bear

I’ve been trying to leave Salida for a couple of days now. But its fighting me , its like being on a ship in rough water constantly trying to trip me up, and as I climb through the decks I fall over buckets and mops tumbling head over heal to the previous level . I’m concerned I’m going to become swallowed up by the furniture. A downward spiral of soft pillows and comfy chairs with backpackers and hikers never going anywhere. Its dangerous. My mind runs through the potential jobs of busking and bar work. Here there is no politics, no stress, just laughter. Its easy to forget why you came to a place, ‘have I really just travelled half the world and hiked and cycled thousands of miles to sit here?’

I’m in a hostel, where several people have stopped a day or two, or three. I’ve fixed my bike and adjusted everything to go but inertia has slowed me down. I have packed several times to leave but the stairs going up to the dorm room seem to be a slide down hill for my kit and I get spun around trying to find the exit which evades me every day at 11. By the time I find it its 3pm and too late to go. I wake again at 9 am, its Ground Hog Day. Sitting back each day listening to music, singing to songs with other backpackers, and short walks around the town. Everybody here has given up everything at this moment and its peaceful. Backpackers go out to the shop, buy cheap food and cook it. Then share everything. When someone new walks in, they are invited without question. Life is cheap to sustain. There is no tearing hair out with big bills. Every hiker has a different colour and energy and its wonderful.

Yesterday when walking to the shop we came across a scared bear in a tree. The ranger in charge of the taped off area said he will likely come down in the evening when all the people are gone and run straight out the town to a quieter place. I kinda felt sorry for the poor fella, so many people vilify these black bears but he looked exhausted draped across a fork in the tree petrified of the people nearby. I hope he made it out ok.

Hopefully I do too.

Benjamin.

So, Me and my friend Josh have just finished hiking Glacier park.

Day 1….. After getting permits we started from Chief Mountain on the Canadian border crossing. Walking through long meadows, and hiking to the top of Red Gap Pass, which was clear of snow, the descent down made easier by glissading a snow field on the other side instead of walking the switch back path. At the bottom of the valley as we come through a clearing a grizzly bear pops up and runs a few metres, we hear what we think is another bear in the trees and walk quietly on. From half 1 to half 8 we cover 20miles and feel like progress in the park will be good.

Day 2….. The morning starts well with a black bear encounter , Josh leading the way and the bear jumping up about 10meters away and sprinting to a safer point away from us(see pic). We take this as a good sign and keep hiking. Around 8am it starts raining, heavy. As cold as it is we push on, occasionally climbing over the downed trees from the winters avalanches, the forces involved in stripping the hillside and tumbling and splintering them to pieces must be immense. A few hundred feet up the valley we hit the snowline. The path cannot be seen so we make our own route, crossing snow bridges and keeping in awe of the tree tops pointing out of the snow. Because of the heavy rain we decide to scramble out own line up the pass instead of risk unstable snow slopes. The wind cuts to the bone through our wet layers so stopping is no option. We push as fast as we can to the top and descend over the other side, crossing snow slopes at pace axe in hand to arrest and falls. As we descend we pick a route carefully to avoid the cliff edges and weakening snow bridges, some looking no more than 6inches thick and spanning metres over icey rapids we hear running below. By the time we descend to the going to the sun road we are struggling to stay warm, shivering and jaws chattering. We decide the safest call it to bail out route and come back with dry gear. 7 hours of continuous rain and wind whilst winter mountaineering was not the original plan. 25miles covered this day. Finished by 3pm.