Winter in Glacier 2014

Glacier presents some great photographic opportunities, talk about it here.

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by joybird »

macchia wrote: Here is Bonnie squawking again. She makes a lot of weird noises while Clyde is mostly "silent" all the time.
Hmmm. I know a number of couples like that... :wink:
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

joybird wrote:
macchia wrote: Here is Bonnie squawking again. She makes a lot of weird noises while Clyde is mostly "silent" all the time.
Hmmm. I know a number of couples like that... :wink:
Hehehehe, don't we all. Been there;done that. I had my turn. Being single is good at my age :)
That said, Bonnie and Clyde are a life mated pair.

Truly wild ravens are EXTREMELY difficult to observe in their native wild habitat.(a word on that later)
I like this clip because it shows several aspects of raven behavior that many people would seldom ever see.

While Bonnie, and especially Clyde since he's much older, have been well "peopleized"...
They are still wild ravens with all their little "mannerisms"...as you'll see on this short clip.
I love how Bonnie wags her tail rapidly as Clyde begins allogrooming :)
Watch closely and you'll see them blinking their nicitating membranes, a big part of their body language.
And if you listen closely, at about 2:00 on you may be able to hear the "growls" as I call them that they use with each other...Sounds sorta like "rrrufff".
It's always very soft. I have much better examples of that later on.

Regarding observing wild ravens....
Wild ravens are very wary. They are virtually impossible to "sneak up on".
Don't believe it? Read the book "The Mind of a Raven" by Bernd Heinrich.
I bought it when it was published in 1999. He endured some real hardship observing them in the wild on carcasses during the winter.
Had to build a GOOD blind and get there before sunrise....and be absolutely still and silent as he observed them.
No small thing in the bone chilling New England winter.


John Marzluff's book "In the Company of Crows and Ravens" is an excellent book. Marzluff, a professor at Univ. of Wash., has a number of very informative and entertaining videos on YouTube.
http://www.amazon.com/John-M.-Marzluff/ ... ont_book_1
Marzluff also said Clyde was a "stud raven" after seeing a brief clip of Clyde getting REALLY agitated when an ":intruder" happened to fly over. I was videoing Clyde on my truck tool box. He likes to check out all the crap in the back of my truck as well as what's inside.
I'll have some of that sometime too.

later
pete :wink:
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by scott-atl »

the survival instincts of ravens and crows is amazing. I've heard of caches buried 6 feet in the snow and ice of denali being dug up by ravens. lots of magpies on the east side.

but I'm amazed all the places I see sandpipers. they range from pole to pole.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by daveparker »

A couple of weeks ago on the local PBS station they had a show about crows. It was a study of crows from the time of hatching until adulthood, quite interesting how smart they really are, they will use tools, have quite a range of vocalization and have the ability to recognize people and they don't forget, they have many of the same skills as chimps, whales and dolphins.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by Ear Mountain »

Ever been to West Yellowstone in winter? While the XC skiing there is great, there are also quite a few snowmobiles. Most snowmobiles have various compartments where things can be stored. This includes lunches and snacks. My group was staying on the third floor of a motel and had a roaring time looking down on parked snowmobiles and watching Ravens open those compartments, extract bags of goodies, open the bags and eat the snacks and lunches. I've seen this in West multiple times. Those Ravens were quite adept and pulling zippers and Velcro closures to get at the food. I'm sure the adults teach their young too.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Hey Dave

Thanks for that info on the PBS show. I don't have TV anymore but I'm sure it's on the net, or will be at some point.
I had a pet crow for about 3-4 years as a kid. JoeJoe had fallen out of the nest at about 3 days old. I was in 5th grade and rode my bike roughly 2 miles to school back then.
Dunno why I took JoeJoe on to school, but Sister Mary Clement, the principal wasn't impressed. She called my Mom to come get me and the crow LOL
I had to feed him a "mush" made of canned dogfood and bread with a tooth pick.
Ladies, any brave enough to let JoeJoe sit on their shoulder, had to becareful of their ear rings, the old "clamp-on" style.
JoeJoe would pull them off :) He also went after jewels in ring settings if the wearer wasn't careful.
Anyway, he was a incredible pet, very entertaining, and very clever.

Betty , the New Caledonian crow, is very skilled with making and using tools...and may have been on that PBS show.

I will look for the show
Thanks
pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Ear Mountain wrote:Ever been to West Yellowstone in winter? While the XC skiing there is great, there are also quite a few snowmobiles. Most snowmobiles have various compartments where things can be stored. This includes lunches and snacks. My group was staying on the third floor of a motel and had a roaring time looking down on parked snowmobiles and watching Ravens open those compartments, extract bags of goodies, open the bags and eat the snacks and lunches. I've seen this in West multiple times. Those Ravens were quite adept and pulling zippers and Velcro closures to get at the food. I'm sure the adults teach their young too.
Aren't ravens fun to watch?
Unless it's your stuff they are raiding!!

I would love to go to Yellowstone during the winter. I wish I had the xcountry skills to get around.
I'll have to make do with hiking/snowshoeing opportunities.

