moose — Blog — Josh Rutledge Photography

Over the weekend of February 17, 2024 I had the chance to spend some time in Yellowstone National Park again. It was on our radar that we wanted to visit the park again this winter, but with an abnormally low snow pack this year, we were not sure if it was worth the trip. Finally the last few weeks we have had some colder temperatures and some snow, so we thought we would give it a try. There was definitely still a lack of snow in the park, but it was better than the reports we had been getting earlier in the winter.

We left early on Saturday morning on our way to Gardiner, Montana. The North entrance to Yellowstone National Park is just outside of Gardiner and is the only entrance open during the winter months. The traditional road from the entrance through the canyon to Mammoth is still washed out, but they have a new winding alternative route up and over the hills into Mammoth. While there is a national park hotel in Mammoth we were able to find a cheaper hotel in Gardiner and that worked out well. The Roosevelt Hotel. If you are interested in doing any tours in Yellowstone during the winter, most of the tours leave from the Mammoth Hotel.

A panorama of the sunrise hitting the Crazy Mountains.

With the recent snows, on our way to Yellowstone we were greeted with some amazing colors on the Crazy Mountains during sunrise. The colors were getting better and better, but with the drifted snow on the sides of the road it took us a while to find a safe place to pull over to get some photographs. While we just missed the peak of the color on the snow covered mountains, they were still pretty spectacular. We made quick stops in Big Timber and Livingston and then it was through Gardiner and into the park. I think we got through the entrance of the park by around 9:30 AM Saturday morning.

Frost on a barbwire fence with the Crazy Mountains out of focus in the background.

It was a very warm day (by February standards in Montana) and there was not a cloud in the sky. While the sunny day made for nice weather, it was not the best for wildlife viewing or photography. With the quickly warming air and the cold snow covered ground there was a lot of a mirage as a result. If you check out the video posted below you can really see the turbulence in the air, and this made it very difficult to clearly photograph subjects.

That first morning we saw elk, tons of bison, many coyotes (more coyotes than I have ever seen before in the park), moose, an American Dipper, ravens, magpies and several other species. We even briefly saw some bighorn sheep way up on the ridge. Eventually we got a tip that there was a pack of wolves hanging in the Slough Creek area. Sure enough by the time we got back there, there was a pretty good crowd forming. We had to hike about a quarter of a mile or so to an overlook. The wolves were still in the area, but they were pretty far away. They had made a kill of a young bison the day before we got there, but they had pretty well consumed most of it by Saturday morning. A fellow photographer said there had been two black wolves on the kill earlier that morning, so I was kind of disappointed we missed that. As it was, there were a couple of coyotes picking over what was left of the kill and the wolves were still up on the hills sleeping off their big meal. The bison herd was still feeding in the creek below, so that was kind of interesting to see with the wolves still so close. Even with my Canon 600mm lens and 1.4X teleconverter the wolves were still pretty small in the frame. In one of the images below I was able to get 7 of the 8 wolves in one frame. They may be difficult to point out if you are viewing this on a small screen.

You can click on the images in the gallery below for a larger view.

While the days are getting longer, they are still pretty short this time of year, so it wasn’t long until it was already late afternoon in the park. We spotted several more coyotes and a nice bull elk on our way out of the park. We got back to Gardiner and checked into our hotel then went and found some dinner at the Cowboy’s Lodge and Grille. It was a nice little spot and the food was good. We then went back to the hotel and got ready for the next morning.

A bull moose browsing on some frost covered willows in Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park.

