- Continue to the western part of Glacier National Park
- 5 hour hike to Snyder Lake
- Bear encounter with a mighty grizzly just a few meters in front of us on the hiking trail
- Witnessed rock fall
- On the way back we met a black bear
- Campfire chat with a local
We have breakfast early and continue north until we reach the east entrance of Glacier National Park. On the way we fill the tank and drive to the Apgar Visitors Center. Here we explore medium backcountry trails and the general location in the park. Unfortunately, the legendary Going-to-the-Sun-Road is still not open, which is due to the snowfall in recent days. Apparently almost a meter of fresh snow fell last week. We can only hope that the snow removal team is making good progress and that the pass can be opened in the next few days. In Sprague Creek Campground we find a nice place to stay near the shore of the McDonald Lake.
Then we start the hike up to Snyder Lake. The path winds slowly but steadily 700 meters upwards. We walk through dense forest covered with ferns and mosses. Gixu discovers a bear's footprint in the muddy underground. It goes further up into the side valley. The mountain stream rushes further down in the valley. Later on, we discover freshly stripped roots right on the way. Now it is mostly through thick bushes. To be on the safe side, Gixu carries the bear pepper spray on him because he goes first. Suddenly shortly before the goal at the mountain lake he winces and says loudly: A bear! He is quick-witted and we don't go back too hastily. From a safe distance we see a grizzley standing right next to the path. We were barely 10 meters away from him. Several times he looks interested in our direction, but immediately returns to eat. We observe the splendid specimen from a distance and take photos. We observe how an oncoming hiker is also directly confronted with Master Petz. Even before Master Petz notices his presence, he turns back just as shocked as we do.
In the dense vegetation we lose sight of the bear from time to time. At the moment we cannot think of going any further, so we march back a little on a scree slope and have a picnic stop. A little later the hiker, who also met the bear on the way, comes towards you. After we had a long conversation with him, we decide to continue on the way. Soon we arrive at the idyllic mountain lake. Surrounded by mountains, we enjoy the at least dry weather. Then we start the descent. Suddenly we meet the group of hikers from earlier that we informed about the grizzley. This time a black bear is blocking the trail. Unbelievable, we met both bear species from North America on one day and that in the middle of the hiking trail. However, the locals show much less shyness and respect than we do and would be appropriate. Almost naive how close they get to the impatient bear. The rest of the way down we talk to them and their boys. Back at the starting point, we find that we lack the necessary firewood for dinner. So we go to West Glacier again to stock up on our supplies. Back at the camp it's time to cook. In the last rays of the sun we fry our skewers and rice with broccoli. As we sit around the campfire, we get a visit from our American neighbor. A pretty adventurous guy who just sold his house in Seattle and is now on his way to Texas for a new challenge. Does the crazy toch actually want to powder on the Logan Pass and ski down =) Not the first time we notice the more open nature of North Americans towards strangers.