I will admit that "Clyde" got me several times last winter.
I want to say in my defense that I was not "baiting" Clyde to my truck.
One time I had my lunch, a chicken sandwich, in my zip up insulated lunch bag.
I went down to Lake McDonald to look around and take pics.
Just as I came into view of my truck, parked at the bottom of the parking, Bonnie let out a couple loud squawks.
Clyde flew out of the bed of my pickup.
The damage was long done. In the short time I was away, Clyde had unzipped the lunch bag enough to pull out my zip loc bagged sandwich.
I found the bag about 50ft away in the snow, torn open and empty.

I call them Bonnie and Clyde because they work as a team raiding vehicles.
Bonnie will walk on the ground circling a vehicle, or sit on a branch above the vehicle while Clyde "investigates" the vehicle looking for food.

And they don't hesitate if you turn your back.
As I was turning in to the parking lot one day, Bonnie was on the ground behind an SUV with an open hatchback(dunno where owners were)
As I passed by, I saw Clyde inside tugging on a black trash bag :) Why I don't know.

Clyde got me a couple more times, but I want to emphasize, again, I was not purposely "baiting" him".
On one occasion Clyde got a very expensive(for me) ~4oz steak out of a vaccum pack of 3 from Perfect Cuts Meats in CFalls.
I didn't want the package inside because the heat was on, so I put in bed of my truck under the tool box. There was junk in front of it. Looked concealed to me att.
So I'm sitting inside truck reading and I heard Clyde jumping around back there. By the time I was out of the truck he was flying off with my steak.
No noise from him as he used that bill like a scissors opening the plastic vacuum pack.
I then barricaded the other two steaks where I knew he couldn't get to it.
Grass fed beef with no hormones, so he and Bonnie ate good on that one at my expense :(

I'll explain another time how, this year, he got my pound cake, my only snack for the day, from inside Squeeze :(

These birds see thousands of vehicles a day in season. They learn quickly and well all about people and their vehicle habits.

later and thanks for the post

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

These are pics from yesterday, Saturday, November 22nd
I began by driving out to Lake McDonald Lodge, arriving about noon. The weather was quite variable all day.
Going out it was dreary, spitting rain/snow. The road was sketchy in places. It'd go from clean and dry to hard ice and everything in between.
Nobody and nothing going on at the lodge. Dunno where Bonnie and Clyde were. Windy and overcast so I decided to head to Avalanche.
On impulse, I turned on to the road that crosses McDonald Creek and eventually ends at the TH for the trail out to the Lake McDonald back country campground.
I managed to put a sizable dent in Squeeze's tailgate as I backed into a stump or something as I turned around.

After getting back to the Sun Road, I decided to ride out to Polebridge. It was windy, overcast, and I could see snow showers coming.
I screwed up the uploading of the pictures from the first part of the day. I'll get them up directly.

I would go via the Camas Road which is where this part picks up:

2-3 inches of slush on the higher part of the Camas Road. Snow free on either end
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After exiting Glacier Park, "Big Bits", a hunting companion for over 50 years, wanted out of his case for the 13 mile ride to Polebridge. Hunting is perfectly legal on public land along the North Fork Road. So I let him out. As you can see, I travel with a lot of "stuff" and not too well organized. 8)
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It had been overcast and snowing back by the Camas bridge. The closer I got to Polebridge, the nicer it got.
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GeezerPete got his shadow in it. Be ok pic when cropped
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The Polebridge Mecantile, a National Historic place, located on a National Scenic river, the American flag with a Big Blue Montana sky as a backdrop. Pretty damn good picture if I do say so. And I do.
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Second from the front you will notice an empty spot in front of the remaining cinnamon bun :)
And some of you propbably knew this 25 seconds was coming 8)

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I discovered this dent walking back to Sqeeze with my cinnamon bun. I felt a "jolt" as I backed into something back at the TH on Lake McDonald. Thankfully the latch still works.
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The lot was a sheet of glazed ice, very slippery in places as the sun melted the surface. The Geezer nearly went down with coffee and bun in hand. And while the North Fork road was pretty good most of the way, there were places where it was downright treacherous if you weren't paying attention...especially going back after the sun set.
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Looking North
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Looking North from the bridge at the Polebridge Ranger Station. And yes, I unloaded and cased Big Bits before entering the park :)
Some pics are kinda boring like this one, and others taken at familiar places. The hope is that some months from now people can see how winter changes the landscape.

