by Mike Graf
The otter flipped the fish up and swallowed it in one gulp. Then it swam quickly away.
• • •
A man stood on the porch of the fire lookout on Mt. Sheridan. A pair of binoculars dangled around his neck.
“Greetings!” he said. “How was the climb?”
“Pretty grueling,” Troy replied.
“My name’s Bill,” the man introduced himself. “Feel free to look around, and let me know if you need anything.”
Mom noticed dish soap near the window inside. “Do you live here?”
Bill smiled. “Yes. For many, many summers.”
“Wow,” Mom said. “Your house has the best view I’ve ever seen.”
“But I’m also here to watch for and report fires,” Bill said.
After walking around the summit, Mom, Catherine, and Troy gathered around as Bill told them a story.
“I wasn’t up here during the 1988 fires,” Bill said. “But I have seen my share of lightning strikes and smaller fires. One time I could actually feel the electricity in the air. My hair was standing on end. I ran into the fire tower and saw lightning hit a tree nearby. The thunder was unbelievable. But the tower didn’t get hit, and I was reasonably safe inside anyway. Fortunately, there was a lot of rain with that thunderstorm, so the fires that day were naturally squelched.”
Bill smiled. “Yeah, I can tell life-in-the-fire-tower stories all day.”
Mom signed the logbook and read comments from other visitors. “People from all over the world have come here,” she realized.
Mom, Catherine, and Troy thanked Bill, then began their climb back down the mountain.
• • •
Mark and Vincent walked along the lake toward Dad, James, and Morgan.
“It’s 2:00 p.m.,” Mark announced. “We’re going to head over early and make lunch for Catherine and Troy.”
Dad, Morgan, and James sloshed out of the shallow water and walked back to their campsite. They watched Mark and Vincent get their backpacks down from the bear pole.
“You sure you don’t want to come with us?” Mark offered.
“We’re going to fish a bit more then head up to meet Mom along the trail,” Dad answered.
Morgan, James, and Dad said good-bye.
Mark and Vincent took off hiking and disappeared over a small hill.
The Parkers grabbed their fishing rods. Something snapped in the bushes. Dad looked around. His pulse quickened.
Dad took a deep breath and let out a gush of air. “Boy, your thoughts can sure get the best of you quickly out here.”
Dad looked at the lake and then at Morgan and James. “Do you want to fish some more or head out to get Mom?”
“Can we try fishing a few more minutes?” Morgan asked. “It would be nice to at least catch something.”
Something cracked in the bushes again. Morgan, James, and Dad looked around but didn’t see anything.
Dad remembered the bear warning sign near Mystic Falls. There’s no guarantee of your safety kept ringing through his head.
14
Something cracked in the woods again.
Dad looked around nervously. “Maybe we should go meet Mom now,” he suggested.
They heard a loud, huffing sound.
Dad dropped his fishing rod and looked up.
The sound came again from about thirty feet away, behind the trees. Only this time it sounded more like a deep, guttural snort. Dad turned to see a large bear lumbering toward the three of them.
Dad grabbed James and Morgan. He reached for his bear spray, popped the safety latch, and put his finger on the nozzle.
Dad looked at the bear. It had a dish-shaped face, short, rounded ears, and a hump between its shoulders. The bear was cinnamon-colored. An adult grizzly! Dad realized.
The grizzly stopped. It turned back and forth several times then stood up on its hind legs while looking at James, Morgan, and Dad. Then the grizzly dropped down on all four feet.
Dad held on to his two children and backed up a few feet. “Don’t look at its eyes,” he directed calmly. “And don’t run. But be ready to do exactly what I tell you to.”
The grizzly snorted and shuffled his feet. Then the bear charged straight at Dad, James, and Morgan.
• • •
Mom, Catherine, and Troy hiked quickly down the mountain. “Going down is sure a lot easier than going up,” Mom commented.
They came to the bear pole near the bottom of the trail. Mark and Vincent were already there, taking down the two backpacks.
“Hi!” Catherine said to her husband.
“Hey there,” Mark replied. “How was the hike?”
“Fantastic,” Troy answered. “The views were amazing. And this guy, Bill, lives up there in the fire lookout.”
“Sounds like I missed something special,” Mark stated.
“How’s my family?” Mom asked.
“Fine,” Mark answered. “I think they wanted to try fishing a little longer before coming to get you.”
“That’s not a surprise,” Mom stated. Then she said good-bye to the family and started walking back to the campsite.
• • •
Morgan cowered behind Dad. James cringed and gripped his father.
Dad aimed the spray at the bear.
The grizzly stopped charging twenty feet before reaching them. The bear paced back and forth, snorting and huffing. It breathed heavily and made clicking sounds with its jaw.
Suddenly, the grizzly charged again.
Dad pushed the lever of the bear spray. A loud hissing sound came from the canister as an orange fog spewed into the air toward the grizzly. Some of the spray hit a tree. The bear kept charging.
Dad pulled James and Morgan closer. “Drop!” he commanded.
Morgan, James, and Dad fell to the ground. Dad lost hold of the bear-spray canister. He put his hands over the back of Morgan and James’s heads and held them tightly against him. “Don’t move!” Dad said urgently. The three of them had their faces toward the ground.
