Zach Matthews
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Lot of good information here. Roy Conley has the story right for the 2011 killings. In 2010 the bear in question invaded Soda Butte Creek campground right outside the NE entrance and killed and ate one camper in his tent. He was sleeping alone. It then moved on to Deb Freele in her tent. She described being pinioned by her arm (which snapped in the bear’s jaws) while the bear allowed its cubs to feed on her legs. She survived and is doing well after rehab from the reports, but obviously that sow was teaching her cubs. Teaching them to eat campers.
Ecosystems are complicated. Stream temps declined some after wolf reintroduction; biologists determined this was due to the wolves pushing out the elk from the lowlands, thus letting cottonwoods grow, which shaded the stream and lowered the temps to more favorable spawning conditions for cutthroat trout. Apex predator species like wolves thus impact the entire food web around them. Bears had been the only apex predators in that area for about 100 years and now they are sharing space again, not just with additional numbers of other bears but also with increasingly large numbers of wolves. The wolf population in the Park really only peaked out in the late-2000s from the 1997 introduction so the bears are still very much in an adaptive phase.
Incidentally I believe it is illegal to carry a firearm in Yellowstone and I know it is illegal to discharge one for any reason, including self-defense. We’ve discussed this before. I am sure a prosecutor would decline to prosecute someone who had actually been mauled and shot the bear, but shooting a charging bear? Bears make false charges. You are taking a significant legal risk bringing a firearm into the park. I think the most prudent and cost effective protection really comes down to party size; three or more seems to be the rule, and stay close.
Zach
PS Just read Tim’s link.
Brian –
The shaft is 15″ from the transom so I would say it drafts around 8″ with it down. I would also like to explore a jack plate but from what I have heard you need to pair it with a four bladed prop to get the most out of it.
This is the one I would buy: http://www.basspro.com/Mini-Jacker-for-Clamp-on-Outboards/product/8782/122143?hvarAID=shopping_googlebase&om_mmc=shopping_googlebase
Zach
Bozeman is awesome. Enjoy your trip. Simms just broke ground on a new factory which is going to have some awesome features for walk-in visitors but it won’t be done yet, obviously.
Try to get to their farmer’s market if it is open. There’s some great eats to be had there. Montana Ale Works on the main drag is a nice if upscale bar. It’s on the east side of Main Street, not far from the dirtbag hotel I usually stay in.
Absolutely have breakfast at Main Street Over Easy–it is one of the best I’ve ever had and that includes France.
Learned a valuable lesson Saturday about why outboard motors have a little ring to clip on to. Andrew and I had just been talking about the time he lost his motor on a huge submerged tree, when about ten minutes later I whacked mine on a shelf and knocked it clean off the back.
Long story short I was able to get it back. It had hydrolocked but I worked and worked the starter rope until it pumped the cylinders free. I emptied the oil out, pulled the spark plugs, and pumped it dry with more pulls. The oil looked emulsified like salad dressing. Gave the whole engine a WD-40 bath and changed the oil about four times. By the fourth oil change it was starting and running like new.
I ran it yesterday and I swear it runs better than it did before. I think maybe it was in need of a good lube and it certainly got that!
Lessons learned. The motor is now chained to an eye bolt strong enough to hold my weight and then some. Hopefully this won’t be happening again.
Here it is floating in about 4″ of water:
Zach
Hey Peter –
Ha, I don’t agree about the Shawnee’s looks at all, although I do prefer the longer lines of the Supreme.
Probably the best Southern tailwater boat one could buy would be the Supreme or Shawnee boats as advertised on top of this board.
Are you going wood understructure with a Kevlar or Fiberglass exterior coating, or are you talking about laying the whole thing up in Kevlar?
