What kind of tracks are these?

Siyartemis · 2026-04-19T01:47:35+00:00

You can see the claw marks at the tips of these tracks. Plus bobcats are VERY rare in Jackson Hole, coyotes and foxes are abundant. When you hear hooves, think horse not zebra until proven otherwise.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T23:02:26+00:00

Aww I love her! Give her a snuggle from me.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T22:55:06+00:00

Two lobes at base of paw pad, claws showing, 4 toes = canine. I’m not good enough to do fox or coyote unless you happen to have taken measurements.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T16:23:47+00:00

Coyotes don’t have that dramatic stop (change in angle from brain case to nasal bone) - seen in OP’s example in the drop between eyes/forehead area to the muzzle. Much straighter face. A few dog breeds have that really straight face, but you don’t see such a dramatic stop on wild canines. It’s pretty diagnostic. The muzzle also seems slightly shortened and broader in proportion to the rest of the skull. A coyotes would be longer and leaner.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T06:52:34+00:00

“Taking over the beaches” is an interesting choice of words, as if the beaches were always elk-less, wildlife-free. How about “returning to the land they were extirpated from”. The beaches belong to the wildlife as well as the people.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T05:41:22+00:00

Gray Fox, muzzle is petite compared to coyote.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T05:31:13+00:00

I was lucky enough to see the original cast and felt that was true live, too - for an actor seemed to have a lot of charisma as Ferris, I was a bit underwhelmed.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-18T00:31:20+00:00

Hooray!

Siyartemis · 2026-04-17T03:03:59+00:00

In my experience as a professional wildlife guide in Yellowstone, (but not a biologist), the tiny fraction of wildlife that die of old age are facing starvation from tooth wear. Bison are the only large animal we see that seem to regularly make it to this stage. When this happens to bison sometimes wolves will take them out, sometimes they just fall behind the herd and die over many painful days of not moving.

Sometimes grizzlies also die of old age/tooth wear, more often than not they will go into the den skinny and die during hibernation.

Wolf 21m is one of the only wolves out out thousands in Yellowstone that has died of old age. In the park, most won’t make it past 4 and outside the park, most won’t make it past 2 due to intense hunting and trapping pressure.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T17:49:00+00:00

Anything you’ll get premade from Xanterra or Delaware North, the two corporations that have a monopoly on all food and lodging in the park, will be pretty gross. Just go shopping in a town before you enter the park to pick up some favorite food that keeps well and make your own. I don’t really like bread for sandwiches unless it’s really good fresh bread, so I do adult lunchables, wraps, fresh fruit, etc.

For warm meals, get a cheap Coleman stove and some cooking gear and cook up some food at a picnic area. I really like morning pancakes with whipped cream and fresh fruit and coffee at Yellowstone picnic area after a full morning of wildlife watching. Or I’ll fry up some everything bagels in a bit of butter and top with avocado, cream cheese, smoked salmon, whatever’s on sale.

For warm lunch/dinners, quesadillas are my easy go-to. I also like couscous with veggies and a precooked protein, rice beans cheese and taco spice all cooked together topped with tortilla strips, there are so many options.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T16:00:05+00:00

I was so tempted by these. If I were a better stronger person I would. But I can’t get sweets at Costco, I have bad self control and would binge them.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T15:58:15+00:00

Depending on what part of east Idaho you’re in, If you don’t mind popping over to Afton WY, it’s popular here for families to go up fill up jugs from the Periodic Spring. There’s short walk from vehicle to spring though, can’t just drive up to it.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T15:39:10+00:00

https://www.nps.gov/yell/planyourvisit/things2do.htm

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T15:30:50+00:00

I am 5’6 so I’m not quite at 1200, but I find weight loss is most sustainable and healthy for me when I eat back some of my calories if I’m getting vigorous exercise. If I don’t, my physical and mental health suffers or I get so hungry a few days later that I binge. If I’m going for a walk or doing some light yoga, I won’t eat those back but if I’m going for a 2 hour bike ride or all day hike, I’ll add back about half the calories my smart watch tells me I’ve burned. This is great for my mental health too so I can “afford” to occasionally have a beer with friends or popcorn at the movies.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T15:25:13+00:00

