Bears, Wolves, Oh My!

BP Map Correspondent Jeff Chow dodges big carnivores while mapping Yellowstone for you

Right now, you're probably sitting at your desk and drinking coffee with a hair-trigger finger on your mouse, ready to minimize this window if the boss strolls by looking for your TPS reports. Or maybe you skipped out and are sitting at home in your underwear eating Lucky Charms. What you are decidedly not doing, however, is mapping the entirety of Yellowstone, dodging bears and wolves and weathering fall snowstorms to bring the best trails in America's first national park to the web.

BACKPACKER Map Correspondent Jeff Chow is roughly three weeks into his five-week mapping trek through Yellowstone, and so far he's tracked wolves, discovered unmapped lakes, and come face-to-face with a gigantic grizz only 30 feet away (pictured above).

(By the way, that bear looks mighty interested in Jeff's scent. Maybe he's wearing that new bacon tuxedo I got him.)

Chow reports that winter snows are closing in and days are getting colder, but he's still got a solid two weeks of mapping ahead. We'll keep you updated on his chilly progress, and look out for extensive Yellowstone maps and trips in the coming months.

In the meantime, you can check out Chow's trips, videos, and galleries from Jeff Chow's heroic mapping of the entire Appalachian Trail right here.

—Ted Alvarez