Stalked by a Mountain Lion

By Phil (So you don't have to read to the end)

We're getting to know Montana State Highway 2 which goes from our front door to East Glacier. It is 56 miles and goes from our current altitude (about 3,000 ft) over Marias Pass (about 5,600 ft)and down into East Glacier. It is 56 miles of gently winding road on which you can go 60-80 mph. Each curve reveals another mountain slope, another view of the river, another distant peak, another stand of golden aspen. And the railroad is beside you the whole way. It is subtle, but I've grown to love it. Today I even thought I'd like to write a poem called "Getting to Know a Road." What I've done is come to know a very small corner of Montana.

We wound up in East Glacier for the second time. This time, we more closely investigated a sign we saw yesterday which loudly proclaimed, "Grizzly Attack Machine!" It flew by me yesterday but lodged somewhere in my mind where I subconsciously asked, What the hell was that all about? Today I read the sign more closely and saw that the machine simulated a grizzly attack and asked "Grizzlies attack at 25 mph. Could you survive? Fun for the whole family." Yes, seeing if you could escape from being mauled to death by a grizzly is wholesome fun for most families.

Speaking of grizzly attacks, I've been embarrassing Vivian by asking everyone I meet if they have seen bears. Today, we sought shelter in a Parks Headquarters at St. Mary Lake entrance to the park. There we met a ranger who Vivian said reminded her of Kristin. She was extremely knowledgeable but very humble about her own accomplishments including the fact that next week she would hike into an observation town to count migrating eagles. Anyway, she said that when she hikes the park she has seen grizzlies many times but has never had an encounter with one. Once, when hiking in the snow with her husband, they dropped something and backtracked for a half mile. She was chilled to see that a mountain lion had been stalking them by reading its paw prints in the snow. The only grizzly attack in this park this year, she said, was a man who was jogging alone early in the morning. The bear charged, bit his legs and he claimed -- the ranger rolled her eyes at this -- that he fought off the grizzly with a stick. "When a grizzly attacks we always lose," she said.

We drove up the Going to the Sun Road to the closure and then ate our sandwiches in the car because the wind was so strong. We took a short hike to St. Mary Falls and then drove back home. After I got home I took a short walk down the hill and across the road where I took a picture of these railroad tracks. As Vivian mentioned in her post we are having computer problems so the sterling photos that have distinguished this blog are temporarily unavailable.

Vivian and I have agreed that we need to come again, during the summer, so we can see all the sights we missed. Still, I've loved being here in the off season and having the roads and the views to ourselves. But, come on, can't we see one darned grizzly from the car?