Bull Elk

When the sunny blue skies of summer become only memories, autumn comes rapidly after the morning's first frost. Hiking trips still give me a chance to bask in the disappearing rays of sunshine as I lie down to rest with my backpack as a pillow. It is wonderful also to feel the winds blow on my face. And I can look around and admire the purple colors of the horizon at dusk. Somehow the short autumn sun spurs me to complete my hiking trips to the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National parks.

As I linger on the mountain trails, the voice of the bull elk breaks the stillness and echoes to the farthest valley. The last leaves also cling to the aspen trees until the harsh autumnal winds blow them away. The short autumn season in the Rocky Mountains knows little about fair weather.

Autumn Colors

At the end of September, the aspen forests turn yellow on the mountain slopes. It is also a busy season for photographers. Favorite spots for photographing foliage are always crowded by both famous and less well-known photographers. Some picture takers even move by camper from one place to another. But I like to drive and look for the foliage in a south-to-north direction, from Grand Teton National Park to Yellowstone National Park, where I can meet wild animals.

When I rented a car at Jackson Hole Airport, Wyoming and went north to see the Grand Teton mountains along the Snake River, colorful aspen trees looked as if some one had splashed yellow ink on them to welcome me. On the same trip I found a beaver pond on Snake River. Down on Washbacker Landing was the best place to photograph the sun-lit top of Grand Teton mirrored on the surface of the small river where a beaver was busily building a dam. This beaver pond has become a favorite spot for other picture takers like myself who photograph river reflections of the mountains.

Fighting Elks

I was hoping that beavers would still be there one year later for my latest visit. Although there was less water in the river because of the drought, the beavers were working hard. They rest during the day and become active around sunset. They use their sharp teeth to cut small branches and then haul them to build dams. The dams also provide their housing. It was a fall day when I watched these cute beavers so intently that I forgot all about the sunset.

In October, the first frost of the season comes to Yellowstone. Cold and warm temperatures fluctuate every two to three days. Herds of elk return from foraging in the mountains during summer to the valleys in time to experience the first frost of the season.

The male elks have their busiest season of the year. Each guards his harem of female elk, numbering from three to four and even up to 20. Keeping together a harem is in effect proof of a male's strength. Young males try to lure females from the harems. When they try to do so, the result usually is a fight between the males bashing their horns into each other. The strongest win the right to mate and ensure the survival of their species.

Beaver

These males are so busy that they hardly have time to eat during the mating season. They look vigorous and well fed and show off their beautiful antlers in the morning sun. And the high pitched mating calls of the males announce their autumn presence in the valley.

On my visits to Lamar Valley on the northeast side of Yellowstone. I sometimes hear the howling wolves. If one is lucky, a visitor too can see them. The wolves that once vanished from Yellowstone have returned and now number 120 (as of winter 2001). Their return began with the transfer of 14 wolves from Canada in 1995. They created wolf packs establishing their own territories in the northern Yellowstone valley.

Wolves hunt for food, relying mainly on elk meat. In the fall they find it hard to hunt when the elk are healthy and speedy. However in the winter snows, elk become less mobile and lose their footing. They fall prey more easily to the hunters in the snow. So wolves return to winter in the valleys where elk, too, seek shelter.

Every morning many people get together with their binoculars in Lamar Valley to observe these wolves. Their usual greeting begins: "Have you yet seen any wolves?" The visitors are happy to spot wolves in the valleys that have become Yellowstone's celebrities in the last few years.

Natural Hot Spring

Near the end of each of my trips I try to visit a natural outdoor hot spring. On the lower side of the river at Mammoth Hot Springs, there are plenty of springs. When I walk along the river, the springs emit steam and sulfur smells that relax me. I take off my dirty clothes behind rocks and get into a hot spring--a heaven that was created just for me. The river's flowing water pushes rocks in place for a dam that becomes a hot spring. So one has to find a place where the best water temperature is reached by a mix of hot spring and cold river water. The natural warmth of a hot spring can't be created by anything else. It is wonderful to join an afternoon gathering of campers at a hot spring and review the day's hiking experiences. And the afternoon merges into evening as another day ends too soon in the Rocky Mountains.

Yellowstone National Park P.O. Box 168, Yellowstone National Park, WY 82190-0168 Phone: 307-344-7381 www.nps.gov/yell

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