Idaho & Servere Winter Conditions

The visit to Yellowstone was the end of the road trip, and we had allowed 4 days to return to San Francisco via the Oregon coast. A short side trip was made to upper Montana where conditions were very cold with days around 0F (-18C). Driving through mountain passes was quite tricky in the cold and icy conditions; semi trailers were going backwards and sideways along the highway, while others were stationary with hazard lights turned on while snow chains were applied.

The Ford Escape Hybrid preformed above expectations, and although sliding here and there made it up and over all the mountain passes that heavier vehicles had problems negotiating. For the remainder of the day, as temperatures climbed above freezing, we dodged large pieces of snow and ice that fell from trucks traversing the highway.

Night seemed to come quickly, and as camping was out of the question in 0F, a motel was sought along I-90, in the local town of Wallace, Idaho. The evening meal was memorable in that it was Idaho trout – a local dish. Unfortunately, the wine served with the trout was not as memorable – dish water comes to mind with vehicle freeze retardant as an additive - man that wine was evil!  Needless to say I passed on breakfast the   following morning.

The following morning was a surprise as it has snowed heavily during the night and covering everything in fresh powdery snow. The hybrid had a foot plus of snow covering the vehicle. Wallace was stunning in its winter cloak, and rather than “make tracks” west we spent the morning mulling around town basking in the winter wonderland. 

The 4 foot long icicles that I discovered hanging from this church should give you an idea to the outside temperature!

It wasn't cold,at first as you climbed from the vehicle, but after 15 minutes messing about in thigh deep snow you soon became a little chilled.

The most important anatomical bits to keep warm were your fingers.  Often I would discard my gloves to allow for better dexterity in manipulating camera controls; you had to be careful that frost nip followed by frost bite did not set in. 

I remember all to well when I fell on the ice when photographing some wildlife.  My gloves were wet and I took them off.  10 minutes later my finger tips were hard and I had lost feeling.

Montana Wildlife

With a few days spare Rebecca and I headed further north into Montana. Montana is renown for severe weather and the days we chose to travel from Bozeman were no exception.

At first I was concerned about driving over ice at what appeared to be at high speed, but after acclimating to the conditions, I discovered that driving over ice was not as worrying as I thought first - provided your not driving down hill! All the same, flying along icy rural roads before sunrise did require considerable concentration.

Wildlife

The diversity of wildlife in the US is amazing. Some states have relatively few species per hectare, however, other states such as Montana have large wildlife populations. This is in part to the number of large National Parks and large tracts of relatively undeveloped forest land.

Rather than write more, I thought it best to post a few images.

Please note these images are COPYRIGHT and cannot be used without express permission.

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

As we drove from the red rock country temperatures slowly dropped until they were hovering around 17F at West Yellowstone. Stopping in the township, we scoured the town for a suitable place to buy some lunch. The eatery chosen seemed suitable gauging from the numerous large pickup trucks and snow mobiles parked outside; the food was OK, however, the use of disposable utensils troubled to me. It seems everywhere you go in America they use disposable utensils (plates, cups, etc).

The only reason for the existence of West Yellowstone is as a stopping off point for the western section of the Yellowstone National Park. I did note that the Post Office was well worth a visit. Unfortunately, I did not have time to stop and photograph the structure. If your in West Yellowstone make it a point to find it as the style, colour and texture of the building is very interesting.
The scenery from the road from West Yellowstone to Bozeman was absolutely Stunning. A winter wonderland with light dancing from snow laden conifers. A stream paralleled most of the route and it’s surface was mostly frozen with areas where cold clear water flowed from beneath the snow and ice overburden. The snow’s surface in places was marked with the tracks from passing animals. I really wanted to stop and photograph some of the area, however, time was not on our side as we had to make the next town by nightfall to begin the five day trip into Yellowstone National Park via snow coach.

