Christine Wilcox, Research Scientist, Montana

Avalanche Peak, Yellowstone National Park

A couple of weeks ago I had the awesome experience of hiking the Avalanche Peak Trail in Yellowstone.  It is definitely in my top ten favorite hikes.  Having spent a lot of time in Utah hiking in places like Arches, San Rafael Swell, Goblin Valley, Great Basin, and the Wasatch and Uintah mountains, that’s saying a lot.  At the summit of this immense peak, I saw the most expansive and breath-taking views of this particular ecosystem type ever.

The wildlife we encountered included squirrels, chipmunks, and birds such as Clark’s nutcrackers which are critical for the dispersal and germination of whitebark pine seeds.  We saw tracks from a bighorn sheep on the slope just below the ridge and a young mule deer buck resting in a shady patch under a tree.  The animals that were starkly missing from this wildlife landscape were grizzlies.  As little as ten years ago, this would have been prime grizzly habitat and hikers would have done well to keep a keen eye out for any bear signs, make noise so as not to surprise a bear, and assure their can of bear spray was on ...

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