 I spotted my first Grizzly of the 2018 season on April 19th at about 8:10 am. I was in northern Grand Teton National Park. I had finally made it up there after an odd start to my morning and a wandering route through the eastern edge of GTNP in hopes of seeing the Gray Wolves that have been haunting the area around Kelly for several late winter weeks. The road finally opened through Mormon Row so I was able to to drive the "loop " on the Gros Ventre road for the first time in four months. I snapped some images of the landscape, saw five Moose in the area, lots of newly migrated birds and uncountable amounts of Elk that are migrating off their wintering grounds on the National Elk Refuge to their various summer ranges. Unfortunately no wolves. I headed North as I had heard that someone had actually seen a Grizzly bear out and about up north earlier in this week. We had heard about ten days ago, of a confirmed Grizzly bear track, but the word was that this was the first supposed sighting of a Grizzly bear out of it's den for the year. And that would mean it was likely spotted from one of the few roads that are open up there.  I made it up north and was driving along and thinking about the Sunrise Tour I had just led on Sunday the 15th of April. In that exact same area I was passing through I had been telling my guests, "Right here is where you want to start looking for Grizzly Bears and than keep watch for the next few miles. We expect them out any day now and that could start now." Unfortunately despite the eagle eyes of my guests and their rapt attention we did not see a Grizzly bear that morning. As I passed that exact spot yesterday morning and was reliving the moment on my last tour, I just happened to glance up and over to the side and had a quick double take play out as my brain could not believe what my eyes had just registered. A Grizzly Bear! 5 yards away and headed at an angle towards the road in front of my vehicle! Walking with a steady purpose to cross the road in ambling and casual stride. I pulled over quickly and stopped my truck letting the Grizzly proceed in front of me. I was grabbing my camera and rolling down the window in a blur of activity inside the cab of the truck. The bear continued onward into the meadow on the other side of the road and I snapped away with the camera and adjusted the settings from my earlier near dark shots down the valley. 
Luck would have it that the bear wandered in a grid like search pattern deeper into the field allowing me lots of selective shooting. The best part of the first 20 minutes or so was that I had him all to myself. No one came by and if they did, they were off to work with a quick pic on their phone. Some folks just didn't see the Grizzly bear as it disappeared in out of tree clusters, clumps of sagebrush, and dips and drainages in the meadow. It helps that it is April and really slow in the park and valley in regards to the number of people visiting the area. It was one of those moments that I prize the most. Just me and the Wildlife in the midst of a unadulterated Wild moment, in one of the last great Wild places in the lower 48 states, the Greater Yellowstone and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I took a couple thousand images in just over an hour. I will be editing the selects for quite awhile. That is a lot pictures to cull, process, and pick through. Here a three images of the young Grizzly bear I saw yesterday. I left the bear in the middle of the forest and a decent Bear jam on the road. The people had changed the scene and the bear wandered into less of a photogenic landscape. The images were now just mediocre and the bear seemed to be heading farther afield and deeper into the snowbound landscape. We will likely have a great 4 to 6 weeks of Bear watching through May. And with any luck on into the summer... If you would like to come along on a Tour looking for Grizzly bears as well as the other abundant Wildlife in Jackson Hole, as we take you to see the highlights of the National Parks and the Greater Yellowstone, click the button below to Book you Wild Wyoming Tour today!
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