The grizzly came right up to them. It nudged them with its nose and used its paws to try and roll each of them over. Dad kept his hands and arms wrapped tightly around Morgan and James. His heart beat wildly.
The bear must realize we’re not dead, Dad thought.
The bear pawed around at Morgan, James, and Dad a few times. It nudged at them with its nose once more then finally walked away.
“Stay still,” Dad whispered. His mind raced. How far away is the bear? Should we get up now? Dad silently counted to ten, then twenty. He didn’t hear anything. Then Dad counted some more.
Slowly, Dad began to move his arm, hoping to grab the bear spray.
The bear lumbered back and stood next to Dad. It nudged the three of them again, trying to turn them over.
Dad continued to hold his arms over Morgan and James and kept as still as possible. Morgan tried to stop herself from shaking.
The standoff with the bear continued for several more minutes. But to Dad, Morgan, and James, it seemed like a lifetime; everything was happening in slow motion.
The bear wandered away again. Dad waited and listened. He slowly moved his hand toward the bear spray. This time, he grabbed it. Dad held up the spray. He turned his head to see which way the nozzle was pointed.
Slowly, Dad began to peel himself off the ground. “Stay down for now,” he instructed. Dad lifted his body to his knees and cautiously looked around. He held the bear spray out and readied himself to either be attacked or to shoot the repellent.
Dad heard a deep grunt behind him, followed by charging footsteps.
Dad whirled around and fired.
The bear was ten feet away and lunging when the spray connected.
The powerful, noxious mist blasted the bear’s face. The grizzly froze in its tracks. It bellowed loudly then shook its head violently. The bear sneezed several times and rubbed its face into the ground, stirring up a small cloud of dust. Then it spun around and crashed off into the woods.
/> Dad stood up. “Get up now!” he commanded. “We have to get out of here!”
Immediately, Dad began taking down all the backpacks. Once the ropes were untied, he gave James and Morgan their packs and held onto Mom’s. Dad threw the looped rope around his neck.
“We’re heading out to get Mom as quickly as possible. We can’t stay here, and I don’t want her alone on the trail with that grizzly around.”
Morgan, James, and Dad got out of camp as fast as they could. Dad slipped and fell on a wet mossy area and then sprang to his feet again, looking for the bear.
Dad saw it in the distance. The grizzly was rambling away while still violently shaking its head and pawing at its eyes and face.
I wonder how long that will last, Dad thought.
Morgan, James, and Dad scrambled back to the main trail. “You two go first, and I’ll be right behind you,” Dad instructed. They took off for the Mt. Sheridan trailhead. At the top of the first hill, Dad turned around to look, but the grizzly was no longer in sight.
“How are you two doing?” Dad asked James and Morgan. “Did the bear hurt you?”
James and Morgan both shook their heads no.
Morgan, James, and Dad walked as fast as they could.
“There’s Mom!” James called out and waved. Mom waved back, and then stopped. Why do they have all our backpacks? she thought. And why is Dad carrying the rope?
Mom watched Dad and the twins run frantically toward her. The bear spray was in Dad’s hand. Mom took off and ran toward Dad.
A moment later, they met.
Morgan and James hugged Mom and started crying. Dad dropped Mom’s pack and grabbed onto her. After a moment, Dad calmed down enough to tell Mom about the grizzly.
“Are you okay? Are you okay?” Mom kept asking.
Dad gasped, then finally answered. “We’re okay. It never really attacked us.”
Mom looked at their backpacks and toward where they were camped. “We have to go back,” she realized. “Our tent and sleeping bags are still there.”
Morgan, James, and Dad looked at each other. “We forgot about that,” James said.
The Parkers stood in silence for a moment.
“When we go back there, we’ll stay together,” Dad announced. “And we’ll get out of there as fast as possible.”
15
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad marched like nervous soldiers back into battle. Dad led the way.
They walked over a small hill. Up ahead was the turnoff to their campsite. James stopped. “I don’t want to go back in there!” he protested.
“Me either,” Morgan added.
Dad put his arms around his children. “I wish we didn’t have to.”
“Can’t James and I just wait here?” Morgan pleaded.
“I’m scared too,” Mom stated. “But we can’t leave you two out here if there’s a grizzly around. You have to come with us.”
The family reluctantly headed back to their campsite.
They arrived at the tent and immediately packed up their sleeping bags, mattresses, and everything else inside. They stuffed their gear haphazardly into their backpacks. Mom and Dad kept searching the area with their bear spray out and ready to use.
“I can’t believe we forgot about all this,” Morgan said. “I didn’t even notice how light my pack was.”
The Parkers did one more quick check of the campsite then dashed toward the main trail.
Dad wrinkled his nose and sniffed the air. “Wait here a second,” he said. He tromped into the grass off the trail. After walking about fifty feet, Dad stopped and peered into the brush. He held his hand up to his face, took a quick breath of air, and hurried back to his family.
“I thought I smelled something funny,” he informed them.
“And now I know why that bear was so upset.”
“What was it?” Mom asked.
“A partially eaten deer,” Dad replied. “We really need to hustle out of here now!”
