Posted by 15.3 miles
I was planning to have a relatively relaxed start to the day and take my time heading into Many Glacier however with the news of a potential trail closure ahead to the Canadian border I was super keen to reach the Ranger Station in good time to confirm, hopefully repudiate this. If there was indeed a closure I’d have to assess options available to change my permits or look for alternative routes. I was away from camp in the dark navigating by head torch.
It was only one mile to a main road from camp which I reached in no time at all, crossing under it through a short tunnel to start a four mile climb up to Piegan Pass.
The trail was overgrown with vegetation crowding in and a smattering of rain was all that was needed to wet the vegetation and brush off onto my clothes and shoes. Shoes were saturated in no time. The climb was gradual and in the trees passing a beautiful water fall but unfortunately it was still too dark to take any decent photos. I trail eventually emerged out if the trees above tree line on the final section towards the pass, the sun now out with a light breeze, the perfect combination to dry off my rain pants and jacket.
It was a gradual climb to the pass with towering mountains all around.
Just on cresting over the pass I stopped dead in my tracks with a large grizzly right on the trail just 30m away. It had its back to me and my first instinct was to loudly call “Hey Bear!” to get it’s attention. It paid absolutely no heed to me. The wind was at my back so I know it caught my scent but it just kept on going about its business without a care in the world, scratching around and digging food up. Not sure what it was eating. It knew it was the dominant creature out here and didn’t give me a second thought. I kept calling, “Hey bear!, louder each tine. Still no acknowledgment of my presence. It just kept on doing bear stuff.
I needed a break and a bite to eat but was reluctant to pull out any food. The bear kept slowly moving down the trail, disappearing out of sight over a small rise. Nervously I sat down, eyes in the direction of my last sighting while I quickly opened my pack and threw some food down.
Fed and hydrated I continued along the trail ever so slowly, pushing forward over the rise, alert and scanning until I got eyes on the griz again. It was still there on trail just ahead at a switchback. I thought about cutting the switchback but didn’t need to. As I watched it from a respectable distance it slowly sauntered off and away from the trail.
That is the kind of bear encounter I was hoping for. Close enough to get some photos and video but with sufficient distance that I could react if needing to. No surprise encounters. No bear spray needed, although it was kept in close reach and ready.
From the descent down from the pass the trail flew by as I raced towards the Ranger Station at Many Glacier. This passed really quickly. The highlight was the copious amounts of ripe huckleberries covering the hillsides. The temptation to stop and pick multiple handfuls on the way past couldn’t be resisted.
I arrived at Many Glacier at 12:30pm having completed 15.3 miles in record time.
My first stop was straight into the ranger station where they confirmed the rumour that indeed the section of trail between Kootenai Lake and Waterton was closed due to bear activity. It seems a mountain lion took down a mature male elk, a very large animal, and bears had claimed the carcass, aggressively defending the kill. Rangers had quartered the animal and spread the carcass out but bear activity remained high and they were not likely to open the trail for several days. Damn!
What was I to do? Talking through my options with rangers I could take my chances and use my permited site at Kootenai Lakes tomorrow night and hope that the trail opens this afternoon or tomorrow. If it does open I can continue north to the border at Waterton Lake. They were not hopeful that it would open even if assessed as ok today. I sounded like they wanted chief ranger sign off and that wouldn’t occur until after the weekend.
If it remaindd closed I’d have to back track a few miles and pick up the Stony Indian Trail out to the border crossing at Chief Mountain. Other options available were to follow the purple line to Chief Mountain over two days or hike direct to the border tomorrow via the Ptarmigan Trail.
It was time for lunch and I headed to the restaurant to consider my choices. A forth option presented when I ran in Bluejay, Redline and Guardian. Bluejay had a permit for a site 6 miles north on the purple line that I could add my name to if I wanted to hike another 6 miles today and finish with them at Chief Mountain tomorrow. Decisions, decisions. First lunch.
While smashing down a whole 12” pizza I mulled over the options, finally settling with finishing the trail tomorrow via the Ptarmigan Trail out to Chief Mountain. From there I will cross into Canada and hitch into Waterton a day earlier than expected. Hopefully I can change my hotel booking when I show up or just pay for an extra night if available.
The remainder of my afternoon was spent sorting through food, discarding any unnecessary weight and just chilling out at the camp site.
Mick Beckers 