Although detained Japanese departed the Heart Mountain Relocation Camp in 1945, their presence left a lasting stamp on the landscape of northwest Wyoming.

The internment of Japanese residents is a sad chapter in American history, but visiting the camp gives historians a better feel for that period in history, said University of Wyoming graduate student Mac Blewer.

The good news: Snowpack levels in the upper reaches of the Shoshone River drainages are higher than 100 percent of average.

The bad news: Snowpack levels in the upper reaches of the Shoshone River drainages are higher than 100 percent of average.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Friday it had reached an agreement to lift gray wolf Endangered Species protections in Montana and Idaho, but not Wyoming.

But it’s not a done deal.

Feds should accept Wyoming’s plan, including predator zone, a state lawmaker says

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has voluntarily withdrawn its appeal of a Federal District Court ruling in Wyoming that questioned the service’s rejection of Wyoming’s gray wolf management plan.

And the service said it will continue negotiations with Wyoming on wolf management.

Although federal officials voiced confidence at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals that grizzly bears would be fine if they were delisted, conservation groups weren’t so sanguine.

“It’s just too early and the (grizzly) bear’s habitat too limited to be looking at delisting,” said Jeff Welsh, communications director for the Greater Yellowstone Coalition, in Bozeman, Mont.

Potential exists for spring flooding of Shoshone River

Although Pahaska Tepee seems awash in snow, those assessing flood potential this spring are in wait-and-see mode.

“I can barely see out my window,” said Michael Taguiam, a caretaker at Pahaska for about 14 years.

Taguiam reckoned Friday he has seen a total of 153 inches of snow at Pahaska so far this winter.

The last big snow year Taguiam recalls was the winter of 1996-97, when he saw 76 inches.

Last year, Taguiam said, he measured only 35 inches the entire winter.

In the Shoshone River Basin, snow water equivalents are 105 to 120 percent of normal, according to the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service in Riverton predicts a “moderate potential for headwater spring snow-melt flooding across most of the basin — expect moderate to high flood potential across extreme upper portions of the North Fork of the Shoshone River.”

Given the high moisture content of the snowpack, there is a spring flood potential in Shoshone drainages, but that depends on spring temperatures. If it is warm in the mountains, melting could occur quickly, instigating possible flooding. Gradual warming in the mountains would initiate slow, gradual runoff, said Trevor LaVoie, meteorologist intern for the National Weather Service in Riverton.

According to the Monday morning Snotel report, the Shoshone Basin is 98 percent of its 30-year average.

“For our neck of the woods,” said Greg Bevenger, hydrologist in Cody for the Shoshone National Forest, “we’re about as close to average as you can get.”

At this time, Bevenger said he is not overly concerned about potential flooding, but he’ll be watching the traditional wet months of March and April to see how snowpack piles up in the mountains.

The National Weather Service and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which maintain Snotel sites in Wyoming, are monitoring snowpack closely too, Bevenger said.

“It’s certainly being watched,” Bevenger said.

Elsewhere in the state, snow pack is average or above average, Bevenger said.

As an example, the Laramie River Basin is 120 to 135 percent of average.

It the meantime, locals are loving it.

“It’s great,” said Mike Christiansen, owner of Shoshone Lodge.

Sunday, Christiansen and company went sledding.

“I was post-holing waist deep,” Christiansen said.

Sleeping Giant Ski Area has 38 inches of packed snow on its runs, said Gen Armstrong, service manager at Sleeping Giant.

The Giant accumulated about one foot of new snow last week, Armstrong said.

“We estimate our snow fall at 120 inches for the season,” Armstrong said.

A lot of snow has melted, but in some areas around Pahaska, about 70 inches of snow remains.

March typically is a heavy snow month in these parts, Taguiam said.

“Who knows how much is coming?” Taguiam said.

Count so far: 109 Wyoming peaks; 14 Montana peaks

Tim Schoessler, 28, of Powell, could easily be described as a peakbagger.

A peakbagger’s quintessential stance is, “Go for it, because it’s there.”

Schoessler climbs a peak because it’s there, and he loves it, too.

In a short time, Schoessler has climbed an astounding 109 peaks in Wyoming and 14 in Montana.

“I’ve been climbing/hiking since 2008,” he said.

It began when Schoessler visited the ghost town of Kirwin, southwest of Meeteetse. From Kirwin’s meadowy valley, mountains rise like gigantic and forbidding castles.

Despite being a little out of shape, Schoessler had nary a problem scooting up soaring peaks like Mount Crosby at 12,449 feet.

Something took hold. Perhaps it was the challenge of trumping steep pinnacles or the view from the top of panoramic mountain ranges brushing the sky or basins rolling like grassy breakers far below.

“I’ve been hooked ever since,” Schoessler said. “It’s become an obsession for me.”

Scrambling by hand across precipitous faces is Schoessler’s forte. “But, if the summit requires technical climbing (ropes) to get there, I will do it,” he said.

In July 2010, Schoessler climbed Gannett Peak in the Wind River Mountains with his pal Jan Kliewer of Powell. At 13,804 feet, Gannett is the highest peak in Wyoming.

