January 27, 2010

Snow tracking near Smith Creek School
by Steve Lamar

On a snowy day this winter, several NwC staff members rendezvoused in the Smith Creek area to do some informal snow track surveys. We had heard that wolves were howling in this area the previous night and knew that we might find their tracks nearby.

We quickly found the wolves tracks intersecting an old trail in an west to east direction. We followed these tracks to see what they had been up to and where they were headed. So over hill, dale, and frozen marsh we went.

This particular area is in deer and elk winter range and it was obvious from the start that the wolves were working the area over in hopes of finding a meal. They worked through a variety of habitats in the couple of miles that we followed. In addition to the wolf tracks, we found tracks of elk, deer, coyote, ermine, squirrel, snowshoe hare, and skunk.

Later in the day we came to the old Smith Creek School. This remnant from the past was built in 1918 and operated until 1932. Ed Beck, whose parents homesteaded where the NwC facility is now housed, attended this school and walked or skied the several miles from home to school and back again.