A Portal To Nature

As we packed our snow mobiles with camera gear, food and water, the girls were nervous about their first time driving a snow mobile. We were a small group of 5, each on their own machine driving in a straight formation. I was traveling light this trip ….2 Video Cameras and 2 Still Cameras !

Our guide was first, Then myself and crew, as we started out of the lodge we immediately encountered a Bison Jam ! The Guide would Hand Signal Me, And I would pass them back to the crew as we needed to be in tight formation to safely pass the bison sharing little space between us. Watching their Big Eyes watching us several feet away within kicking distance was a bit concerning as I nervously throttled with one hand and took pictures with the other while trying not to crash into the guides ride in front of me! We encountered several fresh bird kills that our guide pointed out was a Lynx or BobCat… neither of which showed themselves to us. The Snow was nearing whiteout conditions at times, as we pressed on thru -10 to 18 degrees into the high country spotting trumpeter swans , Elk , Bison, Eagles , Coyotes, and Ravens which choose a single mate for life.

The wilderness was very harsh as we all wondered how life could even survive one day of a long winter to come. Our trek took us on Snow Coaches, Snow Mobiles, and SUV’s as we used every method to find the wildlife , but our target this trip were the wolves. I had many a trip with only glimpses of them at far distances, some not at all. A Blizzard was approaching and weather services were warning us of inevitable road and mountain pass closings, but we pressed on, and still no wolves.
Then we ran into a lonely Fox laying on a snow drift sleeping so deeply I could not wake it even with my most obnoxious noises. So I took pictures of the Sleeping fox, Video and Still, and as the storm blew in, the whiteout became very bad, winds topping 50 mph blew my Video Camera over and into a snow drift. I was tiring of the harsh conditions when over our personal radios our spotters yelled A Pack of wolves just got a kill !

We Packed up our gear and headed toward the pack, and very close were 16 wolves of the Druid Pack ripping something apart, as I nervously setup for HD video, A grey wolf and 2 black wolves were taking it apart . This Was my quest to find and see as the Harsh wintry background yielded a front row seat to the real deal unfolding before us. Some of the wolves were allowed to share in the spoils while others were not. And as quick as it began it was over, and getting dark when a ranger came and told us to leave the park immediately because they were closing the roads in preparation for the storm.

I took lead thru dangerous passes driving nearly blind the entire way as the excitement about the wolves subdued to the thought of surviving the journey back to tell about it ! The Russians were in a small vehicle behind us as we packed down the snow of wind drifts being blown in our face , obscuring the way forward. We were very concerned for the vehicles behind us, and each time their lights were not in view we waited nervously knowing that going back would be more terrifying than forward.

One tire off the road in spots meant thousand foot drops, I knew it was there and at times could not see it, while secretly wishing I did not know how close we were , Avalanches, rock slides ,high winds, I imagined my own Steven King Movie ,The Perfect SNOWSTORM !

It was good to see the Bar that night, as we traded stories with the locals and looked at our pictures. A Bobcat was spotted in a wooded area, as a local resident went over to see what it was doing. He discovered A young elk had been taken down and partially eaten..as he bent over the elk to get a closer look, A piercing growl behind him broke the silence. He stood up and looked behind him right into its eyes frozen upon him. He realized the Bobcat had been circling him and he fled like there was no tomorrow.

I said "but you’re a large man with a rifle" , and he replied " Until you see those hungry eyes looking at you , growling at you, you have no idea how fearful of being in the wrong place at the worst time can truly be !" I recognized the fear in his eyes reminded of my many close encounters with grizzlies , elk , Moose and Bison , just feet away knowing I was in the "Zone" of destruction, and decided to buy the next round of drinks and call it a night !

The following days we encountered the wolves again, they were on the hunt and was chasing a heard of 40 Elk across a hill side right off the road. We were watching them separate a young elk from the rest of the herd , when all of a sudden one of the Elk turned on the wolves and backed them away from the young Elk. I Had raw Testosterone flowing thru my veins, time was in slow motion, as I scrambled to get my camera gear, ready for whatever the day was to show me. This day there was no kill, and life went on as it was for a young elk as all of us looked on knowing what almost was would eventually happen, time and time again .