Yellowstone was, as expected for a summer weekend, crowded. And I got there later than I would have liked, so I had to come up with a plan quick. I decided to sightsee the mud volcano, and then drive down to Grand Teton National Park, see what I could before dark, and then camp. I wasn't really happy with the plan, but most of this trip has been improvised, so I kept with it. There'd be plenty of time to finish Yellowstone the next day.
Mud volcano stank, literally. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the sulfur smell-- it hits really hard at times, and always lingers. But the boiling mud pits were cool.After marveling at mud, I shot down to Grand Teton. First thing I did was reserve a spot at the first campgrounds. Then I drove down to check out the mountains. The Tetons, sometimes called the young Rockies, looked to my untrained eye very similar to the Rockies I saw in Colorado a few years ago. Then for some reason, one mountain stood out and literally took my breath away. I must have taken 50 pictures of the same mountain (Teewinot Mountain) as I got closer and closer. (And the crisp, clean mountain air was quite a contrast to the sulfurous mud volcano air!)
As it was getting dark, I turned around and returned to the campsite. As I pulled in, I saw a grizzly bear. I took a picture, but it came out mostly black. So I took 30 seconds of video. When I figure out how to post video, I'll be happy to show it to you.
My campsite was probably less than 1000 ft away. I was glad to have the bear spray, but I still didn't sleep all that well.
2 comments:
Good luck with the Grizzly... you're actually lucky you saw one from a distance. The bear spray is really just seasoning for the bear, it makes you taste better ;-) The bears in Glacier National Park are more aggressive than one ones in the Tetons (not sure if you're going up there, but the "Going to the Sun Road" is worth the trip.)
-John
What was that old joke about knowing what kind of bears were in an area based on their poop?
Oh yeah. . .
"Warning: In light of the rising frequency of human/grizzly bear conflicts, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field. We advise outdoorsmen to wear noisy little bells on their clothing, so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. We also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognise the difference between black bear and grizzly bear manure: Black bear manure is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear manure has little bells in it and smells like pepper."
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