a trip report and pics will be in order

I think there are a few short sections of the Yellowston River that are canoeable -  in the same area, The Snake River in Grand Teton NP has some nice sections, and I think there are some paddle in campsites on the main lake there as well.

Mad_Mat,

Lewis Lake - Lewis River - Shoshone Lake sounds like what the tour guide was describing to my wife.  That is exactly where I wanted to head.

We actually stayed 20 miles north of the park in Montana in a house we rented along the Yellowstone River.  The day my wife & mom took the bus tour, I took my sons on a rafting trip from Gardiner (town at northern entrance to park) almost right back to where we were staying.  While I don't think we encountered anything more than Grade 4 paddling conditions (a couple spots with rather big waves), I'm probably well past the days when I might consider canoeing such water.  I'm thinking that is NOT the section of the Yellowstone River you are referring to.

Speaking of Grizzly Bears, I DID have my second significant unusual close-encounter with wildlife this summer (the first involved a lynx in Woodland Caribou Park; I just happened to jump down from a ledge into a bush he was claiming as his own).  It was afternoon & I was walking the wooded banks of the Yellowstone River right behind our house.  The rest of my family was in Bozeman rock-climbing & watching Barack Obama go by in his 6 black SUV motorcade.  Fishing being more important to me than presidents, I was using a spinning rod (fly-fishermen purists are scoffing right about now) and catching quite a number of Mountain Whitefish and a few Rainbow & Cutthroat trout.  I was perhaps a half-mile or so downstream from my house when I noticed a very large grass-eating animal about 100 yards away in the brush.   Complicating my identification of said animal at that distance was the large growth of some sort under its chin.   Also, something was clearly wrong with the animal's behavior, as it was crashing drunk-like in bushes & trees.  I was working my way downstream so I moved closer... maybe 10 yards away, in fact.  What had appeared as a "growth" of some sort under its chin was actually half of the animal's neck and an antler just hanging off what remained of the right side of its head.  Something - presumably a bear - gave that critter - an elk, as it turned out - a helluva whack on its right side.  It was pretty gruesome.

As sorry & sympathetic as I felt for the elk, which was in obvious agony as it bashed about in the bushes, my mind started to consider its own neck and so I moved right along downstream.  While I DID continue on with my fishing (what can I say? I'm a diehard), I WAS able to flag down the local sheriff about 10 minutes later.  He had just pulled into the public highway Rest Area on the opposite side of the river.   That the uniformed fellow actually understood what I was trying to scream over the continuous "whoosh" of the river was somewhat remarkable.  He indicated he would drive over to my side of the river and bring a rifle to put the elk out of its misery.  Then, he would go after the troublesome bear.  I think he also suggested that I should get the hell out of there.

Finally, I suppose I should confess something.  Later that afternoon, when my wife returned from Bozeman, I offered her an apology.  You see, she had woken me up the night before & was all excited to tell me, "Jim!  Jim!  An elk is bugling right outside our door!!"  I grunted, told her she was nuts, that the moo-cow from across the river were pretty active, and that I was going back to sleep.  I think I had also requested that she NOT wake me up again unless she had a fully-confirmed sighting of Big Foot.

Alas, I DO get things wrong sometimes....

Anyway, the Yellowstone area is a pretty cool place.  I'm DEFINITELY up for going back there.  Those backcountry lakes sound like a blast!

Thanks for the info, guys.  Keep it coming!

Jimbo  

Jimbo
 At times like that, the Bear Spray that many scoff at doesn't seem like such a bad idea?
 I'd consider carrying that on any Yellowstone back country adventure, and MAYBE even a lightweight Backpacker Bear Fence for your night time peace of mind. Bears are very active during the night hours.
I'm sure you'll be fishing, so that adds another concern.
When you see what a bear can do to a big elk, makes you realize how LOW on the food chain humans are
In February 2010, the National Parks will allow legal loaded concealed weapons and in some places open carry(unconcealed). Their working out the fine details now.
Not for everyone, but a nice option to have.

Wally,

My guess is that paddling conditions right in the town of Gardiner were close to being Grade 4 and those down in Yankee Jim Canyon would definitely be Grade 4 when water conditions are high.  I gotta imagine the hydraulics down in that canyon would prove to be fairly substantial in the spring.  As it was, I was probably dealing with Grade 3 conditions... pretty easy in a raft!

ST,

Yes, I was definitely beginning to feel pretty low on the food chain that afternoon.  I figured if the grizzly was around & wanted me, he HAD me... and one or two more casts for cutthroats wasn't going to matter all that much.

We pretty much saw most of the wildlife that one can see in the region... though I never really SAW the grizzly bear (if, indeed, it was one).  I DO believe what Wally says about the grizzly reports in that area over the past 2 years!  In addition to bear & elk, we ran into bison, deer, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, strutting lesser prairie chickens, the butt ends of two moose, rabbits, ground squirrels, coyotes, osprey, eagles, magpies, several varieties of herons, etc. & so on.  The area is incredibly impressive in this regard.

Mad_Mat,

Thanks for the links, tips, etc..  I REALLY like that John Murray quote re: grizzlies in that one link! 

I'm going to have to study-up on a potential Shoshone Lake venture.  My food-storage & consumption-in-the-wilderness practices would have to change pretty dramatically if I were to take such a trip.  I've been rather cavalier about allowing my food barrel sit right next to QP's tent or under Magic Paddlers hammock in years past.  Such practices out in Yellowstone might substantially reduce my pool of future paddling partners....

Jimbo