action on Swan Lake Fats and the Gardiner Road. Moose were active in te mornings near the Northeast Entrance. We saw bighorn rams and juveniles along the Yellowstone River Picnic Trail. One morning at dawn we saw eight wolves (distant) around the Institute. We only had a poor view of one black bear cub on the Blacktail Plateau Drive, but were surprised to catch a badger both there and near Slough Creek. All told, we were very satisfied with our sightings. Hope you have a great trip!
Kathy and Dave



Stonebridge
Posts: 12
Joined: Thu Aug 17, 2017 8:32 pm

Re: October 2017 Current conditions

Post by Stonebridge »

Just returned from October 16-20 trip to YNP and GTNP. Firstly, I had great concerns about the weather but i couldn't have be more fortunate with sunny skies and high in 60's. The conditions in Yellowstone were very dry and initially I was concerned most of the wildlife would be at higher elevations. There was carcass at Mary Bay my first morning so seeing 4 grizzlies and 11 wolves got the trip off to a good start! I spent one morning in the Tetons and seeing 399 and cubs was a real treat. Back in Yellowstone there many (12) moose and (7)coyotes than I have seen there on other trips. I also the opportunity to do some hiking in the Pelican Valley, Slough Creek, Lamar Valley and also outside of Yellowstone. With very few visitors in the park getting to my favorite spots was quite easy except for the construction (Mammoth to Norris). I travelled north through Hayden from the GTNP so the construction near Canyon was okay. I saw 3 grizzlies in Hayden and also the wolves there one morning.
Apart from the usual wildlife in Lamar my best results came from hiking outside of the park where there were many grizzlies to see each morning and evening. One evening I saw 17 Grizzlies and one morning I saw 11 grizzlies in the same region. Most photos of these grizzlies were from a safe distance but pleased to see them before the end of year. The weather started to turn the final afternoon as I left Yellowstone but I was extremely pleased to see so many animals on this trip. I saw 46 grizzlies this trip and I look forward to the spring with some new backcountry sites I am planning on visiting.
Always great to visit Yellowstone and I can't wait for next year!



Post Reply