Portrait 13: Welcome home

After I arrived in Montana, I got a hitch to Glacier National Park. My ride decided to drop me in East Glacier instead of Two Medicine. A few hikers who heard that scoffed at how rude she was to not take me all the way, instead of rejoicing the fact that she drove me over an hour. I decided to hike the ~10mi to get to the backcountry permitting office. It was really pretty, but dark clouds started rolling in. At around 7000’ (2133m), visibility had dropped. The clouds were coming up from the eastern valley very quickly and they were hanging right above the trail. Marble-sized hail started coming down. I was over the top of the mountain and beginning my descent when a grizzly appeared from the fog.

He stood over the trail, broadside to me and watching inquisitively. He wouldn’t run away. Other than that, it was a textbook grizz encounter: I pulled my bear spray, lowered my eyes, talked to him calmly, and backed away slowly. Problem solved. Except now I couldn’t see the grizzly bear.

He was about 30 yards from me, skulking in the unknown. I decided to turn back and hike over a mile to a dense patch of branches to hide until the hail eased up, then make my way back to East Glacier. 13 miles, 3000 feet of gain, lightning and hail above the treeline, and an invisible grizzly. Welcome to the CDT. It feels good to be home.