Yellowstone Update (15-Mar-2005)

Just in case anyone is going soon:

1) Just as Jess Lee predicted, there were rams on the cliff face near Soda Butte. There were actually 5 of them.

2) There are 4 bull elk w/ rack hanging out just past Lava Creek (coming from Mammoth)

3) The druids were not visible, but hanging out near the Soda Butte Cone.

4) The Slough Creek pack were about a mile from the pullout for Slough Creek (the one w/ the rest room)

5) about 4" of snow fell in the Lamar Valley today.

Hi Christian, wish I was going this year. Here's a few thoughts to add from my perspective: If the rams aren't right off the road near the cliffs faces at Soda Butte it's a great place to hike up for sunrise or sunset landscapes overlooking Lamar Valley and the Absaroka Mountains, if you go to the east of the bull elk around Lava Creek and shoot to the west you can get some great elk in the landscape photos in the morning with a cool mountain in the background that I can't remember the name of, if you hike the two miles or so to Tower Falls and leave before it gets light you can get some great images of the falls and Yellowstone River and finally, there's far too many cool things to photograph to be standing around looking through scopes at the wolves (though I admit it can be fascinating to watch them when they're out). Can you tell I wish I was there Randy

Sunset, sunrise? After a few days there, I am not familiar with those terms. I am familiar with the time when you can see it snowing vs. the time when it is dark and snowing

Honestly, there was one visible sunset/sunrise when I was there... it was the sunset on Monday.

I second the vote on Tower Falls. Though in winter, is it safe? Pretty grueling with the altitude in summer as is. I see in the papers all the time how it's -15 or less in West Yellowstone, MT. -3 is the worst I've been in and that is brutal enough with wind chill.