· Date: Saturday June 29, 2019
· Rest Day: West Yellowstone, Montana
Thinking back on today, and the day before running through the Grand Tetons, all I have is fun memories. I would love to come back to Jackson Hole, the Grand Tetons, and Yellowstone. Even the day in Pocatello wasn’t enough. These places I know aren’t my last time being there. They are amazing towns that have a great atmosphere of adventure in their community. At the end of the day yesterday, I didn’t think that I would have a better day during the entire 4K for Cancer. Within a few hours of today though, my expectations were completely blown out of the water. Exploring Yellowstone National Park was so much fun and we were so fortunate to be able to do so. It’s a place that visitors could spend a month in and still not see everything.
A group of us decided to wake up this morning at the normal time even though it was a rest day. Our goal was to see wildlife, so we were driving to Yellowstone by 5:10 in the morning. Jackie and Alexis, some other teammates, had asked some park rangers yesterday where the best place and time was to see as much wildlife as possible at Yellowstone. That’s where we were headed, an area of the park called Lamar Valley. This was about an hour and a half into the Yellowstone National Park, so we stopped at a few sights along the way. There was a lone Bison, walking along the road, a bear cub that ran further into the woods, and even a herd of Elk.
It was the Bison that continued to impress me the most. As the day progressed, we saw so many of them, with and without young, and with and without their herd. Their size exuded power over us and reminded us of how small humans are. They were beautiful and magnificent creatures that seemed to be remnants of an ancient world, reminding of us of our ancestry. They became a regular sight in Yellowstone, and we stopped gaping at them. We all felt like fools for having pulled off to the side of the road to take pictures when we saw our first bison herd yesterday. Yet somehow, even with all the crowds, gawking, and attention they received, these animals didn’t care. They continued going about their day foraging and protecting their young without letting us influence them. One time, there was a Bison in the middle of the road that backed up traffic in Yellowstone for a couple of miles. They just didn’t care what others thought. They dominated their own life and they didn’t care what others thought. I wanted to be a Bison.
Our first stop was a special one and started our day off in the best way possible. Gibbon Falls was a waterfall just under ninety feet in height and was located on the Gibbon River. This is a popular trout fishing river in Yellowstone. The viewing point we were at was often packed shoulder to shoulder with people. We were atop a cliff, looking down at the waterfall and had an incredible view of the waterfall itself and rolling hills beyond. From here we could see the surrounding timber and rocks which cluttered the shores of the river beneath the falls. Since we had woken up so early, we beat the traffic and the crowds; there were only a handful of people. We could walk right up to the viewing area and all fifteen or so of us had a direct view of the falls. It was beautiful and the cool mist rose up the cliffside and gently woke me up from my sleepy state. Combined with the cool morning air, and the fact that the park averages eight thousand feet in elevation, I was almost shivering. It was cold up here this morning.
As we were about to leave the area and continue driving towards Lamar Valley, a woman stopped us and started talking with us. She introduced herself as Peggy Watterson and asked us how we were affiliated with the Ulman Foundation. She explained how she had seen many of the foundation’s logos on our clothing. As we started talking, we found out that she was also a cancer survivor and knows Doug Ulman, the founder of the Ulman Foundation! A few years back, her and her husband had even cycled across the country on a tandem bike. I was impressed by her energy, enthusiasm, and overall positivity she had for the cancer community and her own experiences. For someone who looked like she was in her seventies, she certainly didn’t act like it. Yet, she still had the air of wisdom that older generations often have. As the conversation ended, we all came in for a hug as she thanked us for doing what we were doing while wishing us luck on our journey. I silently asked myself to strive to be more like her. To be open about my experiences and talk about them positively so that others can benefit. She was an inspiration.
Continuing into the depths of the park, we stopped at a few other sites along the way. We saw a herd of deer running and foraging through a low valley. The cool morning mist we felt by Gibbon Falls continued late into the morning. As it came off the grasses and forests, it blanketed the views with a dense layer of fog. Through the fog, an occasional animal could be seen as the low underbrush and rocks slowly became revealed. As the morning progressed, it was beautiful. The area seemed untouched by humankind.
Yet one sign talked about how much human contact had increased through the years. In 1928, the park averaged approximately 760 vehicles throughout the summer. In 1999, the park averaged 6,690 vehicles per day in the month of July alone. Now, in 2019, these numbers had grown even larger. I couldn’t help but think how these numbers must impact migration patterns, territories, and the life cycles of the animals that inhabited this land. I hoped that humans wouldn’t ultimately take away from the beauty of the land. I found myself wondering what the park looked like one hundred years ago when there was less traffic. Had we already damaged it?
