July 5, 2009

We are still waiting for some of our gear to arrive by plane from Yellowknife. The weather has been overcast and socked in all along the route from Yellowknife to "way up here," but we are hoping a plane will arrive tomorrow. Weather problems are always a possibility in this region. The wolves did not den this year at what Dave calls the Rock Den (see Day 1, July 3, 2008 for a photo of that den site). However, weather station personnel report seeing fresh wolf tracks last week at the end of the fjord, so Dave and I figure the wolves may be using the same den site they used last year. Today, we are heading out to Blacktop Creek to scope out that area. Then we will consider the best strategy for finding the wolves. The challenge is on!

Dean

Editors' Note: So you can get some notion of what Dean and Dave will have to do, we suggest you page down and read last year's postings. The two searched long and hard for the den site. They finally figured out where it was located, but it was a long distance across some impassable mud flats. If the den is, in fact, located this year at the same place, they might be able to plan a way to get within a respectful distance for some observations. But first, they need to figure out if the wolves are there with their new pup crop. The plot thickens!