Sunday morning was quite a departure from the sunny weather we had on Saturday. There was a heavy frost and some light snow in the air. While this caused its own challenges, it was more conducive to photography. We got back into the park right around sunrise (shortly after 7 AM) and headed back down to Lamar Valley. We did not have quite as much luck finding wildlife this morning. I am not sure if the changing weather had anything to do with that or not. We stopped where the wolves had been the day before, and they were still in the area but still too far away for any photography so we didn’t stay long. We made the decision to go back to where we found the moose the day before. There had been 6 bulls in the willows on the far end of Lamar Valley, but they were too far away for any good pictures on Saturday. I am glad we made the decision to go check again, as this morning the bulls had moved closer to the road and I was able to get some pretty good photos (and some video) of them. There was no place to park near by, so I ended up having to hike about a quarter of a mile to where the moose were. The frosty morning made for some interesting winter scenery surrounding them. With all of the snow and the dark moose, I was having to use at least two stops of exposure compensation to even things out a bit. After the moose moved into the timber and started laying down for the day, we continued towards Cooke City, hoping to maybe find a fox or something. We did not find any fox but we did find another moose, so that made 7 for the day, which is more than I have ever seen in the park before.

We finished our morning with a few more sightings of coyotes and elk, but that was about it. We had originally planned to stop in Mammoth on our way out to photograph the hot springs, but it was starting to snow pretty good at that point, so we figured we better get on the road before things got worse. We were able to make it back home without incident.

For this trip I felt like I had packed everything but the kitchen sink. Since I knew we would primarily be working out of a vehicle I was not too concerned about the weight or how much gear I was taking. Most of the time I ended up using my Canon 600 F4 version 2 lens, with and without the Canon 1.4x version 3 teleconverter and my Canon RF 100-500 L lens on my Canon R5 camera body. I also brought along my Canon R6 and my older EF Canon 100-400 version 2 lens and my Sigma 150-600 lens for my sister to use. I did shoot some video on my GoPro Hero 11 black as well.

I have really come to love visiting Yellowstone in the winter. I have just reached a point where the summer crowds make it hard to really enjoy the park anymore. Of course the park is beautiful in the summer and there are opportunities to see things in the summer that you can’t in the winter (bears for example), but I think I am willing to take that trade off for the relative quiet of the winter.

If you are interested in more about Yellowstone National Park, I do have a page dedicated to Yellowstone on my website (it needs some updating) as well as a previous blog post from a trip last year. Also, be sure to check out my video on YouTube posted below from our trip.

Video digest from my trip to Yellowstone.

Dedicated Yellowstone webpage.

Previous Blog Post - Winter in Yellowstone National Park

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This last July, 2023, my sister Melissa and I decided to hike to Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park. It was a hike we had talked about doing many times before, but just never had, so we made it a point last summer to finally do it.

The sign at the Iceberg Ptarmigan Trailhead.

The trailhead for the hike leaves from behind the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn in Many Glacier on the east side of Glacier National Park. This is the same trailhead you would use if you wanted to hike to Ptarmigan Tunnel (Lake) or even locations passed there. There is a small parking area right at the trailhead, but it fills up quickly so you may need to park in the bigger parking lot in front of the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn and walk behind the cabins to the trailhead. There is also the option to hike from the Many Glacier Hotel as well, but of course that will add to the distance of your hike. As with all areas in Glacier National Park, I would recommend getting to the trailhead early, as parking anywhere close by might become impossible. Your other option is to wait until later in the afternoon when people have started to leave for the day, but make sure you leave yourself enough time to finish the hike. For the average hiker it is probably a 4 or 5 hour hike. Luckily the summer days in Montana are long. Also check on the reservation/ticketing requirements for the Many Glacier area as it tends to change year to year.

This area is home to many grizzly bears so I would be sure to bring along bear spray on your hike. We saw a grizzly bear within the first mile or so of the hike. It was a rather quick encounter so I was not able to capture any photographs or video of the bear. And we heard reports from other hikers that some others were spotted that morning as well. There are also a lot of moose in the area. As is always the case in Glacier National Park, the weather can be very unpredictable so be sure that you are prepared for a variety of conditions. It can be difficult to predict when the trail will be open year to year, but typically it is from late June/early July into early October. If you arrive too early in the season the trail might be closed all together, or there may be snow/ice fields you have to cross to get to the lake. Check with the rangers if you have any concerns about the hiking conditions or if the trail is open. Besides the weather, sometimes the trails are closed because of bear activity. The benefit of going earlier in the season is that there tends to be more “icebergs” in the lake than there are later in the season. But, if you wait and go in the fall you may be able to experience some fall colors and the crowds will be less. If you wait too late however, there may already be too much snow up high to get to the lake.

