Another Pass

I ended up hiking with a different group. These folks had a similar itinerary so we agreed to try to connect. I started off on a slightly different trail, knowing we would connect later.

As I started my day, I looked down for trail signs. It was a little disconcerting to see a paw print larger than my size 12.5 shoes.

Admittedly, I was scared to be hiking by myself. About every 50 feet I would yell “Hey bear.” It feels stupid at first, but you get over it.

Later, I saw a truly scary series of paw prints: cub prints with no adult prints. To me, that was nerve wracking wondering if the sow was out looking for the cub. Eventually they disappeared.

As a matter of background, bears are smart. If humans come into their territory and build lovely trails, then the bears will choose the easy traveling of a trail versus pushing through brush. So, trails tend to increase the likelihood of hiker/bear encounters.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I connected with the others. This day we were going over Piegan Pass at 7,800. We crossed some snow fields and made our way above treeline. The mountain walls seemed like something out Lord of the Rings. There was a large waterfall fed by snowmelt plummeting between the walls. Every time I stopped (which was often due to the thinning air) I looked around and said “Wow.”

We finally came to the top and stopped to admire the panorama. Interestingly, at the top there was a colony of pika to greet us. They are curious, cute, and the predators love ’em. All the way up, there were cat prints (probably bobcat or lynx) in the snow. Plus, there were prints from either coyote or fox.

We descended over a few sketchy avalanche chutes. I finally put on my microspikes for the most dangerous slopes.

Finally, we crossed the famous Going to the Sun Road and saw lots of tourists. On the heavily traveled trail down to the St. Mary’s River I saw where a grizzly marked it’s territory by clawing a tree.

The day wound down as we collectively cooked our meals around a smoky fire. The group I am traveling with is friendly, interesting, and experienced. Should be a good day tomorrow.