“Three thousand feet of vertical ice and snow,” Schoessler said.

Glaciers that could swallow football fields whole. Snow, ice and a gnarly Gannett Peak.

“There is nothing like standing at the opening of a glacier and not knowing how far down it goes,” Schoessler said.

Schoessler said a mountaineer can see nearly the entire state while perched atop Gannett.

The men’s 50-mile Gannett conquest took them four and one-half days. But, Schoessler said he has met people who did the grueling assault in 24 hours.

“They have to be in such sick (vigorous) shape,” Schoessler said.

Another 2010 climb, Buck Mountain in the Grand Tetons, is 11,938 feet. The southern most route is a class 4 scramble.

A class 4 has no trail and may require hands to aid in the ascent, but not necessarily ropes.

Schoessler explains: Ropes and other equipment are not required until the climber reaches class 5.7 or 5.8.

Schoessler recalls standing on a narrow ledge with a 2,000 foot vertical drop below.

“That gets your attention,” Schoessler said.

No, Schoessler is not crazy.

“I’m fairly cautious for the most part,” Schoessler said.

But...

“I’m not saying I’m a total adrenaline junkie, but I do enjoy being in a position where there is risk, but not so much that I mentally freak out.”

If Schoessler is uncomfortable on a treacherous slope, he’ll back off, he said.

Capable hikers know that summer afternoons in the mountains can be rife with thunder boomers, but 13,167-foot Cloud Peak, in the Big Horn Mountains, claims a particularly nasty weather reputation.

Thunder storms can bombard Cloud Peak by 10:30 a.m., Schoessler said.

“You better be able to move up that trail fast,” Schoessler said after climbing the mountain in 2009. “You have to be in great shape. It’s about 24 miles.”

Schoessler saw four grizzly bears in his 2010 climb to Wapiti Ridge, elevation 12,165 feet. Fortunately, the grizzlies didn’t bother him.

“Luckily, they were more interested in eating than they were (in) us,” Schoessler said.

The bears were dining on thousands of army cutworm moths. The insects feed on flower nectar at night while holing up beneath rocks, and the bears know it.

Schoessler recalled watching a grizzly cast aside huge boulders as though they were pebbles to reach the winged morsels.

In 2010, while hiking to Mount Oberlin, elevation 8,180 feet, in Glacier National Park, Mont., Schoessler had a close encounter of the nanny kind.

He was crossing a creek and noted a mountain goat scrutinizing him. Later, Schoessler said he heard a sound to his rear. Turning, he saw the goat charging pell-mell.

“This goat was coming at me just as fast as she could,” Schoessler said.

He tried to take refuge between two skimpy pines. Goat and man circled the trees.

Schoessler said his theory was she had a kid stashed somewhere and was protecting her baby.

Schoessler was talking to the goat, trying to calm her. Finally nanny decamped and so did Schoessler, but not without some goat-induced distress.

“I spent the rest of the trek to the peak walking backward,” Schoessler said.

Schoessler said when he ventured above Kirwin in 2008, he was 40 pounds heavier.

Now, he is in shape. Trim, but not skinny; he looks like a guy who jogs or plays racquetball regularly.

Hiking has boosted his tennis game too, Schoessler said.

“It’s improved my quality of life,” Schoessler said.

Check out Schoessler’s log on SummitPost.Org at www.summitpost.org/users/musicman82/44494 to read of Schoessler’s unique and extensive mountain excursions.

Though a late bloomer, Schoessler is currently climbing like crazy.

“I’m making up for lost time now,” he said. “Seeing the world from every angle ... Getting up high is the best place to see it.”

There are 21 county high points in Wyoming. Schoessler said he has climbed seven and plans to scale them all.

“I would love to climb the highest point in every state,” Schoessler said.

Schoessler has encountered hikers in their 60s trekking formidable terrain, and he found inspiration in their drive.

“The other goal would be to enjoy it for a lifetime,” Schoessler said.

Schoessler has been teaching music at Northwest College since 2005, and he loves that, too.

He also plays chess, and he said his hiking has kept him fit in both mind and body.

He was second in Wyoming chess championships in 2008.

On Jan. 29, two ice climbers ascended “Cabin Fever.”

Their climb: Straight up “Cabin Fever,” a 200-foot waterfall that dumps into Cabin Creek — which in turn fuels the South Fork of the Shoshone River. Hilary Eisen of Cody and her friend, Rebecca Cedel, of Powell, stand at the foot of the gigantic icicle.

On Jan. 29, two ice climbers ascended “Cabin Fever.”

Their climb: Straight up “Cabin Fever,” a 200-foot waterfall that dumps into Cabin Creek — which in turn fuels the South Fork of the Shoshone River. Hilary Eisen of Cody and her friend, Rebecca Cedel, of Powell, stand at the foot of the gigantic icicle.

D.C. legislation to rescind wolf ESA protections

A bill to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the lower 48 states would allow states to manage and authorize hunting of the canines.

If passed, the bill would bypass federal judge rulings, said Tim Hockhalter of Timber Creek Outfitters of Crandall.