Outdoors

Yellowstone Guide Loves The Backcountry, Where His Mules Chase Grizzlies Away

A Yellowstone outfitter and guide loves exploring the most remote places in the national park. His horses and mules not only are hardy companions, they gang up to chase away interloping grizzlies.

Mark HeinzOctober 14, 2025

After waiting 45 years to draw a coveted bighorn sheep tag on the Moss Ranch near Lovell, Nick Siddle of Sheridan shot one of the area’s trademark rams with a rare horn mutation.

Wyoming Hunter Shoots Ram With Well-Known Horn Mutation In Famous Herd Near Lovell

A Sheridan man waited 45 years to draw a bighorn sheep tag and ended up shooting a ram with a rare horn mutation, a trademark of famous herd on the Moss Ranch near Lovell.

Mark HeinzOctober 12, 2025

Randy Svalina of Laramie said he and his doctor started joking about designing his prosthetic leg to work as a hunting rifle rest. Now they’re seriously considering the idea.

One-Legged Laramie Hunter Bags Antelope, Plans To Build Prosthetic Rifle Rest

Despite just getting a new prosthetic leg, Randy Svalina of Laramie went on a solo antelope hunt last week and got his buck. He and his doctor are now discussing designing the prosthetic to double as a hunting rifle rest.

Mark HeinzOctober 12, 2025

In 1870, Truman Everts was lost in Yellowstone National Park with only two knives and a pair of opera glasses. He was slowly starving as winter set in, his only food roots of thistles. Then ghostly guides appeared to guide him home.

Haunted Wyoming: Ghostly Guides Saved Explorer Lost In Yellowstone 155 Years Ago

In September 1870, Truman Everts was separated from the rest of his party in the heart of Yellowstone. In the following month, he survived a mountain lion attack, forest fire and near starvation. Full of despair, a ghostly figure appeared.

Jackie DorothyOctober 12, 2025

Moose resident Yvon Chouinard combined forces with the godfather of flying fishing in Yellowstone National Park Craig Mathews to write a new book about doing more with less: "Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing."

Patagonia Founder, Wyoming Conservationist Preaches Fly-Fishing Simplicity & Naked Climbing

Wyoming resident and conservation icon Yvon Chouinard joined forces with Craig Mathews — the "dean" of fly fishing in Yellowstone in a new book that urges anglers and the rest of the world to do more with less -- like climbing El Capitan completely naked, at night.

David MadisonOctober 11, 2025

Rock Springs resident Lori Dickinson shot this gigantic mule deer buck on a general season tag near Bondurant.

Rock Springs Woman Bags Massive Mule Deer Dubbed ‘Gray Ghost’

Rock Springs hunter Lori Dickinson said she feels blessed by how everything fell into place, giving her the opportunity to shoot a mule deer that could turn out to be one of the top monster bucks of the 2025 hunting season.

Mark HeinzOctober 11, 2025

Squatters, BASE Jumpers Flood Yosemite During Shutdown, No Chaos At Yellowstone

During the government shutdown, Yosemite National Park has been invaded by squatters and adrenaline junkies, illegally parachuting off El Capitan. Tour guides told Cowboy State Daily that Grand Teton and Yellowstone haven’t slid into chaos.

Mark HeinzOctober 11, 2025

In this photo from March 1986, Biologist Dave Mattson of the documents a winter-killed elk carcass on an island in the Little Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park.

Counting Dead Elk And Bison Carcasses Was A Real Job In Yellowstone

Over the course of 47 winters in Yellowstone, Jeff Henry has seen incredible changes. He can recall back when so many winter-killed bison and elk carcasses littered the basins near Old Faithful, counting them was his and other peoples' full-time job.

Mark HeinzOctober 10, 2025

Glen Chavez, Trujillo's Barbershop, Cheyenne

When Do Barbers Get a Break? In Wyoming, It’s During Hunting Season

Hunters who spend extended amounts of time in the woods often take their haircut business with them. Some Wyoming barbers welcome the break, and then look forward to getting much furrier customers back at season's close.

Jackson WalkerOctober 09, 2025

Anti wolf protest at Bogert Park, Bozeman, Montana.

Montana Hunters, Lawmakers Say Wolves Aren't Being Killed Fast Enough, File Lawsuit

Some Montana lawmakers and sportsmen claim that state’s wolf hunting regulations are too restrictive and won’t let them kill the wolves fast enough. They say unless regulations are loosened they won't be able to hit the kill quota of 452 wolves.

Mark HeinzOctober 09, 2025

Eastern States Go Digital With Electronic Deer Tags, Wyoming Sticks With Paper

A digital revolution in deer hunting is sweeping Eastern states with hunters being given the option to report their kills, and even “tag” deer electronically. Wyoming is likely to stick with the traditional paper route for now.

Mark HeinzOctober 08, 2025

Neda Herman, 83, of Basin, went elk hunting in the Bighorn Mountains on Oct. 1. She had her tag filled and her elk packed out by noon.

