And now for the bears......

I love Many Glacier (east side of Glacier National Park).  It's absolutely my favorite spot in Glacier, and I tell all the visitors they should make a trip to Many Glacier.  Absolutely beautiful area with the mountains, Iceberg Lake, Grinnell Glacier Viewpoint.......and the BEARS!!  People report more bears in Many Glacier than any other spot in the park (actually they report more wildlife overall). 

Black Bear getting ready for winter

I made this trip to Many Glacier on September 23, because I wanted to see moose.  I was here the week before with my friends, and we sat around Fishercap Lake for over an hour hoping a moose would show up (as all my photography friends and many visitors said you can ALWAYS see a moose at Fishercap).  Of course, they didn't.  So I went back the following week after the lodge had closed.  Left my house at 5AM so I could get there by 8AM and hopefully see the moose in the morning.  Waited for 1 1/2 hours -- no moose.  And it was getting cold and "spitting" at me.  So I decided I'd had enough.

As I was leaving, came across some folks looking up at the mountain top, which mean there were animals.  A whole herd of big horn sheep were scattered across the mountain side.  I've never seen that big of a herd before.  And in amongst them was a bear.  He seemed to be ignoring the sheep, as bears really don't like to work overly hard to catch food, and on the rocks, he would have been no match for the sheep.  

Then I drove further, and while I was looking at a hillside, I saw a brief moment of a big brown spot.  Immediately knew it was a bear, so I turned around and parked.  While he was still a good distance away (and the light was very low), at least I could get a picture where you could see the bear.  Not the best photo's with my 300mm lens at max (they are soft), and I had to crop a bunch to get the bear to be this size (not like my Alaska trip bear photo's).  But I so enjoyed seeing the bear in the wild.

A little further down the road, I could see a sow with 2 cubs, foraging to gain their winter bulk.  Again, shot is very soft with an extreme crop, but you can tell they are bears.  

While I didn't see any moose, I did eventually see 6 bears.  And that MADE MY DAY!!!!  

The moral of the story......if you come to Glacier National Park, you must make a trip to Many Glacier.  You'll have a great time and marvel at the beauty of the area. 

Many Glacier Lodge sitting on Swiftcurrent Lake