Stillwater Fork, High Uintas Wilderness

[Grandpa]

The high trails were still snowbound but they look to be a month or more ahead of last summer. So Tank and I took a little overnighter from the Christmas Meadows TH to Ryder Lake, about 9 miles each way.

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The Stillwater and it's tributaries were running a little frisky. I didn't have to cross though until near the top where the creek was running a little milder.

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We had a couple of young bucks curious about what we were doing when we ate breakfast. They snooped around a good half hour before moving off.

Hayden Peak and Mt Agassiz loomed over the pines and canyon creating a beautiful setting. This pic is Mt Agassiz overlooking Ryder Meadow.

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A young bull moose was grazing peacefully in the meadow adjacent to the parking area when we returned. I moved as close as I dared, keeping a couple of trees available, then zoomed in for this pic.

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On the drive out we saw more deer, antelope and these Sandhill Cranes with their chicks in a pasture.

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[jason]

Some nice country. I really miss hills and mountains. Florida is far too flat.

 

[bsmit212]

Awsome. I love the southern Appalachian but I want to get out west so bad.

 

[ppine]

Grandpa,
I have fond memories of the Uintas, only traveling their once. I entertained the idea of going last year and meeting some people from CO. I love to see moose and would travel a long way to see some.

edit- I used to see moose in WY fairly often, but it has been years since I have lived there. Moose are unusual in so many ways that I have a certain affection for them. I also respect their size and no fear of humans.

My most memorable encounter was in the Absaroka Range east of Yellowstone. A cow and calf walked thru our backcountry horse camp within several feet of our campfire like she owned the place, which of course she did. The family got a drink and walked back thru our camp again daring us to do anything about it.

 

[Grandpa]

Grandpa,
I have fond memories of the Uintas, only traveling their once. I entertained the idea of going last year and meeting some people from CO. I love to see moose and would travel a long way to see some.

We see moose often on the upper Bear River in the Uintas. I have seen a moose or two every time I have visited the Stillwater fork. But Palisades Creek in Eastern Idaho is the supreme moose area. We like to camp at Chicken Springs, then walk back to the lake backwaters and watch all the moose come out to feed in the evenings. I have seen as many as 5 cows with their calves feeding at one time. The bulls are a little more bashful but they also show up.

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[ponderosa]

Nice trip report. That stream crossing looks to be still a little rowdy for my taste.

I was walking through those tall willows between the lower lake and Chicken Springs one day, when the willows were growing thick and well above my head. I noticed a ripple in the willows immediately to my right, and realized it was a cow and twin calves passing by, within three feet of me. I could have slapped that mama on the flank if I'd have been dumb enough to try it. It was one of the more nerve-wracking wildlife encounters I've had. The other most nerve-wracking encounter was in the same section of trail on a different trip, when an adolescent bull charged and retreated several times, coming within ten feet of us each time. He came within a breath of getting shot more than once before he decided to leave.

 

[Grandpa]

I was walking around the upper lake when I heard a noise immediately off the trail. A momma moose started to get up and she had 2 brand new babies there. She too, was within slapping distance but only for a second or two that it took me to skidaddle.

We camped at Chicken Springs with my 5 and 7 yr old grandsons one time. That evening, less than 75 yards from where we camped, a moose got up and headed down for the evening ladies meeting in the willows. We all hiked down the trail to watch all the moose. When we got back, SIL and the boys headed across the creek to the springs for water. That cows baby decided to be independent and go for a walk. Right in front of the boys. Of course the five year old thought that was an invitation for a bull dogging and it took some talking to convince him that one squeal and momma would be coming on the run. That was also the night the bear, looking for goodies, snuffed the tent the boys and their Dad was in.

 

[Judy Ann]

Where is the bridge for the Stillwater?! Way too frisky for me to think about crossing on foot.

You and Tank have some beautiful country for adventures. I always enjoy a nice chuckle reading about the kids adventures. They really keep you all on your toes don't they?

 

[Grandpa]

Grandpa,
My most memorable encounter was in the Absaroka Range east of Yellowstone. A cow and calf walked thru our backcountry horse camp within several feet of our campfire like she owned the place, which of course she did. The family got a drink and walked back thru our camp again daring us to do anything about it.

When we hiked Thoroughfare Creek in Yellowstone a year ago last fall, we had a cow and calf moose use us as a buffer for the wolves. They were hiding in a thick young spruce grove, then came close to our fire that evening for protection. As dark closed in the wolves began howling all around us. Shortly after turning in, we heard a rattle of hooves and several elk ran right through our camp with wolves in hot pursuit. Next morning the tracks showed the moose had used the elks bad luck for their good by sneaking out and going the opposite direction. It doesn't matter though, within a couple of years the wolves will have killed all the ungulates in the park and surrounding wilderness.

 

[ppine]

Grandpa,
Great story. The Thoroughfare is some of the wildest country in the lower 48 and the story proves it.

Two more moose encounters. Back about 1978 or so I was with an old friend that had worked as a seasonal employee in Ystone. He talked about the moose in the NW part of the park, so we went out at dusk with good binoculars and found two bulls with their antlers locked together. They really tore up the countryside pushing each other around.

Sometime in the 1980s I was down near G Teton NP and saw three moose swimming across the Snake R. It was a bull, a cow and a calf. They looked like they each had a 10 hp outboard for power and created large wakes which crashed into the riffles in the River. It seemed pretty Western at the time.

 

[ppine]

Back in 1985 we were camped on the S Fork of Shoshone R in Wyo. After breakfast a cow and her calf walked right through our camp site within 5 feet of the fire. They went down to the river to drink. About 25 minues later they came back through in the same foot steps. Mom knew we were there but did not care at all. I love moose and their attitude about humans.