83-Year-Old Basin Woman Bags Elk And Packs It Out By Noon On Opening Day

Take that, Father Time! At 83-years-old Neda Herman, from Basin, Wyoming, shot her elk on opening day. By noon, she quartered the elk with her son and packed it out.

Mark HeinzOctober 06, 2025

This pronghorn buck near Pinedale is lucky, having gathered up a huge harem of does. But he’ll have to work hard to keep them all together.

It's The Rut And Wyoming Pronghorn Bucks Are Battling To Build Their Harems

Right now for pronghorn bucks in Wyoming, it's like closing time at the bar. They're hot and heavy and looking for action to build a harem. When they’re not fighting off rival males, they keep an eye out for fickle does who may be looking for a better suitor.

Mark HeinzOctober 05, 2025

A yellow snowplane created by H.L. Wiese races across the snow.

The Man Who Built And Pioneered The Use Of Snowplanes In Yellowstone

Idaho’s Helmet Wiese was a self-taught mechanic and welder who, after he saw a photo of a snowplane in Popular Mechanics, built his own and introduced them into Yellowstone back in the 1940s. He continued to work on snowplanes well into his 90s.

Dale KillingbeckOctober 04, 2025

Bill Sniffin enjoys the view from the crow’s nest near the roof the historical Old Faithful Inn.

Bill Sniffin Has Traveled To Yellowstone 55 Years In A Row

You could feed the bears in Yellowstone until 1970, and there weren’t the crowds of tourists there are now. But Bill Sniffin says after 55 straight years of visiting, in all the ways that count, it's still the same spectacular Yellowstone.

Bill SniffinOctober 04, 2025

Miracle, the last surviving cub of famed Grizzly 1063, recently appeared near a road in Grant Teton National Park. Miracles two siblings were killed by a male grizzly in May.

After Siblings Cannibalized, Grizzly 1063’s Last Cub Faces First Winter Alone

After its two siblings were cannibalized by a male bear earlier this year, the last surviving cub of famed Grand Teton Grizzly 1063 separated from its mom unusually early. The cub, named Miracle by fans, is still surviving and facing its first winter alone.

Mark HeinzOctober 03, 2025

Fans of llamas say they’re the ideal mountain pack animals, because they’re hardy and sure-footed.

Llamas Save Hunters The Backbreaking Task Of Packing Elk Out Of Remote Mountains

Llamas have a reputation for being ornery and spitting on people, but they’re also perfectly suited to Wyoming’s remote mountains. More hunters are renting the hardy critters to save them the backbreaking chore of packing out elk.

Mark HeinzOctober 03, 2025

Seven Mile Ranch in Sublette County on October 1, 2025

Enjoy Record High Temps Now, Because Cold And 18 Inches Of Snow Is On The Way

Between Friday and Sunday, Wyoming will transition from sunny skies and near-record high temperatures to rain, clouds, 35-degree temperature drops, and as much as 18 inches of snow in the mountains.

Andrew RossiOctober 02, 2025

Famed Wyoming wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen and legendary British primatologist Jane Goodall enjoyed a picnic lunch during Goodall’s first visit to Yellowstone National Park in 2001.

Famed Wyoming Photographer Looks Back On 25-Year Friendship With Jane Goodall

Famed Wyoming wildlife photographer Tom Mangelsen said his close friend, iconic British primatologist Jane Goodall, was driven in her mission, but charming enough to connect with all sorts of people. Goodall died Wednesday at age 91.

Mark HeinzOctober 02, 2025

Wyoming Hunter Calls Bull Moose To Within 10 Feet To Experience ‘Pure Rush’

A Wyoming hunter called in a bull moose to within 10 feet of where he stood while hunting elk Tuesday. The hunter said he experienced a “pure rush,” and was safe because he was behind a tree. “I’m brave, but I’m not an idiot,” he said.

Mark HeinzOctober 01, 2025

Baiting Elk With Salt Licks Was Once OK Wyoming, But Is Now Illegal

Baiting big game with corn, salt licks and other treats is illegal and frowned upon as unethical across the West. But it didn’t used to be, and was once standard practice in Wyoming. It’s still allowed in other places, such as Texas.

Mark HeinzSeptember 30, 2025

A bighorn sheep ram spotted on the Moss Ranch near Lovell. This ram has a unique genetic mutation where one of its horns seems to have grown much faster than the other, creating a lopsided look that's common in this population.

Bighorn Sheep With Rare, Weird Horn Mutations Keep Showing Up Near Lovell

A number of bighorn sheep rams in the foothills of Wyoming's Bighorn Mountains exhibit a rare genetic mutation where one horn grows faster than the other. That's why people keep seeing weird-horned bighorns near Lovell.

Andrew RossiSeptember 30, 2025

Hunter who shot a huge bull elk has been accused of trespassing to access public lands for the hunt. This map from onX Hunt, left, shows the private parcel with public enclaves inside its boundaries.

Hunter Who Shot Huge Bull Elk On Public Land Accused Of Trespassing During Hunt

A Gillette hunter who says he shot the bull elk of a lifetime is facing a trespassing charge. A land manager says the hunter had to cross his private property to get to the public land where the bull was killed, and he was cited by a game warden.