The following day, although chilly was not as cold as I had envisaged; the temperature was around 30F which was quit civil for this time of the year. The day was spent traversing Lamar Valley in search of wildlife. Bison were plentiful in some areas as were elk and mountain sheep. At one stage we sighted a group of 7 coyotes, however, they were far too distant to obtain suitable images, and the snow too deep to give chase. Lamar Valley is usually very good for observing wildlife, however, on our visit the wildlife was sparse to say the least. It was hoped that the interior of Yellowstone would but more fruitful.

YNP – Interior

The interior of Yellowstone National Park really has to be experienced during winter to fully understand the beauty of the region; forested areas, large open snow covered plains, and frozen rivers and lakes. During our stay in the interior we experienced a variety of weather conditions, from still chilly days in which the trees and bison were covered in snow and hoar frost, to blizzard conditions where visibility was minimal and heavy snow fell.

Wildlife in the interior of Yellowstone is prevalent mostly adjacent to the geothermal regions, where snow is melted by the warm ground conditions which create a constant temperature. However, there are animals that inhabit and roam less hospitable areas; big horn sheep occupy the rocky buttresses and coyotes and wolves traverse great distances in search if suitable prey.

The bison are the most prominent animal seen in Yellowstone and herds of 50 or more animals mill in large numbers along river banks eating grass that has been exposed either by snow melt, or by the continual swaying of the animal’s head, to and fro, to move aside snow. The bison are not as large as those I had observed in Custer State Park in South Dakota, however, they are still the largest mammal to be seen in Yellowstone. On several occasions bison were observed walking down and across the road we were traversing. The rule is simple when coming across large wildlife such as bison – they have right of way. An animal the size and weight of a bison would probably cause irreparable damage to any vehicle whose driver was foolish enough not to allow the animals right of way. Although bison are renown for being unstable in deposition toward humans, I didn’t observe this during my visit – perhaps the bison were too cold to care - or maybe I was too cold to notice!

I found the best conditions in the interior was during snow falls (which was most of the time). The falling snow and cold conditions (colder with wind chill) provide an incite into how difficult it is for animals to survive in this hostile environment. Usually under these conditions, animals migrate to warmer climates, however, the geothermal regions within the park permanently melt snow and ice allowing stream water to flow during all seasons.

The melting of snow by geothermal activity and ready access of fresh running water, is the main reason that wildlife is present throughout the year in the interior of the park. In certain regions, birds are quite common and I observed golden eagles feeding upon carrion, small mouse-like mammals darting here and there adjacent to geothermal pools, and canada geese, golden eye ducks, and trumpeter swans patrolling waterways.

Memorable Observations

I observed much during my short stay in the interior, however, a few events stand out prominently.

The last day of my stay was a very cold and clear day (following a blizzard the day before where finding wildlife was difficult at best in whiteout conditions). The thermometer was around 10F, the day was crisp and the air exceptionally clean. A heard of bison were found surrounding a geothermal region warming themselves.

As we approached and set up our tripods, the heard comprising several mothers and their young, and a few very large males, began to meander slowly along the river bank to cross the road. The light was low and the snow and hoar frost had not yet began to melt in the morning sun.

As I photographed the bison, I noted that Rebecca was frantically waving to me some 200 yards distant. I thought she was photographing the frost on the trees, but I thought it odd that she was using a 300mm lens to do this. I decided to join her and as I pushed through the knee deep snow I saw her quarry – a lone snow covered coyote not 50 yards away from her - what a find!

The coyote was quite happy to just sit /stand near a geothermal feature – no doubt warming itself. I found out later that Rebecca had seen the coyote earlier and had tracked it to its current location. This was the only coyote that we managed to approach closely and spend time with.

Two further experiences worth noting was the sighting of a bobcat making its way to a den located high on a cliff face, and watching a group of several wolves congregating around the carcass of an animal on the snow plains of Lamar Valley.

Challenging Photography

Photographing in below zero conditions is challenging. Gloves are usually required and great care must be taken not to place exposed skin on any metallic surface. This is to avoid the unpleasant experience of having your skin freeze to the surface. I made the mistake of leaning on a bridge siding thinking it was constructed from wood. Unfortunately for me it was steel, and my skin adhered to the metallic surface instantly!

