The Wilderness Sportsman

Greetings from Billings!

Mike — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:31:41 +0000

I’m blogging from the Border’s on King Street(or shall I say Mayhem Sprawl Street?) in Billings. It’s a beautiful and humid-less 80 degrees with a nice breeze. Quite a relief from the awful humidity of the midwest.

I’m blogging from the road because I’m elated over the new wolf ruling which put the animals back on the endangered list.

Driving the night of the fifth, I did not get to my campsite in the Chippewa National Forest (Minnesota) until five in the morning. When I pulled into the site, a group of ravens were cawing and loon song echoed across the lake. I knew something was in the air and it turned out to be this great ruling which temporarily puts a stop to the overdone wolf hunts in Idaho and Montana. What was a fairly innocent hunting season had begun to turn into a demented and bizarre blood lust, and Molloy was right for putting them back on.

I drove through a wicked storm last night on the way to Billings, only to find out later this storm smashed a few houses and telephone poles. Quite the interesting drive.

Today I am headed to Big Timber and the Gallatin National Forest where I will be holed up for a week doing a bit of fishing and photography. I have no chance of seeing a wolf, but I know they are there.

Time to hit the highway, the Beartooths are calling.

Headed to the mountains

Mike — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 00:49:15 +0000

Hey all -

I will be heading to the wilderness for the next month or so. I may update this site occasionally from the field. If not, expect daily updates in September as this site resumes its normal course.

Thanks for reading!

Grizzly bear kills one man, injures two others at Soda Butte campground

Mike — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:39:17 +0000

This is horrible news.

Link

I’ve been at Soda Butte a few times and the place always left me feeling a bit spooked.

According to early reports, this happened at around 4 a.m., which seems to be a very bad time to encounter a bear.

You can see a very detailed page of Soda Butte Campground here:

Soda Butte Campground

UPDATE:

The Billings Gazette seems to have the most info on this story and their proximity to Cooke City is good. You can follow the story at their link:

Billings Gazette

I feel horrible for the guy who was camped by himself at the edge of the campground. I guess because I see a lot of myself in that situation. It can happen to anyone.

Although bears are not “evil” as some would have you believe, they are dangerous and not cute and cuddly.

My heart goes out to the man’s family. They even used his tent fly as part of the culvert trap.

Who knows what the morning light will reveal.

Update # 2:

They have captured a grizzly mother and two cubs. A third cub is on the perimeter and will likely be trapped soon. In all honesty I hope this isn’t the bear. It would be sad to see this mother grizzly killed, and her three cubs also killed or sent to a zoo.

Those in charge are waiting for a DNA test to confirm, and the results should be back today.

Something always felt “off” to me about this campground. It’s very scenic, but it also seems to be in a wildlife corridor between the Absaroka Range and the Beartooth Range.

Update # 3:

The mother grizzly has been killed after DNA tests revealed her to be the attacker. The cubs will either be brought to a zoo or killed.

Very sad story all around.

Millions of Earths? Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov claims it’s possible

Mike — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 05:58:09 +0000

This is shocking news. According to the astronomer, the Milky Way galaxy is rich in earth-like planets.

The video is a fascinating watch/listen.

Copper mine near BWCAW gets financing

Mike — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 21:01:27 +0000

What have we learned the last 100 years?

Not much.

Link

Single jellyfish stings 50-100 people?

Mike — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:26:15 +0000

Bizarre story. This is a monster, 40 pound and 100 foot long jellyfish known as a Lion’s Mane.

Link

What a remarkable creature!

Camera catches bison attack in Yellowstone

Mike — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:36:09 +0000

This is what can happen when you approach bison. The victim seems really nice so I will withhold my usual and expected snarky comments.

I do have to say that I love how the bison just kind of revs up in place before bounding towards them. I laughed a bit there.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Sorry about the lack of updates, folks. As I said a couple weeks ago, I will be easing back into this. There will be daily updates in a couple months.

Last of the Montana prairie grizzlies gets killed for eating two chickens

Mike — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:15:39 +0000

I wish the headline was a joke, but it’s not. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks killed the bear after it ate two chickens. They tried to find a zoo for a few days, but there were no takes so now it’s dead. Wow, they really tried hard.

I honestly can’t wait for $10 a gallon gas. I’ve mentioned this before, but it will likely be the single best thing for wildlife. It will force many of these “ranchers” (really just junkyards with a few lammas and chickens) back into the city.

Sierra Designs Sirius 2 person tent sale

Mike — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:34:00 +0000

Just a heads up for the camping nuts out there:

Altrec is having a sale on the light weight Sirius 2 tent. I use both Sierra Designs and Mountain Hardwear tents and I can highly recommend both tent makers products in terms of holding up to storms in prolonged use.

Sierra Designs Sirius 2 Person Tent Free shipping

Hopefully my fellow outdoor-folk find this a useful deal.

A question of sanity

Mike — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 07:38:50 +0000

There is much discussion recently over the doubling of Montana’s wolf quota. Without a doubt, the number one reason cited for this quota increase by wolf hunters is to grow the Montana elk herd.

OK, fair enough. Wolves eat elk. I can see how some who like high elk numbers would shudder at the thought of wolves taking down “their” game. Also, I’m not against elk hunting at all, but I think a little common sense should be put in play here.

Putting aside the science, and putting aside the data which indicates the Montana elk herds are doing fine, I have to ask what I consider to be an important question:

If you are really so concerned about elk numbers, maybe….stop shooting them?

That might help.