Grizz Tracking: Day 2

After brushing up and learning a few new skills, like hair identification and scat ID, we were off to the field to put them into practice. Scouring fence posts, tree rubs, barbed wire and berry patched, we fine-tuned the difference between black cow hair and black bear hair, elk hair and grizzly hair. What a skill!! Hiking in the woods will never be the same.

With our GPS’s fired up, each team set out for their daily hiking mission. Our team was to hike up to Baldy Mountain and follow a drainage route down searching for Grizz signs. Reaching nearly 10,000 ft in elevation, we followed elk trails, more like an elk highway, up to the peak. Branching into two groups, we followed the ridge line West. Whitebark pine was in abundance and producing cones, a fantastic find as it is a grizzly food source.  Elks bugling and swarms of magpies socializing on the mountaintops, we made our way across the ridge enjoying the stunning landscape before us.

Grizz Tracking W/ Adventurers and Scientists for Conservation

After mild adjustments and a bit of quality control, I managed a sleeping bag bunged to the handlebars, a red duffel bag strapped to the rack, and my blue day pack secured to my waste. I was off to track grizzly bears in the Centennial Mountain Range.

Ten of us met up in town, a crew who had just introduced themselves. We had an EMT, a second year MSU geologist, a bartender, wildlife gurus, and adventurers of every sort. After loading up the trucks, we drove off into the sunset excited for the adventure ahead.

Trumpeting swans greeted the morning sunrise and I stretched out of my cozy hammock, marveling at what adventures lye ahead. The scenery couldn’t have been more spectacular. We were camped at Red Rock Lake, towered over by the peaks of the Centennial Range: Baldy, Taylor, and Sheep Mountain.

A quick breakfast and some coffee, to get the buzz on, and we jumped right into navigation, tracking, GPS skills, and Grizzly encounters. What do you NOT do if you see a bear… any bear? RUN, that is DO NOT RUN. See a black bear, ya get big, as big Big Foot, and make a lot of noise  @#)$&$  $!%&!^*!!!!!! 

That should do the trick… unless it’s the big boy, the Grizzly. He’s not so easily convinced by such nonsense. Rather, treat him like the school principal after you got caught doing something wrong. Avoid eye contact, talk in a calm and soothing voice, and slowly back away as if unnoticed. 

Love the World, Love Yourself

Sometime when things come easy, we don’t recognize them for what they are. This is especially the case for love, the confusing and most complex emotion we as human beings experience. There are so many ways to love someone, it seems to be a catch all word for expressing that we care about someone. Friendships have become more often acquaintances, but I’m blessed to say I truly love and care deeply about many of my friends, and know they feel the same.

One thing I fear is the shallow seemingly meaningless relationships we develop in our day-to-day lives, withholding engagement and sincerity in our actions. How are you suppose to get to know anybody when this is the norm? How is anyone suppose to get to know me?

I’ve been more alive the past couple days that I have been for a long time. I’ve been speaking and playing games with my friends from around the world through the world of online media. These wonderful people know me better than I do myself sometimes, and I trust them fully.  I love you guys! You bring my world to life :)