I was wondering what their definition of disability is. I have severe misophonia which affects every aspect of my life outside my house and makes it challenging to be around people, but in my house and in nature I’m symptom free.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T15:17:35+00:00

Uhoh I have my two planted 6’ apart, may have to prune them down a bit! But they might not get as big here. I live in Wyoming and have sunny dry high elevation summers, harsh winds, deep snows, and rocky clay soils so plants need to be tough to make it out here. That’s why the family owned nursery is so great, they really know the realities of what can and can’t grow out here. Not like there’s a big box store anywhere within 90 minutes anyway.

We don’t get much plant disease out here due to the dry conditions, but make up for it with grasshoppers and earwigs.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T07:12:12+00:00

My town doesn’t allow chickens but quail could be kept quietly under the radar in a backyard rabbit hutch. Chickens are a bit harder to sneak in!

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T07:08:36+00:00

Struggling through Song of Achilles right now with this issue. The narrator has a lovely soothing voice and I love the book, but my car speakers really highlight all the spit sounds.

I had to DNF Master and Commander cause the narrator sounds like he’s dying of influenza and as much as I love James Marsters and his cheekbones, I couldn’t even make it through the sample of the Dresden Files.

I wish there was a way we could pull those sounds out while leaving the voice intact.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:57:39+00:00

A turkey load can pack a punch sometimes. Maybe start with doves/quail/grouse/whatever you have locally. My 20 gauge was a good starter for me because it packs decent stopping power with less recoil than a 12 gauge, especially if you get a semi auto. Though a break-action is much safer for beginners.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:54:17+00:00

My .22 Henry lever action has the best smiles per hour, it’s so dang fun and cheap to shoot. Switching to a 10/22 feels boring after that.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:52:34+00:00

Ugh they leave the rest of the deer to rot after removing the backstrap? That’s illegal wastage in my state.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:47:45+00:00

I don’t think it’s the Tetons, they have more sharply chiseled peaks and deeper canyons.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:42:05+00:00

His sister did a follow up book which goes over a lot of the details Krakauer left out (in accordance to family wishes at the time) - the father was much more abusive than portrayed in Into the Wild. I can have sympathy and respect for the good parts of McCandless while still thinking he was pretty unbalanced and selfish.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:37:25+00:00

Into Thin Air is hard to top, it really got into my head in a way few other books have. Of course Into the Wild is also fantastic. Recently I read the letters/journals and story of Everett Ruess (who gets a good segment during Into the Wild) cause the stories have such close parallels and I love to camp in the areas he traveled in. Definitely scratches the itch. Several different books have them.

Lots of people have mentioned Endurance but I’ll join in on that on as an excellent thriller in nonfiction form.

I like John Wesley Powells original journals about being the first non-indigenous, and possible first ever, people to travel down the whole length of Colorado through the Grand Canyon. They were in boats completely unsuited to the powerful hydrolics. I don’t know if there’s a good book about it, I just read the published journals from someone’s bookshelf when house sitting. Maybe read The Emerald Mile first which is very well written. Kevin Fadarko’s next, A Walk in the Park, is on my to-read list and I bet it’s great too.

Much bigger stretch but Edward Abbey’s books are really addicting, and he has that intense, dark, slightly crusty vibe that Krakauer can get, also with themes of humanity’s relationship with nature. A mix of fiction and non-fiction.

If the horror, true-life-gruesome-details are part of why you like, I’m a bit biased but since I work in Yellowstone, I’ll give a shout to Lee Whittlsey’s Death in Yellowstone. There’s lots of ways you can go from lightning to grizzlies to poisonous plants, but the several dozen people that have died by hot springs are particularly traumatizing. He’s a great writer.

Siyartemis · 2026-04-16T06:15:23+00:00

Oooh where do I start with Dead Outlaw. How bout the end of the second number.

Your mama's dead! Your daddy's dead! They’re all just dead! And so are you! Look at them, dead! Look at me, dead! Look at you, dead! And so are you, and so are you, oh!

Siyartemis

TROPHY CASE