mightyhunter
Very Active Member
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I have been spending a lot of time out hiking and scouting the backcountry in NW Wyoming. This would be in both the Clarks Fork and Shoshone River drainages. To say that there is an incredible amount of water and snow would be an understatement. I have lived, hiked and hunted in this area for over 20 years. I have never seen anything like it. Every stream and river is still swollen with snow melt and from excessive rainfall. I crossed a stream last week that normally would be 10 inches deep and 6-8ft wide. When I found a place I thought I could cross, it was a real challenge. The water was over my gaiters and really moving.t took a lot of effort to stay upright.
For those of you hanging around the Sunlight Basin, be aware that they are trapping grizzly bears in a lot of different drainages in the Sunlight. I think this will continue for a few more weeks. I have been forced to alter my course and change my plans on three different hikes. The areas where the trapping is taking place are marked but not until you get in a ways. The Game and Fish trapper tells me that they are not having any problems getting the bears into the traps. The stink from the road kill stocked traps is not pleasant. The trapper indicated to me that there is no shortage of bears. He was not talking about black bears.
The ticks were bad until about Mid-June. Now the mosquitoes will carry you away. There is still plenty of snow at 9,000 ft and above especially on the East facing and North facing slopes. I was on the back side of Pat O'Hara the other day and sank up to mid thigh in a few spots. Other than one set of horseshoes, I think I was the first person in there. There are a lot of spots in the Northern Beartooths, Shoshone, Sunlight and Crandall backcountry where the snow may not melt this year. I think it could present a problem for sheep and goat hunters.
There have been a lot of slides in many of the drainages. For the most part, you can maneuver around them. In the Crandall Area, the Squaw Creek Road is closed shut from numerous mud slides. I believe that two cabins have been completely destroyed by the slides. If you are planning to hunt the Squaw Creek area, you may have to access it from a different route. Some other roads that have seasonal closures may not be open until mid July. When I can hit those roads and trails, I would expect some problems.
just sayin...mh
For those of you hanging around the Sunlight Basin, be aware that they are trapping grizzly bears in a lot of different drainages in the Sunlight. I think this will continue for a few more weeks. I have been forced to alter my course and change my plans on three different hikes. The areas where the trapping is taking place are marked but not until you get in a ways. The Game and Fish trapper tells me that they are not having any problems getting the bears into the traps. The stink from the road kill stocked traps is not pleasant. The trapper indicated to me that there is no shortage of bears. He was not talking about black bears.
The ticks were bad until about Mid-June. Now the mosquitoes will carry you away. There is still plenty of snow at 9,000 ft and above especially on the East facing and North facing slopes. I was on the back side of Pat O'Hara the other day and sank up to mid thigh in a few spots. Other than one set of horseshoes, I think I was the first person in there. There are a lot of spots in the Northern Beartooths, Shoshone, Sunlight and Crandall backcountry where the snow may not melt this year. I think it could present a problem for sheep and goat hunters.
There have been a lot of slides in many of the drainages. For the most part, you can maneuver around them. In the Crandall Area, the Squaw Creek Road is closed shut from numerous mud slides. I believe that two cabins have been completely destroyed by the slides. If you are planning to hunt the Squaw Creek area, you may have to access it from a different route. Some other roads that have seasonal closures may not be open until mid July. When I can hit those roads and trails, I would expect some problems.
just sayin...mh
