Yellowstone Country Guardians Field Journal

Music In The Park: 2011 Arch Park Fundraiser A Big Success...

Dead Winter Carpenters with YCG Director and Founder Michael Leach, gearing up for a big night in G-town. 7/29/11

Under the big blue Montana sky, we are excitedly in the midst of our 2011 River Guardian Fly Fishing School, a week-long program where 21 teenagers from Park County will uncover the enigmatic water-world that is the lifeblood of the Yellowstone region.  With dozens of volunteers and our amazing network of sponsors and supporters, we are thrilled to provide this transformational opportunity to the youth of the region.  We are still riding a high after the incredible energy and upbeat atmosphere that filled Arch Park at our fundraising concert last Friday night.       

Yellowstone Country Guardians (YCG) wishes to thank the Gardiner and Livingston communities for the tremendous outpouring of support at our fundraising concert the evening of July 29^th, in memory of Karl Jacobik. A very special thank you goes out to Anna Holloway for helping to make this wonderful evening possible. Our sincerest gratitude and much love to Montana Whitewater and the Tumbleweed for being our major sponsors. The musicians from Dead Winter Carpenters were "inspired to be Guardians" and provided a night of positive vibes and wonderful entertainment. We also wish to thank Scott Demaree from the North Entrance Food Farm, Wade and Paula Laubach from the Sinclair TNT, and both Albertson's and Town and Country in Livingston for their generous support. Last, and certainly not least, a big shout out and special thank you to our tireless troops for their hard work over the course of the night which included: Crystal Leach, Heather Laubach, Mitchell Cloghessy, Maria “Full of Grace” Beers, Stacy Vallie, Gilaine Spoto, Mark from Montana Whitewater, Randy Ingersoll, and YCG board member Ashea Mills.

~Michael Leach, YCG Director and Founder

A happy Coach Leach with the G-town basketball crew.  Coach Leach, former and current players, Gardiner School Principal (The Man, Tom Gauthier) and Gardiner School math teacher and YCG supporter Mr. Coop.

Dead Winter Carpenters lead singer Jesse Dunn sporting the new YCG regalia.

YCG volunteer Big Mitch reppin' and holding down the fort at Arch Park.

 
Straight out of the mountains of Northern Cali and the shores of Lake Tahoe, all of the Dead Winter Carpenters showed YCG much love by sporting the new YCG swag.

YCG's most dedicated volunteers Crystal and Heather (neither of whom have missed one YCG program or fundraiser) keeping the YCG supporters happy and well fed, dishing out the award winning chili Crystal had been cranking on for four days!

Thumbs up on the sound check, Dead Winter Carpenters.

Maholo from the G-town Ballers!

A night to remember...

YCG Annual Summer Concert Fundraiser This Friday, July 29th: Dead Winter Carpenters...

 

 

Well, the Yellowstone River is still pulsing with over 13,000 cubic feet per second and surging with run-off, but the hot summer temperatures tell us that it is indeed the last week of July. It is a big few weeks for YCG with our annual fundraiser coming up this Friday night and the onset of our week-long River Guardian Fly Fishing School beginning the first day of August which we are feverishly planning for at this very moment.  But first things first, it is once again time to celebrate the work of YCG and the wild spirit of Yellowstone under the monarch of Electric Peak for our annual fundraising concert. 

We couldn''t be more excited about this year's Concert in the Park, as we will welcome one of the hottest bluegrass bands from the fertile music scene of Northern California, the Dead Winter Carpenters.  The weather is looking like it is going to be a perfect summer night, so get your dancing shoes on or simply come barefooted and journey down to Gardiner, Montana, for a beautiful evening and celebration of place in the shadow of the legendary Roosevelt Arch. Bridging the history of bluegrass with the contempory edge of newgrass, the Dead Winter Carpenters will bring a new sound and positive vibe to the gateway community of Gardiner. 

All of the proceeds for this event go directly towards supporting the important work of YCG and programs like our upcoming River Guardian Fly Fishing School.  We will also be honoring Karl Jacobik, a Yellowstone River raft guide, Gardiner resident, and lover of Yellowstone who tradgically passed away in a motor vehicle accident in November of 2010.

Tickets can be purchased on site, with beer, drinks and killer home made chilli and chilli dogs for available for purchase. Show the love and come spend an evening with the YCG Crew!

Date: Friday, July 29th, 2011

Time: 5:30-9:30 pm

Site: Arch Park

Place: Gardiner, Montana

Much Love,

Michael Leach, Director and Founder

Raging Rivers and Whitewater Fireworks...

    

After the wettest spring I can ever remember here in the Northern Rockies and throughout Yellowstone Country, like clockwork, when the calendar hit June 21^st, the warm temperatures and blue skies returned to our beloved.  With a silly amount of snow still in the mountains, the 90+ degree temperatures of the last several days have sent muddied waters bursting through the river bottoms and streambeds across Yellowstone Country.  I have attached a link to a You Tube video that I shot on June 24^th, in the Lamar Canyon.  If you are a lover of Yellowstone and admirer of its waters, I would highly encourage you to plan a journey to the park in early June (which is a more typical time for the height of runoff in the Lamar) so you can take a walk into the depths of the Lamar Canyon to see the river on full display.  We did just that on the 24^th and you can see for yourself, the power and immensity of the Lamar River just last week. 

That very day, as I was finishing up my day in the field, leading a wildlife safari for a beautiful family from Seattle, Washington, the Lamar River which had been carving out chunks of the river bank, eroded its way through the bank supporting a section of the road coursing through the Lamar Valley, temporally shutting down through traffic throughout the valley while park service crews attempted to remedy the situation.  Filled with nearly 16,000 cfs of life thrusting water on the 24^th of June, and currently over 8,000 cubic feet per second pounding its way through the Lamar Canyon en route to the confluence with the Yellowstone River, the East Fork as it were once known, before being renamed officially as the Lamar in honor of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus our Secretary of the Interior in 1885, remains a significant and important tributary to the mighty Yellowstone and there is never a time that it is more impressive.  

The historic max flow for this day at the gage station at Corwin Springs was in 1943 when 20800 cfs (cubic feet per second) of water burst its way down the Yellowstone River.  At 6 pm this evening (after the water has already begun receding for the day) the flows were at 24,300 cfs.  On the morning of June 30^th, yesterday, the flows nearly topped 30,000 cfs at Corwin Springs.  As a fly fishing guide who spends much of my summer perusing the waters of the upper Yellowstone from Gardiner to Yankee Jim Canyon, I assure you these are flows of epic proportions. 

Local folklore tells us that Hellroaring Creek received its name during a tumultuous runoff such as what we are presently experiencing, for the hellish roaring that large glacial boulders would make while tumbling down the hurried torrents of yet another tributary to the Yellowstone.  And I can attest, that when the wind is calm, one can sit on a quite night, beside the banks of the Yellowstone and from time to time, hear the grinding vibrations of what sounds like truck sized boulders rolling down the river bottom, bouncing and vibrating all along the way. 

So here it is, July 1^st, and we have certainly already experienced our fare share of fireworks in the form of violent waters wildly bursting their way to the overflowing banks of Missouri River… 

~Michael Leach, Director and Founder

Joe Brown Fishing Access Site just south of Yankee Jim Canyon. 6-28-11

Over 28,000 CFS bursting through Yankee Jim Canyon. 6-28-11. And just a side note for those not accustomed to driving through Yankee Jim, but one cannot typically view the water while driving, but with these impressive flows a traveler can witness Revenge, Big Rock and much of Box Car, three of the most impressive Yellowstone River Rapids from the confines of their highway traveling vehicle. Wow.