Snowed in at Lamar

We had planned a trip to Livingston today, but the road is closed. The snow started Saturday with about 18 inches. There are only three plows, two are in the shop and one is stuck. So Mike, the Ranger here closed all the roads, from the East entrance to Mammoth. We'll see how soon they open. At any rate the first "Food for the Masses" class was a success. They only recorded on one carcass and each five minutes the entry was "bear on the carcass". So it probably was a wolf kill, but the grizzly had a better idea of who should consume it. The class saw all the packs in the Northern Range, the Agates, Blacktail and Lamar Canyon, about 30 wolves total. There seems to be plenty of prey, many elk. The carcass we did visit after the wolves were done was an elk calf. In addition we witnessed the Blacktail pack, about 16 strong, try to take an elk. There was a great chase, the elk easily out running the wolves. This was observed from the Hellroaring overlook. But since Saturday and the big storm, no wolves have been spotted. The signals are out there but the visibility is poor and the wolves might be bedded.
The next "Food for the Masses" class has started and they are getting a lot of classroom time. We're looking forward to Thanksgiving. Since we are off the grid, have plenty of propane, two turkeys, it should be fun.