A beautiful foggy morning at Harriman State Park
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As I left U.S. Highway 20 to go into Harriman State Park, my car lights hit a blanket of heavy fog. Even going about 10 miles per hour, I almost collided with a doe Mule deer with her two large, but gangly fawns as they crossed in front of me near the outlet of Silver Lake. With the temperature at 31 degrees, the warm water of the Henrys Fork of the Snake River created a fog so thick that I could not see the waterfowl feeding on the water.
Reports early in the week had started coming in that the bull elk had started bugling between the Ranch cabins and Golden Lake to the north. I had made the early morning trip to see if I could get pictures of them feeding on the moss of the river as I had last fall, but the fog would stop any sight of them there.
In the pre-dawn light, a pack of coyotes started howling in the pasture north of Ranch cabins and they were answered by another pack on the east side of the river. As I approached the barn area, three shadowy figures appeared in the fog – another doe with her two fawns were enjoying breakfast on the lush lawn grass. Hesitant to head across the meadow to Golden Lake in the near darkness, I sat on a rail fence to enjoy the early morning sounds.
Sandhill cranes, Canada geese and the grinding call of a Great Blue Heron joined the chorus of the coyotes before I heard to mating call of a mature bull elk in the scattered pines toward Golden Lake. That call was answered by another bull across the river from the cabins, so I headed back through the cabins to set up near the river in case the fog lifted.
A slight western breeze was moving the fog off to the east just as the rising sun made a slow ghost-like appearance through the fog.
I located a Great Blue Heron in a large pine tree and watched as it left to try to catch a fish for breakfast. I also could now see ducks, geese and pelicans feeding along the edge of the river, but I could not see the far side of the river where the bugling was coming from.
As I sat on the bank, a family of four Belted kingfishers entertained me as they chased each other from one side of the river to the other. Even with the sun warming the air, fog still rolled off the river creating silhouettes of flying geese and ducks as they moved up and down the river.
A nearby spider web created by miniature droplets of water created by the fog added to the ambiance of the morning. The bugling had stopped nearby, but I could barely hear some between the lakes. A couple of people hiked by me and ask about bugling as they arrived a little too late to hear the nearest ones.
I had an appointment to make, so at 9:30 a.m., with fog still rolling off the river, I headed to Henrys Lake. Later that day when I met up with my wife, she told me she and six friends had hiked around Silver Lake and on up to Golden Lake. They reported seeing no elk, but they were in an area where they had up to 10 bulls bugling around them.
I am hearing reports of other elk bugling deep in the heavy forests. It appears the early hunts have pushed them into heavy cover for their early morning bugling, but they stop talking once it daylight shows up.
A very foggy morning on Harriman State Park can be invigorating to a human soul looking to get close to nature and who enjoys the sounds created the animal kingdom. Good Luck and be safe.
