Lemhi Pass: Encounter with a grizzly

Near Lemhi Pass

Yesterday, we had our first grizzly encounter. After Lemhi Pass, I was on a high from visiting the Most Distant Fountain–the spring that is most distant from the Missouri River and is right up against the divide but still falls east. Lemhi Pass is also where Lewis and Clark passed over the Continental Divide for the first time a white man had done it–on August 12th, 1806, 204 years to the day.

As we rambled up the road/CDT (they are pretty much the same a lot of the time), I noticed the grizz walking the road/CDT 100 yeards ahead of us uphill. We decided to keep walking at it slowly, making noise, since it was far enough away. As we came closer to the hill, it appeared to have gone away, until we realized it was right over the hill, coming at us. We grabbed their bearspray and we all backed away slowly, as we watched it get on its hind legs and come towards us.

We all decided we couldn’t wait for it to move, so we should go way around it. We hopped a fence and walked in sage until a horrible smell came over us. We looked over and saw a large, black, rotting elk carcass right on the road/CDT. The grizz must’ve felt determined to defend it.