I decided to head to the Many Glaciers area for a hike on Friday. I had planned to do Iceberg Lake but heard from a ranger that Grinnell Glacier trial was now open. I decided to stick with my original plan and I'm glad I did. The hike is 10 miles round trip with the first half uphill almost the whole way. I must be getting in shape because I hooked up with an avid hiker named Keith Richardville and we hiked the whole thing without stopping (except for some quick pictures) at a fairly brisk pace. Halfway up, we ran into a young grizzly about 3 years old coming down the mountain. My new friend saw the bear and stopped a group of people coming the other way, who were unaware of the bear's presence. Otherwise, they would have walked right in the bear's path and it could have been ugly. They say the younger bears are more dangerous and unpredictable. Anyway, the bear crossed our path scrounging for grubs under logs or whatever he could find. He didn't pay any attention to us and soon was far enough off the trail that we could all pass. Keith is an avid hiker/adventurer. He had backpacked all over the west and has also traveled abroad. He was able to give me an abundance of useful information especially on my planned travels to South America. He knew where to stay, how to book things, and how to get there. He was a wealth of information so I got his phone number since there was no way I would remember everything. He lives near Yosemite and knows it like the back of his hand. He told me I was wasting my time going there in August because all the water would be dried up and everything would be brown. He also said the hike to Half Dome is overrated. He said the views are not good because all you see is the pollution from Fresno on one side and Yosemite valley floor on the other which you can see from anywhere. He offered to take me backpacking on the east side of the Sierras to Yosemite to a higher point than Half Dome which he said would be perfect that time of the year. Unfortunately, he will not be back from another planned trip in time for me to meet him so I will scrap Yosemite. He said the best time to come is in the spring. Keith is 49 and retired permanently a month ago. He was a very interesting person and has lived the life of Riley. Anyway, we made it to Iceberg Lake and there were a lot of icebergs still in the lake. Keith was also an amateur photographer and he noticed right away that we needed to be on the shore away from where the other people were to take advantage of the light from the sun to get the best pictures. So we trudged along steep snow covered ground to a spot that was perfect. We rested and took pictures and cooled off from the long hike. A couple of young people jumped in the icy water but got out really fast. If I had a bathing suit, I would have jumped in as well. We stayed about an hour and then decided to head back hoping to see a bigger bear but from a safe distance. We headed down and ran into a mother and five baby Spruce Grouses on the path. We got off the path and they just walked right past us. We also took pictures of the bear grass which was in full bloom. Everything was lush and beautiful. We did not see anymore bears but we ran into 2 park rangers with side arms and shotguns who said there had been a lot of bear sightings on that trail that day. They were just there to make sure no one got hurt if they could help it. We got back to the parking lot and shared phone numbers and went on our way. It had been a fun and educational day for me.
Saturday I decided just to take a ride on my bike to the east entrance of Glacier to see Two Medicines. I wasn't really sure what was there but I knew the road that led there would have little traffic and be a nice ride. Sure enough the ride went along the river with nice visuals of the mountains. Once near my destination, I saw some cars parked off the side of the road so I slowed down and saw a mature grizzly about 75 yards up the hill in a meadow. I stopped and got my camera for some pictures. He was a big healthy bear and I'm glad he was a safe distance away. I went into the Two Medicines area and stopped to do a very short hike to a waterfall. I walked with a woman named Beth who was with a group of back country bicyclers to the falls. She was from Charlotte and we had a nice talk as we walked. The falls were unique to me in that most of the water came through the top of the rock formation instead of over it. I wish I could have gotten to the top to see how that was happening but there was no way to get there from where we were. I left Beth and went on to the lake at Two Medicines and relaxed for a while with some Huckleberry ice cream enjoying the peaceful scenery of the lake and mountains. I headed back down and saw Beth just coming off the waterfall trail with another woman so I stopped to see if they had any Allen wrenches because my highway peg had gotten loose. A father and son from Calgary walked up and we all started talking. I told them I was headed for Banff next which is very close to Calgary and the son went and got a map and started telling me all the places I needed to see. He drew lines for roads that weren't even on the map and then gave me his map. They were very nice and we talked for an hour about our lives. It amazes me how I run into people that are able to give me useful information for my future stops. Everyone has been so nice and so willing to take the time to share their knowledge with me. I have met people from all over the world on this trip. I helped a young guy out the other day from Finland who had locked his keys in his VW Micro bus. There was no cell phone service where we were so I rode and found a ranger who said they would help him. As I drove to Iceberg Lake the next day I saw his VW and as I passed him I waved to him. He happened to be going to where I was going and he thanked me for getting him help. We talked for a while and then parted ways.
Anyway, I drove back to camp and fixed the highway peg and then took off to a road that led to Hungry Horse reservoir. It looked like it might be a good road to ride. After I got past the dam, I saw a sign that showed curvy roads for the next 58 miles. I got all excited thinking I had found the best bike road in the area. Those hopes were soon dashed as the first 3 miles was full of potholes and western rednecks coming the opposite way in their pickup trucks towing boats. The road was narrow so they took up half of my side of the road as they came around the curves. I slowed down and after I passed this death threat the road was better and no more rednecks so I got excited again. That was until 5 miles later when I saw the sign that said "pavement ends". What????? This road leads to a town called Bear Scat or Bare Ass or something like that and you are telling me that people are going to drive the next 53 miles on a curvy, dirt gravel road to get there! Oh well, I should have known when there were no other bikers on the road that something must be wrong. I headed back to town to grab some food to cook on the grill and went home. I plan to hike somewhere tomorrow but I haven't made up my mind where yet. There are a lot of choices but I will make that decision when I wake up. Whatever I decide, I'm sure it will be fun.
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