In case you thought I was kidding....

This photo of grizzly tracks was taken recently in the canyon right over the ridge from us!!!! I asked the friend that emailed this to me if she was kidding. She  also works for Montana Fish and Wildlife.

Here was her reply: "These are very serious.  Bear (grizzly bears) are nearly everywhere. (she meant everywhere around our region) Carry bear pepper spray when you're out and about. There could be moose with calves too (very mean if you cross them!) or mountain lions. Oh, and wolves are in this mountain range too.

I don't particularly like (she continued) the idea that at least three predators are above humans on the food chain. It can be scary out there. Watch your back and make noise for safety. (besides traveling in a group, with a pet, carrying pepper spray or a pistol).

These words were spoken by a young woman so brave that she will hike into the wilderness alone, and kill and dress an elk in the field - alone. She also has done research projects for Montana Fish and Wildlife, one that involved stringing barbed wire out in bear country, smearing it with bear bait, and then returning weeks later to collect specimens of fur that were scraped off in the bears' attempts to get to the ripe smelling bait. There was never any attempt to trap the bear, the research only included collecting bits of fur to see what kind of bears were in that area, etc.

One of the scary parts of her job involved hiking out alone through tall grasses to get to the bear bait, every nerve on edge, wondering if a nearby mountain lion would ambush her. The scariest part of her job entailed collecting the fur. Since the bait was left out for several weeks, it would by this time smell powerful and rank - just the sweet scent that bears would come looking for. She had to be careful that in the process of doing her job, she wasn't ambushed by a grizzly looking for food. I believe she told me that she always had bear spray on one hip, and a pistol on the other.

Holy S#@* Batman! If Sherri is concerned about being vunerable,  what does that make me? Terrified? Maybe, maybe not. As I gaze outside at the bright morning sunshine and mountain peaks in the distance, the siren call of the great outdoors is working its spell on me. Bears schmerrs. Call me crazy, but all the warnings in the world are not going to stop me from going for a hike. Now where the hell is that pepper spray?