About five minutes from Lamar Valley, the traffic was growing in density and was surrounding the only bathroom. We stopped and joined the line of people waiting to use it since this was the only bathroom for miles at a time. We had been driving for almost an hour and a half already!
An older man by the name of Rick McIntyre approached as we were all waiting and started talking with us. He looked like an outdoorsman or maybe even a ranger. At the same time, he seemed to have the persona of an old college professor. Regardless, when he started speaking, he immediately had a calming presence and you could tell he had an amazing passion for nature. Mr. McIntyre asked us if we had seen any wolves or bears yet since these were, in his opinion, the best aspect of the park.
“Have you seen any wolves or bears in the park?” he asked one of us. “Those are definitely the best thing you could see if you are only here for one day,” he explained.
“We saw a bear cub this morning and even a herd of Elk along the river. So far though, we hadn’t seen any wolves though,” we explained. “We don’t have any binoculars with us, and they don’t like to get close to humans, right?” we asked.
That’s when we were taken by surprise. Immediately, he explained that we could see some along the Lamar Valley and he and his team had already seen some this morning. He asked us to give him a five-minute gap as he explained where him and his team were parked. As we watched him drive away, his truck had antennas and that made him look official and important.
“Who is this guy?” we all asked each other.
When we found his truck along the valley, he had a large telescoping binocular set up on a tripod. He finished tracking down a wolf for us from across the river and valley and let us look. As we took turns looking through the binocular, he adjusted it for the next person. This enabled the whole team to observe the wolf even as it moved across the land. It was amazing that this stranger was so patient with us and willing to share these experiences as well. After about ten minutes of this, all fifteen of us were able to see a wolf!
When I was looking through, I saw the wolf jogging through the tall grasses and looking around. It was all alone and completely black. Nothing like what I expected out of the movies at all. At one point, it got into the river and started to swim across. I could also see Bison and large birds as well as a few elk and antelope. There were large patches of grass that were matted down or entirely torn up. Mr. McIntyre explained to us that this is where the Bison slept for the night.
“If I was a wolf, this would be prime hunting ground,” I remember telling myself. “No wonder they hung around here.”
Like many others on the team, this was the first wolf that I had seen in the wild. I think all of us were content with having seen just that, but the nice man gave us so much more. For the next fifteen minutes or so, he lectured us on a specific wolf pack that lived in this valley. He knew an incredible amount of information and had been working with the park rangers for a huge amount of time.
McIntyre told us a textbook worth of information in just a few short minutes. He explained to us about the entire society of wolves that live in Yellowstone. He could identify each of the wolves and tell us how they were related in their family tree as well as most of their life stories. McIntyre explained the rivalries between each of the packs and the different tactics for wolf fights as well as wolf hunting. What surprised me most was that 95% of wolf deaths are because of battles with other wolves. The stories of one wolf in particular, Wolf 21 was especially interesting and had all of us captivated. I don’t want to explain everything that he told us, because it would take away from the books that he has written about them. His stories and the society that he captures in these wolves is depicted in his series of books. Just talking with this man for the little time we did, he already sold me, and I wanted to purchase his books as soon as possible.
After we got back to the host, and had cell service again, we looked up his name on google. This is when we realized how fortunate we were to have talked with him. Rick McIntyre is a huge advocate for the Plan B Foundation. The Plan B Foundation helps to transport, rescue, and provide medical care to wolves both in the wild as well as in sanctuaries. In 2018, he retired from Yellowstone as a biological technician in wolf research. He is said to be the leading expert on wolves in the entire country, if not the world. McIntyre was stationed for fifteen years in Denali where he started his wolf research. During the winters, he would move to hotter national parks such as Death Valley. For the next twenty-five years after that, McIntyre worked extremely close with wolves in Yellowstone. For fifteen years, he went out to observe the wolves at dawn and is said to have observed wolves for 6,175 days in a row. Recording over 12,000 pages of field notes, he is and probably forever will be, the most knowledgeable person to talk with about wolves. We were extremely fortunate to talk with him. Even today, I still cannot believe how willing he was to share his love for the animals with us.
McIntyre has a series of books called “The Alpha Wolves of Yellowstone,” that came out this past fall. All of us agreed, we will be purchasing and reading them as soon as possible. He had so much knowledge, excitement, and passion as he told us about these wolves. It showed his love for nature and the beauty of life. Even today, I still cannot believe how willing he was to share his love for the animals with us. The fact that he never once mentioned all he had achieved, showed his character and how humble of a spirit he is. Rick McIntyre is a true wolf whisperer.
