Glacier Wildlife - Bears!

Waterton River Campground, 17 July 2009

When we arrived in Glacier National Park the backcountry rangers changed our original itinerary on account of a questionable passage over the still-snowy Boulder Pass. Any initial disappointment dispersed when we realized the new route took us to the original start point of the PNT at Goat Haunt - the south end of Waterton Lake. Additionally, we would not have experienced our first bear encounter had we not camped at Waterton River for a couple of nights.

It happened like this:

While we were eating dinner we heard something periodically crashing about in the tall willow bushes surrounding the "eating area and bear-hang." (Brief note: at Glacier the backcountry campsites are divided into three distinct areas - tent sites, pit toilet, and bear-hang/food prep area – often separated by 100 feet or more). I had seen moose tracks along the trail into the campsite, and suggested to Dale the crashing probably came from a moose. They are big and noisy and while they can prove to be very dangerous I was not much worried about one wandering into camp. We kept somewhat alert, but were concerned more with engulfing our food than with a possible ungulate visitor. Then the crashing came closer. We both looked up into the bushes in time to see a wide, furry face peer out at us. It quickly disappeared again behind the leaves. Dale asked me what kind of ears I'd seen. "Not moose ears!" I told him. They weren't deer or elk ears either. These were round, smallish ears above a round, largish face. My heart rate jumped a bit after that, and we both stood on the log benches at the food prep area peering into the surrounding maze of shrubs and trees in hopes of another view. The crashing progressed around the eating area, toward the pit toilet and the entry trail. I stepped over to get a better view of the trail leading into the campsite just in time to see a big light-colored black bear lumber into view. She was quickly followed by a small, dark ball of a cub.

I had two thoughts. "Wow, cool!" And "Oh shit". You don't want to mess with a bear at any time, but a momma bear with a cub can be an even more dangerous situation. This sow must have known we were there however, and really didn't seem too concerned with us. While she and her cub wandered in a wide circle toward the tent sites, Dale carefully stepped back to our tent to get the camera. I stayed put, and kept an eye out, heart racing. The sow found a downed, decomposing log about 25 meters from both me and our tent and began using her giant troweling paws to dig out grubs. The cub was hidden by the thick underbrush. After a few giant swipes at the log she caught wind of me and her head snapped up. Then she raised up on her hind legs and took a good, long look at me. I've never, ever had a bear stand up to check me out before. It was both exhilarating and chilling. Dale managed to get a picture from the side of the bear checking me out.

Black bear sow checking out Callae
(her cub was shy and hidden in the vegetation)

The sow clearly wanted nothing to do with me and dropped back down on four paws. At that point Dale carefully walked back to the food prep area, camera in hand. Good thing, too, as next thing we knew the bear with cub close behind stepped out into the trail leading to the tents and stuck curious noses right toward our home for the night.

Black bear sow at Waterton River Campsite
(Glacier National Park)
after checking out our tent (seen in upper right)

Shortly after that another couple came down the trail to the campsite. We quietly warned them of the bear's presence. Upon the hiker's arrival, the sow raised up her heavy body in a surprisingly quick, graceful movement to stand on hind legs one more time. This time her cub was also out in the open and it, too, stood up on hind legs. The sow stood about six feet tall, and her cub was maybe two feet tall. They looked like those cheesy images you see in western town tourist shops in the form of Christmas ornaments, or trinkets or paintings - a big brownish sow and her adorable little dark cub, all curious and harmless. If our bears weren't exactly harmless, they were at least not troublesome. Soon they moved on for the night and we neither saw nor heard from them again. Though I must say, I was less eager to make my midnight pee run into the dark that night...