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I was going to drive the 7 miles back in towards Kintla Lake, but ended up chatting with a gal from Michigan too long. Imagine that! Had I continued on, I would be driving back in the dark on a frozen slick road with possible new snow falling. Not my idea of fun on that road. Over the last 12 years I've had two scary spin outs, a 180 and a 360, and that's enough fun on the North Fork road. You really need to be careful driving at night when the road is frozen up, especially now that the deer are in full rut. They can bolt out into the road in a heartbeat. NOT a fun drive at night in bad conditions.
Akokala Creek

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Bowman Creek
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Sun was just going behind the mountains as I was leaving the park.
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Ben Rover Cabin
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Looked like two families with 5-6 young children having fun
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Trailhead for that walking path sponsored by the Mercantile and just past the Northern Lights
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Poor photo quality on these two pictures as the sun was down,plus the overcast. Don't let this long, straight stretch lull you into complacency while driving. There were spots that were very slick. You can see the lookout on Huckleberry's peak if you look closely on second pic
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This view of Huckleberry may help explain why the Huckleberry Mtn hike, which begins out of the frame on the far left, feels like a long, hard slog on a summer day...maybe 'cause it IS a long slog?? :)
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A new lodgepole forest growing in after the old one burned. Makes me feel old some days as I remember when these trees were very small
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I got some good sunset alpine glow shots here a few years back. The Apgar mountains face pretty much SouthWest. This time of year that would put it at right angles to the setting sun. That mean anything as far as picking up reflected light? On a good sunset day, properly composed and cropped, I like the contrast of the road, the trees with snowy mountains behind

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This shot gives you an idea of the snow level at this time
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I've seen black bears along this stretch several times.
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And I pretty much ran out of light....
I'll have the Lake McDonald part up later tonight or tomorrow.
Not much to see over there though so....


later
pete :wink:
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"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by Jay w »

Thanks for the update Pete. I enjoyed the write up and photos.

That's quite a dent. Fortunately that truck has more than 30k miles.

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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by netresult »

Nice series of captures Pete! Thanks for sharing.
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

Thanks all. I spent 5 hours driving some 120+miles around Lake McDonald and out to Polebridge and back home. It was fun.
And yesterday may be one of the last days I can drive on the far side of Lake McDonald and/or the Camas Road.
You have seen the lack of snow at lower elevations, that may change very soon.

I'll get back out there as soon as I can depending on what actually happens. Thanksgiving week is typically relatively busy on the North Fork road with hunters driving up and down. So I believe I can get out there with no problem. I have "cables" but I hate having to use them.

Thanks again for the comments.

later

pete :wink:

...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MISSOULA HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WATCH...

A LONGER LASTING SNOW PRODUCER IS EXPECTED TO MOVE INTO THE
AREA MONDAY EVENING AND PERSISTING THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THERE IS
HIGH CONFIDENCE IN HEAVY MOUNTAIN SNOW WITH THIS EVENT
, BUT THE
SNOW LEVELS WILL BE ON THE RISE THROUGH THE EVENT. THE LOWER
VALLEYS WILL BEGIN AS SNOW BUT WILL CHANGE OVER TO RAIN DURING
THE DAY WEDNESDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: MOUNTAINS...2 TO 5 INCHES TONIGHT...12 TO 20
INCHES MONDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY


VALLEYS...UP TO 2 INCHES TONIGHT...4 TO 8 INCHES MONDAY NIGHT
THROUGH WEDNESDAY.

* LOCATIONS IMPACTED INCLUDE...BAD ROCK CANYON...ESSEX...HIGHWAY
83 BIGFORK TO SWAN LAKE...MARIAS PASS...POLEBRIDGE
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by liketohike »

nice pics... thanks for the update, Pete!
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by toddnick »

Excellent update!!! :D

Beautiful day up in Polebridge...wish I could have been there...

When does the Merc close? The end of November?
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

toddnick wrote:Excellent update!!! :D

Beautiful day up in Polebridge...wish I could have been there...

When does the Merc close? The end of November?
liketohike wrote:nice pics... thanks for the update, Pete!
You are quite welcome! :)


Todd!

Thanks. The Merc used to close end of Novemeber. I forgot to ask when I was in there , but word is they will be open weekends all winter.
Ummmm, all that good stuff all winter? I'll have to make sure I take my Metformin!! hehe

Glad your part of Buffalo was spared the snow last week. We had about an inch here last night LOL. Looks like the park will get a good dump beginning tonight.
I'll try to have pics when I can get back out there.

later
pete :wink:
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"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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Re: Winter in Glacier 2014

Post by PeteE »

These were shots from today, Sunday November 30th, 2014.
You can look at all of the pics from today, including the ones that I have no clue why I took them here:
http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/Geeze ... t=2&page=1
or slide show of all of them here:
http://s1374.photobucket.com/user/Geeze ... dge?sort=2

Here's a few

I always liked the view as you come up to "Helicopter City".
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See the downed trees from the storm?
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That catwalk was "slick" too
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I liked the ice encased chain
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Look for all of the shots on the Cobb House on the Weather thread here
http://www.glacier.nationalparkschat.co ... 178#p93178
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The Coke Machine looked incongruous in this setting. Did to me anyway 8)
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Snyder Creek was much prettier in person
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Temp was about 12F here at the lodage where it was mostly cloudy and overcast.... a very light lake effect snow falling. The North Fork was colder at near 0F probably because skies were much clearer
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I'll have a few from the North Fork up tomorrow.
Some video may be up tomorrow as well.

later

pete :wink:
"If you are not curious, you will learn nothing" -Goethe-

"When you're born in this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show.
And when you're born in America, you're given a front row seat."

George Carlin
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