It was early September and I was working at the Ski Hill in Lake Louise, Alberta, Banff National Park. The mountain would not open for another month or so and I was in charge of a trail crew, falling and clearing trees for new ski runs. Most of the staff are singles and quite a few of us hook up for the winter months. I was still unattached and had just met a recently arrived girl from Montreal. We had gone on a couple of dates but you can’t make a five month commitment based on that, so I suggested a ten day backcountry - camping trip, following the boundary trail between Banff and Jasper National Parks. This is remote and vey wild; only accessible by horseback or foot, we would have cell coverage on day one and day ten. We would have to depend on each other and I thought this would be a good way to get to know one other.

We started planning our route/provisions, etc. I didn’t want to scare her but I wanted her to be well informed about recent bear activity. Here are four months of headlines before we left (2021).

APRIL 12: WEST YELLOWSTONE GRIZZLY MAULING (FATAL)

APRIL 30: BLACK BEAR KILLS COLORADO WOMAN IN SURPRISING ATTACK

MAY 4: PROFESSOR KILLED BY FEMALE GRIZZLY IN ALBERTA

MAY 25: ANOTHER FATAL GRIZZLY BEAR ATTACK IN ALBERTA

JULY 6: CAMPER IN MONTANA DRAGGED FROM TENT AND MAULED BY GRIZZLY (FATAL)

JULY 31: BLACK BEAR RESPONSIBLE FOR ALBERTA’S THIRD BEAR RELATED FATALITY OF THE YEAR.

She knew I had hiked extensively in Alberta, British Columbia, Montana and Alaska and that I was proficient in the mountains. I asked her how she felt and she replied, I trust you.

I had learned my mountain skills from an old trapper, his father was Chinese and his mother was a native of the Shuswap Nation. He had trapped, hunted and outfitted all throughout the Canadian Rockies from Fort Steele to Jasper. He was so revered in the west, to my knowledge, he is the only Canadian to have a mountain named after him while he was still alive; Mount Lum in the Hughes Range. Pete was my Mentor, 3^rd Grandfather, and Friend.

Fast Forward to day 5: We were as far away from civilization as we could get, high in the mountains, Pete would have said, You are Now Hell and Gone. We came across a small clearing perhaps 250 meters across. We stopped at the tree line and waited until we were sure there was nothing in, or around the clearing. We started across with a light breeze in our face. Not ideal, I would prefer a trailing breeze; then whatever is in front of you can smell and hear you sooner and will usually get out of the way. But this time the forward breeze was in our favor, I could smell it before I saw it – ROTTING FLESH. I looked closer and about 40 M away, just before the far tree line I saw an unnatural mound of earth with a hoof sticking out. We had come across a partially eaten and hastily buried Elk. Rocky Mountain Elk are large, almost horse size. Only packs of Wolves, Mountain Lions and Grizzlies can bring one down and Mountain Lions and Grizzlies are the most likely to cover their kills (I was pretty certain it was a Grizz AND I KNEW IT WOULD BE CLOSE). I immediately thought back to the April 12^th Grizzly attack. The victim was an experienced guide; he came across a Grizzly protecting a Moose Kill. They found him later, his left arm chewed off and an empty can of Bear spray in his right hand. I turned to her and whispered, Turn around and walk back to the trees. I put my hand on her sweater collar and she led me back (walking backwards) my eyes never leaving the carcass and the far tree line.