Shane McClaflin, Owner and Lead Guide for Sunrise Pack Station, has been a backcountry guide for seventeen years. He started guiding in the mountains when he was 18 years old and has been doing it ever since. He has worked in Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and now resides in Montana. After working in many facets of the guest and horse industry around the intermountain west, Yellowstone has always been the siren that keeps calling him back and he has called it home now for thirteen years.

Sarah McClaflin runs the behind the scenes operations of Sunrise Pack Station. Without her Sunrise Pack Station couldn’t function. It’s her sweet voice you’ll hear on the other end of the line when you call for information or to discuss a trip. With a degree in music education, she home schools Ellie, cares for our other three children and runs the business end of the pack station. If you ever get the rare opportunity to go on a trip with her, an evening singing around the campfire will reveal she has the voice of an angel.

Ellie, age eight, loves riding and being around the livestock and one of the most often heard questions in the summer is, “When do I get to go on another pack trip?” She went on her first pack trip at the age of six in 2006 and is a natural in the backcountry. We rode through Bechler meadows, swam in the warm waterfalls, and saw some amazing scenery. When she is not around horses, her next favorite thing is reading about horses, wildlife and outdoor science “stuff.” She loves to learn and explore. She will fit in as one of our educational guides very soon.

Nathaniel has begun to love riding horses as well. At five years of age he loves to ride Cheyenne or Joker, a couple of our kid horses. When he’s not riding horseback he likes to watch Dad on the tractor, climb the dirt or snow piles at the pasture or help “fix” just about anything. He started kindergarten this year and is our mechanical engineer in the making. He could easily develop into a wrangler or Dad’s best mechanic.

At age three, Abbey has begun exploring life from the back of a horse as well. She still is led around on some of the older horses but with her determination she’ll be riding on her own in no time. She loves to feed treats to the mules and horses and is getting really good at figuring out all their names. When asked what her favorite thing about horses is, the answer is always “ridin’ on ‘em.”

Sammy is the newest addition to our family. He’s been with us for a year now and is a delight. He is so curious about the horses and mules and loves to get close to them. The livestock are just as interested in him. They gently sniff him as he touches their faces, noses and eyelashes. He has the same interest we saw in Ellie as a little girl. He’s definitely a cowboy in the making.

Special guest on the "Washburn Expedition around Yellowstone Lake" Trip

Kim Allen Scott is Professor and Special Collections Librarian/University Archivist at Montana State University at Bozeman. His numerous articles on Yellowstone National Park, Montana history, and the Civil War have appeared in Montana The Magazine of Western History, Arkansas Historical Quarterly, Kansas History, and Missouri Historical Review.

Kim will accompany us on the Washburn Expedition around Yellowstone Lake Trip - September 2-6, 2008

Photo Courtesy of Montana State University.

Special guest on the "Histories and Hot Springs" - Mirror Plateau Trip

John Lounsbury grew up on a family farm in southern Michigan, and realized he wanted to be a "ranger" early in his adolescence.  He attended Michigan State University and worked for the U.S. Forest Service in the summers.  in 1967, he started his ranger career with the National Park Service at Sequioa, Kings Canyon National Park.   

After that it was Everglades National Park, where he met his wife Lois.  Then Great Smokies National Park, back to Everglades, then Olympic National Park, followed by Lassen Volcanic National Park.  In the spring of 1980 he came to Yellowstone National Park as a District Ranger.  He stayed 22 years as a Yellowstone District Ranger and retired in the fall os 2002. 

John and Lois currently live in the Madison Valley in Montana.  He continues to volunteer as a "backcountry ranger" for the nearby National Forests.  He has always had a strong interest in history and continues to indulge in learning about Yellowstone National Park's colorful history. 

We are excited to have both him and his longtime backcountry cohort Dick Clark join us for the "Histories and Hot Springs" trip August 5-9, 2008.