He was by far, the highlight of the trip thus far. At the end of his lecture, he thanked us for running across the country and for doing what we are doing. He said that everyone is connected to the cancer community and more people need to be doing things like 4K for Cancer. It isn’t often that people directly thanked us for what we did, but when they did, it truly meant a lot.
As we drove away, we stopped along the Yellowstone River and hiked down a steep trail to the Bannock Ford. It was beautiful and even though the viewing area at the start of the trail was heavily trafficked, down in the ford was not. Once I got all the way down and stepped in the Yellowstone River, I felt the peace of the area. There were only a few people around me, and I was able to soak it all in. I loved it and just sat there contemplating things for a while. Soaking in the peace and the quiet as well as the power of what nature can show you. I thought it was incredible how there were so many different aspects of Yellowstone.
Our last stop was the Grand Prismatic Spring, another iconic feature of Yellowstone. This is the largest hot spring in the country and the third largest in the world. It is larger than a football field and an estimated 500 gallons of water is discharged every minute. The water is so hot that in the center of the spring, it is sterile. On the outside though, various colored microorganisms grow in the water which gives the Grand Prismatic Spring its name. These organisms are mostly orange in the summer and green in the winter months. But every year, the spring has the colors of the rainbow with the center being a deep blue. Deep blue is the natural color of water and is due to the sterility of the water in the spring. This area was amazing to see. There was a board walk that allowed tourists to walk around a border of the spring as well as the Opal Pool and the Turquoise Pool. We were also able to walk up close to the Excelsior Geyser. Although not as impressive of a release of water as Old Faithful that we had seen yesterday, these areas were still dramatically different from anything I had ever seen. All four pools of water were steaming and blowing in the wind. They gave off a sulfur smell that reminded me of the Sulfur mines in Lassen Volcanic National Park. It smelled like rotten eggs. But I loved everything about Yellowstone. This place was incredible. As the board walk continued, we could see where the water dumped into the Firehole River. The name suited it well. The heated water flowing into the river created a hissing noise. Combined with the orange and red colors, it looked like an area that you would never expect to see on Earth’s surface. It really was incredible.
At this point, we had all been up and moving around for a very long time. It was early afternoon and we hadn’t stopped since we left the host shortly after five in the morning. Now, the park was extremely crowded too. We were so thankful we could enjoy some aspects of the park in the peace, quiet, and solemnity of the morning. With everyone around, it reminded me of the crowds at places like Disney World. It probably didn’t help that it was the weekend and a beautiful day. It seemed everyone was here.
We decided to call it quits and head back to the host for a nap and a little bit of relaxation. It was probably good to take somewhat of a break on a rest day. Later in the day, the other group who had slept in this morning came back to the host as well. They had summited a mountain in Yellowstone and had also had an incredible experience. We traded stories, laughed, and explored West Yellowstone together. We didn’t have any food donations today or a community dinner, so we wanted to find a good place to eat.
Tyler (Guyler) and I decided to do a track workout together. Even though it was a rest day, we both agreed that the day after the previous two rest days was terrible. Allowing our bodies to rest and recover for an entire twenty-four-hour period seemed to put more strain on our muscles the following day when we ran a lot of mileage again. Hopefully running a few miles today would help to feel better tomorrow. We also wanted to take advantage of the free time and work on training to decrease my mile time as a part of Project:Return.
We used the track behind the school, which was our host, and ran two hundred, four hundred, and eight hundred-meter intervals. By the time we figured out that five laps were a mile, not four as is standard, we had run a little extra. Psychologically, it was challenging running more than a lap for these distances since I was so used to a standard track. Also, we were still at somewhere around 6,500 feet in elevation so working this hard reminded me of the time trial in Austin, Nevada. But regardless, we had so much fun doing this! Even when the sprinklers started watering the track and the grass we were still working hard and laughing. I was looking forward to continuing to add these workouts into our mileage throughout the summer with Tyler.
That night, I went to sleep early. It had been an exhausting day and my muscles didn’t feel like they had any rest. Rolling out and icing seemed to help a little bit, but I was feeling it. I was hoping that working out today would be beneficial for tomorrows mileage, but only the start of our morning would tell. I was looking forward to running east again. We had been fortunate enough to explore today and a good portion of yesterday as well, but I wanted to get back at it.
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