May Day

 I have been really busy the last few weeks moving into Open Range Images Gallery in downtown Cody as well as preparing for the photography workshop I will be leading for Spring into Yellowstone in a couple weeks.

On May 1st we decided to take a working holiday by hiking the trail on Bald Ridge where the workshop will take place. The area is closed all winter for wildlife and reopens to the public the first of May so we knew we would be some of the first humans through in several months. What we hadn't counted on was the fact that the deep snow still blanketing the mountains meant that all the horn hunters were looking for low elevation territory. We were shocked to pull into the parking lot at 7:30 am and find a dozen vehicles already parked. While that may not seem like many for those used to populated trailheads, it is probably the most vehicles I have ever seen in that lot. According to one fellow we ran into, the serious hunters had arrived at midnight!
Even so, we saw a total of two people on the trail and caught sight of a couple horsemen far off in the distance so their presence had little effect on us.

The bird-life was impressive, as hoped. In the first photo above you can see a flock of avocets getting ready to land on Luce Lake. I have taken dozens of shots of these birds over the years but never have I seen a flock like this one. At first I thought they were snow geese.

The landscape shot above is from my favorite perch on the ridge. It is what I think of when I dream of hiking lower Bald Ridge in the middle of winter.

This kestrel was one of several battling for territory.  

We didn't see any rattlesnakes on this trip through but we did find some extremely fresh grizzly tracks.

 I love this upthrust rock on the north end of the trail. I probably should have had Ken pose beside it to show the scale. It stands approximately 30 feet high and provides a wonderful shady spot for a lunch break.

One of the things that makes this hike so ideal for a landscape photographer is the variety of incredible red rock formations.

I feel as if I could do this hike everyday and come up with a unique image each time!