The Requisite Bear Story, eh.

Alright, here goes. Can't head this far north without the requisite bear story. And if there are any Canadians reading this consider it your 'crazy Americans' story for the week as well as proof positive that the staff of Parks Canada actually has a sense of humor in a gotcha kind of way.

We're in Waterton Lakes, Canada which sits right across the border from Glacier National Park. Waterton is one of our favorite spots on mother earth as it offers everything from hiking, kayaking, and biking to a quaint town setting and great wildlife viewing all wrapped up in one of the most beautiful places you can imagine. But back to bears...

My wife has seen upwards of 7-10 bears on this trip while I've seen just one so when I set out for an evening bike ride I was hopeful I'd at least double my count. A year ago Waterton had a huge wildfire which burned thousands of acres of trees but thankfully spared the town. However, one year out many hiking trails and even roads remain closed awaiting repairs. One of the roads, up Red Rock Canyon, is among those closed to motorized traffic but open to bicycles.

So, it's 7 o'clock, which is approaching dusk in these parts. It's the cool of the evening, just perfect for a spin of the pedals into the backcountry surrounding Waterton. I'm riding alone as my wife is minding our pups back at the campground. Shadows are long, sightlines are short and as I top a blind rise in the road there it is. Off on the side of the road just watching me, probably thinking to itself that it hadn't ordered delivery but what the heck, never turn down a free meal. It was a pretty bear and it brought me to a screeching halt as I'd be in extremely close quarters with said ursine companion if I tried to get by. Normally these bear encounters, of which I've had many through the years, end with the bear eventually realizing I'm not a threat and simply wandering along on its merry way. Still, one never knows, and the worst thing one can do is surprise or startle a bear. While, as you'll see in the first video, this bear seemed to be staring right at me and watching my every move, it's better to be safe so I started talking to the bear in a calm voice to make sure it knew I was human. My conversation of course was rather one sided for more than one reason which I was about to discover.

Well, to make a short story long, this bear didn't seem inclined to budge and seemed especially intent on protecting it's real estate. Neither of us wanted to yield but eventually I concluded that if he didn't want to move I might be able to slowly cycle by on the left shoulder.  So off I go, bear and I intently staring at one another in the dwindling light. I'll leave it to the second video to show what happened.

Needless to say I lived to tell the tale and when I got back to the campground and shared my story the surrounding Canadians all had a hefty chuckle about another one of those 'crazy Americans'. And thank you Parks Canada for giving me yarn to spin. Gotcha, eh.