Day of the Grizzly

View from campsite (Day 1)

Woke to the pitter-patter of rain on the yurt -- thankful we weren't having to put away a wet tent and gear up in the sogginess. Decided to stop in at Mt Engadine Lodge to bid our farewell, refill water, and hope to catch a glimpse of the bull moose that frequents the meadow below the breakfast deck: no luck there. Thank you again to Riley, Mallory, and Peggy for the company!

Fun with pano: L started pic, M finished

Long wet slog 1.5 mi uphill out of lodge to our first turn when we spot a hump of fur about 25 ft off the side of the road. We slowed to take a picture of what we thought was going to be the elusive moose. The squeal of our wet breaks caused the beast to raise its head. Oh s*** it's a grizzly! We froze and watched it give us a cursory glance before going back to foraging. That's it? No freaky, scary, "change my shorts" type of encounter. Thank goodness, because somewhere along the trail we lost our bear spray yesterday! Since the bear didn't seem to mind us, we got out cameras and shot a couple pics before pedaling on. Interesting that when we started rolling and our bear bells started jangling, the bear loped away from the sound; good to know those work! We continued our slow climb, continually glancing over our shoulders to make sure we didn't have company -- and discussed propping our bikes and trailers together to form a "triangle of life" to hide under if needed!

Fresh bear poo

15 miles of RAIN. Uphill. Granny gear. Put on the big girl panties and find your happy place 'cause it's not changing any time soon.

There's the culprit: GRIZZLY

Boulton Creek Trading Post and a pre-packaged ham and cheese sandwich (warmed in microwave) never tasted so good. Peeled off the rain gear that was now soaked from the inside with sweat. I see why wrestlers wear this stuff to make weight. Another mile or two to Mt. Sarrail Camp for the night. Ran into a fellow "Divider" from England - Zack, riding solo. I'm sure our paths will cross again and we can share more stories.

Till tomorrow,
Lorne & Melani