Saturday, November 3, 2007.
   All sixteen Druids are feeding on a kill. The carcass is on the bank of the Lamar and a few of the wolves grab pieces and carry them through the water to the other side where they can eat their portion in peace. A grizzly walks through the water to the carcass to feed and the Druids disband. The bear does not feed long before walking back through the water to the other side. The wolves jump around the bear, but don't chase after him.
   The Druids, led by 569, 480 and 302, begin zigzagging towards the rendezvous site. At almost the same time, the old black wolf that killed the elk calf appears and begins walking toward the carcass. I hold my breath as the Druids turn around and run toward the old wolf. The old black turns around and quickly walks away with his tail between his legs as the Druids overtake him. All the wolves disappear behind the river bank. In moments, Druid wolves pop up over the bank again, pups, yearling and adults. The old black appears, moving west and we breathe a sigh of relief. I am developing an affection for the old wolf. We lose sight of the Druids as they run along the Lamar River toward their rendezvous site and up into the trees out of site.
   We hike into Yancy's Hole, finding perfect bear tracks and wolf tracks made by the Agates. There are also elk tracks. At one point on the trail it looks like an elk was skidding, but we didn't see any carcasses. It is a perfect winter day - sunny, cold and clear.
   Later we look for the old wolf and the bear, but see neither. The Druids are still at their rendezvous site. There is a beautiful sunset tonight over the mountains, the snow capped peaks reflecting purple blue shadows. Rick tells us there was more activity in Canyon today. A different pack of 13 wolves was seen there. Tim showed his photo of the wolf crossing the road north of Artist's Point to Bob Landis and Bob didn't know what pack it belonged to. Now we think it might be a Hayden.

Author - Christine Baleshta
Photography - Tim Springer