It is about a 10 mile hike round trip (assuming you leave from the trailhead at the Swiftcurrent Inn) with over 1,200 feet of elevation gain. I have seen different quotes between about 1,200 and 1,500 feet, so I am not sure what the correct elevation gain is. It is not a particularly challenging hike, some of the worst of it is actually the first quarter mile or so from the trailhead as it is a rather steep ascent up to where it meets the Ptarmigan Trail coming from the Many Glacier Hotel. Eventually it does even out some and from there it is a more continuous gradual elevation gain up to the lake.

Wildflowers and the Ptarmigan Wall near Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Some paintbrush flowers along the trail.

Some small white flowers on the trail to Iceberg Lake.

A Dusky Grouse we observed on the trail to Iceberg Lake.

As you hike, you will see some awesome vistas of the mountains and the valley below. Unfortunately the day we were hiking there was a lot of smoke from wildfires up in Canada, so some of our view was obstructed and it also added weird lighting to some of my photographs. Depending on the time of year, you will see a variety of wildflowers and animal species along the way. As I mentioned earlier, keep your eyes open for bears and moose especially. It is a very popular trail, so if you are uncomfortable hiking in bear country, ask if you can join some other hikers for safety in numbers.

Melissa crossing over the bridge that is just above Ptarmigan Falls.

About halfway through your hike you will find yourself at Ptarmigan Falls. Unfortunately you never get a great view of the falls due to the terrain. But you can see a pretty good portion of it through the trees. As you arrive above the falls, there is a nice rocky area that is a popular spot to rest and maybe have a snack. There is also a primitive pit toilet in the area as well. As you leave the falls, you will cross a wooden bridge and you will have a very good picturesque view up the valley and the creek running at your feet below into the falls. This is also the area where the trail splits to either continue on to Iceberg Lake or go up to Ptarmigan Lake/Tunnel. Stay to the left to go to Iceberg Lake.

The creek crossing just before you get to Iceberg Lake, with the Ptarmigan Wall in the background.

From there you will continue to climb for another couple of miles as you start to close in on the base of the Ptarmigan Wall and a small lake that is kind of an offshoot of Iceberg lake, I do not know if it has a name. While we were there, there was an amazing field of wildflowers surrounding the small lake. As you continue up the last little climb you will cross the creek again and you will start to get your first glimpses of where the lake will appear. After you step out of the last grove of trees, Iceberg Lake and the surrounding cliffs will be right in front of you. It is very difficult to capture just how imposing the cliffs are in front of you. You really have to see it to believe it.

Ice floating in Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Of course we stayed at the lake for some time. We dipped our tired feet in, and it was VERY cold. For a second the cold water felt good, but it quickly became too cold for me. I have seen pictures of people swimming in the lake, but no one was brave enough the morning we were there, but lots of people did wade out into the frigid waters. We ate a snack, rested for a little bit, enjoyed the views and then started the hike back down. Since we had got a pretty early start, we passed a lot of people coming up the trail as we were going down. I was glad we got there early to avoid the crowds.

Another panorama of Iceberg Lake in Glacier National Park.

Despite the smoky conditions, the hike was awesome. Next time I may have to try the Ptarmigan Tunnel trail, as I have heard there are some spectacular views from there as well. I know some people have completed both sections of the trail in a single day, but I am not in good enough shape to do that. Later in the summer of 2023, we also did a hike to Grinnell Glacier which was also amazing. Both hikes are awesome, but I think the Grinnell hike might edge out Iceberg Lake, but only by a little bit, as my favorite. I will write a blog about our hike to Grinnell later on, so please check back.

We were actually in the park for a couple of days on this trip, so here are some pictures from the rest of our time in the park. For our hike I had my Canon R5, Canon RF 24-105, Canon RF 100-500 and my GoPro Hero 11 Black. I also had my Canon 600 F4 version 2 lens along for this trip for wildlife when not on our hike. As with all of the pictures in the blog, you can select the image for a larger pop out view.