Anyone who has used cameras in cold conditions will tell you that manipulating camera controls wearing gloves can be difficult, and I am no exception. Often, I would remove my gloves to allow easier and faster manipulation of the camera controls. This is possible, even in below zero conditions, but you must be watchful that your digits (fingers) do not begin harden as frost nip and frost bite set in.

Camera batteries also need protection as cold conditions lower the battery capacity; I always carried a spare close to my body to maintain some warmth on the battery. Another challenge is changing lenses when it’s snowing. Any snow that falls on either the open lens or in the camera chamber will turn to water and cause possible camera/lens problems. I dropped my Canon 5D in the snow and the camera began to behave inconsistently from that point on until I dried the body and its interior overnight in a warm environment.

The last image (with the starburst) was taken on the last day of my trip. The day was crisp and clean and as the sun began to get closer to the horizon, the long shadows of the trees caught my attention. The steam from the geothermal activity can be seen the background.

If your in the area during winter, make it a point to stop by and experience the wildlife and frigid conditions on a first hand basis.

Bodie Ghost Town, California

After an early departure to capture images at Lake Tahoe, Bodie Ghost Town was next on the list. Bodie was a thriving gold producing town during the 1850's. At one stage the population of the small town exceeded 8000 people as miners, pastors, gunslingers, barbers, bar tenders, and prostitutes plied their trade in the hope of striking it rich. A large commercial gold mine was sunk at Bodie and produced gold for many years before leads ran dry.

Bodie Town eventually became derelict and deserted with only a few residents attempting to eek out a living searching for gold. Because of its relative isolation, the town was forgotten by the mainstream community until the mid 1960's when it was passed to the Parks Service to administer.

 

Today the town is more or less as it was left. The temperate and dry conditions of the high Sierras have protected the wood from decay and minimized decay of many implements left around and within the "city" limits. The condition of the buildings must be seen to be believed and in some buildings their contents were still present. The store contained various bottles of whatever, saws, picks, miners lamps and wooden containers. The saloon still had a piano, snooker table, chairs, table and eating utensils - waiting for the next guest. The local church still had its bell. Littering the streets of Bodie were old vehicles, the remains of horse driven equipment and two early 1920's petrol bowsers complete with "Shell Petroleum" signs.

Visitors maybe tempted to collects omething here or there and take home, but the collecting of artifacts is impossible as parks personnel monitor visitors and for those attempting to try a hefty fine and possible jail term await.

Access is via a dirt road which in this instance was covered with winter snow. The scenery along the rack leading to the ghost town is well worth the visit by itself; towering mountains, large volcanic rocks and stunted high desert alpine vegetation.

Following Bodie we traveled south to Lone Pine (Alabama Hills) stopping at Bishop along Highway 395 to photograph the moon rising through sunset tinted clouds above snow capped, precipitous peaks of the Sierra Mountains. Reaching Lone Pine relatively late in the evening, a quick survey was made of the town to determine what food was available before cleaning cameras, lenses and downloading and key wording images for another early morning starts at 0500 the coming day

Sierras, California and Nevada

The drive from Sonoma Coast State Beach to Lake Tahoe was relatively uneventful with the exception of a petrol station attendant who seems mesmerized by an Australian accent! The region is mostly wine making and farming/ranching country. As the Sierra Ranges came into view, the elevation above sea level increased to roughly 8000 feet asl and the temperature dropped to around 28F (-5C) with light snow falling.

The pass over the High Sierras is amazing to say the least. Lodgepole Pines and Birch trees covered in fresh snow greet you as you slowly climb the winding road across the pass. At the top of the pass visibility drops as snow clouds hover close to the road's surface. Unfortunately the crossing was made close to evening so photography was not possible.

Tomorrow morning, it's hoped to capture the sunrise at an area know as the Bonsai Rock; a early departure from Lake Tahoe at 0500 is expected to ensure enough time is available to reach the site, compose an image and set up equipment. If weather conditions continue as they are at the moment it's envisaged that temperatures will be in the low 20's F (-10C) until the sun rises.