Yellowstone National Park in the Winter — Howler's Inn, Bozeman, Montana
Sleeping next to wolves
December 2013
At the start and end of my trip, I stayed at Howler’s Inn, which had two packs of wolves. One pack had round five wolves, and the other, sadly, just one.
The ‘one pack’ had previously had more members, and they were the original pack at the Inn, but the others had died. This now left one 15 plus-year-old wolf in a large 2-acre enclosure.
In the other larger pen was the new pack. The wolves in this enclosure were 4 to 6 years old and consisted of a couple of brothers, two females and a male.
From my room, I looked directly into both enclosures and on my first night, around midnight, howling wolves serenaded me outside my bedroom window. Amazing. And it had the same effect on me as when I first heard a wolf howl — a chill rain down my spine. Why is that?
The first time I heard a wolf howl, I was under canvas on a 6-day horse trek through Yellowstone National Park. I can remember it as though it happened last night. I was in my sleeping back, and in the distance, I heard a wolf howl. A chill ran down my spine. Even now, I can feel that chill.
Dehydration and lightening between the sheets
I lived in a cold climate for many years, so I was used to dealing with frost, ice, and snow. But, I had forgotten about two things:
- Dehydration
- Static Electricity
Dehydration
In Malaysia, I dealt with the heat. I had become used to temperatures of 30 ºC (83 ºF) and 90% humidity. Even though I spent most of my time in air-conditioned offices, cars and homes, I learned to drink plenty of water and keep hydrated. In hot, humid climates, you are constantly sweating, and due to the high humidity, it doesn’t evaporate. For me, the sweat reminded me to drink.
In cold climates, you have much lower humidity, water is sucked out of your body by the dry air, and you can rapidly dehydrate. It can be tough to keep the fluids going in, and overnight, you can dry out while sleeping.
Static Electricity
I had forgotten how things could become charged up with static electricity in the cold and low humidity. So far on the trip, I had received minor shocks from doorknobs, my phone, and my laptop. Putting on a fleece in the dark looked like a freaky thunderstorm, as could rolling over in bed.
And then I saw this at the local petrol (gas) station.
Wow! Just how charged up with static electricity do people get in Montana?
