{"id":223507,"date":"2025-10-14T08:04:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-14T08:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/223507\/"},"modified":"2025-10-14T08:04:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-14T08:04:09","slug":"yellowstone-guide-loves-the-backcountry-where-his-mules-chase-grizzlies-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/223507\/","title":{"rendered":"Yellowstone Guide Loves The Backcountry, Where His Mules Chase Grizzlies Away"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kipp Saile was born and raised in Michigan and trained to be a chef, yet ended up spending decades leading horseback expeditions into the most remote reaches of Yellowstone National Park.<\/p>\n

When asked what\u2019s driven his choices and kept him on his career path, he credits his horses and mules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a horse guy. I love horses,\u201d\u00a0he told Cowboy State Daily. “I\u2019ve also started learning about mules. That\u2019s just the type of lifestyle I wanted.”<\/p>\n

His last venture with clients into the park wrapped up last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the highlights of the trip was when his horses and mules ganged up to chase off a grizzly bear that had gotten too close to camp.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s just the way it is in the backcountry, where his riding and pack animals feel at home and know how to take care of themselves, said Saile, who\u00a0runs Rockin\u2019\u00a0HK Outfitters out of Pray, Montana, with his wife Heidi.<\/p>\n

They cater to clients who want to get far off the beaten path, and who have the grit and patience to go see parts of Yellowstone that most tourists hardly dream of.<\/p>\n

In a world where many people want \u201cinstant gratification, where they can see wildlife through a window,\u201d his outfit offers something completely different.<\/p>\n

From his perspective, it\u2019s about as close to a dream job as anyone can get.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re mountain people. I\u2019d rather live up there in a tent than down at my house,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The Grizzly That Got A Little Too Close<\/p>\n

Yellowstone is the heart of grizzly county in the Lower 48, but Saile said he isn\u2019t afraid of bears.<\/p>\n

So long as people are alert, respectful and follow basic rules \u2014 such as keeping a clean camp \u2014 there\u2019s little risk of trouble with grizzlies, he said.<\/p>\n

Also, adult grizzlies are smart enough to avoid people, particularly the larger groups he leads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s usually 12 people and 20 to 25 horses and mules,\u201d\u00a0he said. \u201cThe adult bears, they don\u2019t want to have anything to do with that.”<\/p>\n

On the occasions bears show up near camp, Saile said his policy is to leave them alone so long as they keep a safe distance.<\/p>\n

Juvenile bears can sometimes raise a ruckus, he added. Not so much because they\u2019re deliberately trying to be aggressive, but because they just don\u2019t know any better.<\/p>\n

That was the case when a younger grizzly approached the camp during the latest outing.<\/p>\n

The bear didn\u2019t seem to have a care in the world and even \u201ccruised right through\u201d the area where tents had been set up.<\/p>\n

While the bear seemed carefree, the nearby mules and horses were watching it closely, keeping their eyes on the bear.<\/p>\n

Then\u00a0they finally decided they\u2019d had enough.<\/p>\n

A couple of the horses and mules started approaching the bear, and before long \u201cthe whole herd joined in,\u201d Saile said.<\/p>\n

The juvenile bear got the message and hustled away.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey escorted him out of camp,\u201d Saile said.<\/p>\n

Lamenting The Loss Of Elk<\/p>\n

Saile is protective of the places he’s found deep inside Yellowstone and declined to divulge any details about the locations.<\/p>\n

As far as he’s concerned, they\u2019re some of the last best places left in the Lower 48.<\/p>\n

\u201cI seek out places where you can\u2019t find people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Over more than 30 years of exploring Yellowstone, he\u2019s seen the elk herds decline, which he laments.<\/p>\n

Yellowstone\u2019s northern elk herd once numbered more than 18,000. Now, it\u2019s down to about 4,000, he said.<\/p>\n

Saile said wolves are to blame. After decades of being absent from the park, wolves were reintroduced in 1995-1996.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want wolves introduced, because anybody with a brain in their head knew what it was going to do to the elk herd,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t want wolves to begin with,\u201d\u00a0Saile added. “I\u2019m not dead set against them being here now, because I like all wildlife. I just didn\u2019t like the way they went about bringing them here.”<\/p>\n

When elk were still plentiful, one of the best services Rockin\u2019 HK had to offer were \u201celk rut trips\u201d in September, he said.<\/p>\n

The rut, or mating season, is when bull elk really put on a show, bugling and sparring with each other over cow elk.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could see the elk rut taking place right out in front of our camps,\u201d he said. \u201cWe were having National Geographic days, every day.”<\/p>\n

Saile said he\u2019s skeptical of arguments that elk were overgrazing Yellowstone before the wolves returned. Or that they were tearing up riparian zones (the areas of greenery along creeks and streams).<\/p>\n

As he sees it, the number of bison have greatly increased in the absence of elk, and bison are much harder on riparian zones than elk.<\/p>\n

\"Rockin\u2019Rockin\u2019 HK Outfitters offers horse pack trips into remote parts of Yellowstone National Park, that most people never see. (Courtesy Kipp Saile\/Rockin\u2019 H Outfitters)\"Rockin\u2019Rockin\u2019 HK Outfitters offers horse pack trips into remote parts of Yellowstone National Park, that most people never see. (Courtesy Kipp Saile\/Rockin\u2019 H Outfitters)\"KippKipp Saile has been a backcountry guide in Yellowstone National Park for more than three decades. (Courtesy Kipp Saile\/Rockin\u2019 H Outfitters)\"Rockin\u2019Rockin\u2019 HK Outfitters offers horse pack trips into remote parts of Yellowstone National Park, that most people never see. (Courtesy Kipp Saile\/Rockin\u2019 H Outfitters)Arrow leftArrow rightHooked On The West<\/p>\n

Saile always loved the outdoors and exploring the remote parts of northern Michigan when he lived there. But when he experienced the mountains of the West during skiing trips, he knew he found his new home.<\/p>\n

He moved to Montana in 1989. Before long, he had a job working for a horse pack outfitter and learned everything he could about business.<\/p>\n

Eventually, he bought his boss out and never looked back.<\/p>\n

He still has immense respect for the old-timers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still a newbie\u201d in backcountry outfitting, he said.<\/p>\n

Even so, Rockin\u2019 HK strives to go above and beyond when it comes to customer service, and he said they\u2019ve built a lasting business mostly on word-of-mouth from satisfied customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t do much advertising,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

During his time out West, Saile said he\u2019s seen things change, and not always for the better.<\/p>\n

He loves wide open spaces, and having a few close friends, rather than being amid crowds of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got a bigger bond with animals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The pace of growth in Montana and around the region troubles him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMontana and Wyoming aren\u2019t supposed to be about money. It\u2019s more about the lifestyle, although, that\u2019s changing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And he knows his horses and mules will always have his back.<\/p>\n

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kipp Saile was born and raised in Michigan and trained to be a chef, yet ended up spending…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":223508,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51],"tags":[79,201],"class_list":{"0":"post-223507","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223507"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223507\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223508"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}