Day 350
Canada
Well, this was it, we were approaching the Canadian border and would soon be leaving the US. First though we had one more area of Glacier National Park to visit, Many Glacier. Just a short 21 mile ride. The first 10 miles was on a dusty backroad. As soon as we turned into it I spotted a moose and a bear. Before I could yell to warn Tom, the bear had disappeared into the trees and the moose just ignored us. We carried on, both a little nervous to be in the woods. Stopping to remove our coats we glanced down and saw very large and FRESH bear footprints. Now we were very nervous. The prints stayed with us all the 7 miles along the track, fortunately we didn’t encounter the bear. Those that know Tom and I well will know that singing in tune isn’t one of our skills and with us singing away to alert the bear to our approach we no doubt cleared the area of all wildlife.
The final few miles to Many Glacier were soon ridden, again along a stunning valley, passing by a dam. We would be ridding back the same way as the road ends just beyond the Many Glacier Hotel where we were staying. The campsites were still closed, and the hotel had only opened the day before. Now this meant that until just recently the animals had had free run of the road and hotel grounds. Ed, a fellow camper from yesterday had driven over and captured on film a dramatic standoff between a grizzly bear and a moose with a young foal. We were hoping to see them ourselves.
When we arrived we were far to early to access our room, so the lederhosen-clad bell boy cheerfully took care of our luggage, though he was rather overwhelmed at just how many bags we had. He also told us more about that bear and moose. During staff training about a week earlier the moose was sat in front of the hotel with her two foals. The grizzly approached and went on the attack. The resulting stand off was dramatic, one foal was taken by the grizzly and over the next few days the battle between them continued, filmed by the stunned staff. The grizzly even smashed through the gift shop window! Check out the footage on YouTube.
Tom and I sat where the encounter had taken place but apart from a few chipmunks saw nothing. Still, it was a great place to relax and say goodbye to the US. The following morning, we set off to retrace the route back to the highway to Canada. We had barely been riding 5 minutes when Tom hollered ‘Stop’. A fully grown moose was stood in the bushes right next to us, it then ambled over the road and slowly disappeared towards the lake. Was this the moose from the standoff we wondered? If so, where was her foal and even more importantly where was the bear? Within a few minutes we had one question answered, seeing many cars parked by the side of the road, we knew where the grizzly was. The Ranger appeared confident it was the same bear, we rode slowly by, but didn’t stop as we were much closer than the recommended minimum distance. As for the foal, I guess we will never know.
The final few miles to the border flew by, downhill with a tailwind, it couldn’t have been easier, and we were also treated to a field full of bison, fantastic! The customs went smoothly, our passports stamped and we were in Canada! I found out what I was getting for my birthday, another few days of luxury at the iconic Prince of Wales Hotel at Waterton Lake. They even do afternoon tea, and with one of the chefs being British I’m hopeful I may get a scone without gravy!