“A carcass,” James recalled. He remembered the ranger sending everyone back to their cars in Hayden Valley.
“Come on!” Dad hurried his family along.
Once back on the main trail, Mom went first and Dad stayed in back. Both carried their bear spray in their hands.
The Parkers focused their energy on getting a large distance away from the campsite. They walked as fast as they could.
They passed the Mt. Sheridan Trail junction. Finally, Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad slowed down a bit.
“What was it like being so close to a grizzly?” Mom asked.
“The scariest moment of my life,” Morgan answered. “My hands are still shaking.”
“I felt it brush its nose against me,” James informed her. “And it smelled awful.”
Dad led them toward the ranger’s cabin. “It’s a relief to see some sort of connection to civilization,” he said.
Dad walked right up to the door of the cabin and saw the claw marks. “I wonder if these are from the same bear,” he said.
Dad pounded his fist against the door and listened. There was no sound inside.
“I saw two backcountry rangers on the Mt. Sheridan Trail earlier today,” Mom said. “So at least they’re around.”
Dad took off his pack and leaned it against the cabin. There was a stinging pain near his shoulder, but he tried to ignore it. Dad touched the back of his shirt and felt a tear. He took a deep breath.
“We ought to get some food in us now,” Mom suggested. She grabbed the trail mix from her pack and passed it around.
Dad checked his watch. “It’s four o’clock,” he announced. “How far is it to the car, James?”
“Eight miles,” James recalled.
“What do you think?” Dad asked Mom. “We have about five hours of daylight left. That’s enough time to get back to the trailhead before dark. I’d rather do that than wait here and hike out in the morning.”
“Are you up for eight miles of hiking now?” Mom asked the twins.
“I am,” Morgan answered.
“It’s better than camping out here,” James added.
“I think we should go for it,” Dad concluded. “Can I borrow a piece of paper from your journal?” he asked Morgan.
Morgan found her journal and tore off a sheet of paper. “And a pen,” Dad added.
Dad took the pen and paper and quickly jotted down a note for the ranger. He slipped it into a crack in the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad took off.
“What did you write?” James asked.
“I told them what happened and to not let anyone camp in 8H3 and 8H2,” Dad answered. “And gave them our plans so they know what we are doing.”
“Good idea,” Mom said, feeling a bit relieved.
They zipped past the meadows and began climbing along Witch Creek. Meanwhile, clouds had built up, blocking the late afternoon sun.
Soon it started raining.
Mom fished through her backpack for ponchos. She handed one to Dad, Morgan, and James. “We should put these on.”
The Parkers continued climbing. Rain splatted down. Several rounds of thunder rumbled in the distance.
Suddenly, lightning split the sky ahead of them. Thunder instantly cracked the air.
“Whoa!” Mom froze and looked at the sky.
It started to hail. First, a few pea-sized specks of ice splattered down. Then the hail got larger. Before long, marble-sized ice balls showered all around and bounced off the trail.
Lightning flashed again. Thunder echoed instantly.
“Up ahead!” Mom directed. She raced her family into the middle of a small grove of lodgepole pines. Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad scooted into the trees for cover.
To their surprise, the family ran into the Alexanders. They were sitting on a downed log with a large tarp draped over their heads. The Alexanders made room for the Parkers. In a moment, both families were scrunched together under the tarp. Meanwhile, rain and hail p
ounded down.
“I guess there’s no rest for the weary,” Dad said. He told the Alexanders about the grizzly.
The hail let up. Dad peeked out from under the dripping tarp and scanned the skies. “It looks like it’s clearing,” he reported. “I think the sun will be out soon too. We should press on.”
The families got out from under the tarp.
• • •
The Parkers trekked up the ridge, with the Alexanders right behind them.
Morgan pointed toward the mountains. “Look!” A veil of white was drifting across the sky and heading their way. It sounded like an approaching train.
Mom saw the sheets of hail coming. “I think we have about twenty seconds to take cover again,” she called out.
They quickly headed for another small group of trees. The Parkers huddled together as the first few hailstones plunked down.
The Alexander family walked past them. “We’re going to try and press on,” Mark informed the Parkers.
Hailstones popped down everywhere. They bounced all around and quickly piled up on the ground. It hailed for several minutes. Then, just as fast as the hail started, it let up.
Morgan, James, Mom, and Dad stepped out from under the trees. They hit the trail at full stride, crunching on ice along the way.
In the cold air, the thermal areas seemed more active.
James looked at the steam drifting up from Witch Creek. “It looks like the area’s on fire,” he commented.
Steam eked out of vents along a hillside near the trail. Mom put her hand near one. “Yeah, it’s warm,” she said.
At the top of the ridge, the family paused. They looked back at Heart Lake far below and at the pink mud pot still plopping away at the top of the hill.
Dad shook his head. “There really is no place in the world like Yellowstone.” He checked his watch. “It’s six o’clock. We’ve got three hours before dark to hike five miles.”
“At least the trail is mostly flat now,” James recalled.
“And the storm seems to have moved on,” Mom added.
“And we should be far away from that bear now,” Morgan reassured herself.
The family continued hiking.