The Grizzly Bear Part 1: The Incident

A couple of years ago my friend and I went to Jasper National Park to try climb up to the Brazeau glacier. We had  very limited success with that trip but on the way we stayed at the Poboktan Creek back country campsite. At the time I thought that this would be an excellent trip to introduce the kids to backpacking. The trail is about 8km and well maintained. It has some uphill and downhill but nothing that is too intense. It follows Poboktan Creek and so there is plenty of water available for drinking and so on. The campsite itself is primitive but it does have a couple of picnic tables, a firepit and a food cache stand to hoist your food up into the trees. There's even a toilet! Seemed like the perfect destination.

For 2 weeks we went over our gear and did some test hikes. My wife agonized over the menu. We were only going to be gone 48 hours but there was still lots of planning involved. I called the park office and reserved our campsite for two nights and paid the back country fees.
On Thursday evening after work we hit the road. We stayed that night at Cache Campground in William A Switzer Provincial Park and then on Friday morning we continued on to Jasper. The trail head is about 45 minutes south of Jasper town site on the Icefields Parkway. We arrived, got geared up and were on the trail around 1:30 in the afternoon. I had told the kids to make as much noise as they wanted because that was the best way to let bears know we were in the area. Generally if they know you are there they will avoid you. As we went down the trail we did come across some bear sign (tracks and poop) but that is not unusual. I usually see it in any hike we have been on the in the past. Generally it just reminds you to keep making noise and stay aware. In fact in all the hiking I have done I have not so much as even SEEN a bear, not even from a distance.

The hike up the trail was pretty uneventful. We rested a few times for a drink and some snacks. There was a great little spot by the creek we rested for a while. The kids splashed in the creek and we cooled off in the breeze. Around 5:00 we arrived at the campground. I had a quick look around to make sure there was no sign of bear activity and everything was in order. We took off our packs and rested a bit. Me and my daughter took off our hiking boots and put on sandals to let the feet get a break. I showed the kids how the bear cache worked and then told them all to take whatever food they may have out of their backpacks so we could consolidate it and hoist it up into the cache later.
I hauled my pack down to the tent pad which is about 50m from the picnic tables where we would be doing our cooking and then I grabbed the tent pegs from my daughter's pack and proceeded to start setting up the tent. My wife came down with her pack and I asked her to give me a hand put the tent poles in. We were just about done when the kids came over.
"There's a bear over there," my son whispered.
"What?" I asked, shocked.

"There's a grizzly bear over there," he said again. I looked over to the picnic tables and sure enough there was a huge brown grizzly sniffing around the site! I found out later that the kids had been sitting over by the tables having some trail mix when they heard some movement. My son saw the bear's head as it came through the bush. It was chewing on some branches in the bush. They both calmly left and came over to us.
We stood in our little group and watched as the bear began nosing around where half our gear was. I luckily had my bear spray still attached to my pack so I got that ready. We decided to make it known that we were in the area. We started to speak loudly but calmly. This technique is supposed to let the bear know you are there. Sometimes it is enough to scare them away as they generally try to avoid human contact. I'm not sure if it was the sound of the creek rolling by and he couldn't hear us or what but he barely acknowledged we were there. I think he knew it. Turns out something else had piqued his interest.
"The food's on the table," my wife announced. It was. Since we were still getting unpacked and next up on the agenda was supper we had not even had the chance to get the food bags up into the trees. Generally when hiking, you stash your food when you go to bed or when you are leaving the campsite. It is not something you do the moment you get into camp! Looking back though it may have been a good thing. The bear started going through everything!
I got the kids and my wife to move as far back into the campsite as possible and we assessed the situation. It became apparent after about 15 minutes that he wasn't going to be going anywhere soon. A couple of times I lost sight of him but it turned out that he was still around. He was swatting at my daughter's backpack. I saw my son's shoe in its mouth once. We had some bagels he was munching on.
I became concerned that once he was through the buffet we had left there he may come over to our tent and start looking for more. We decided that it was best if we just left. I was concerned because all I had on my feet were sandals and socks. My hiking boots were up at the picnic table. When I saw him carry off our bright orange food bag into the bush I said:
"OK. Here's what we'll do. We'll take the two packs we have, we will follow the creek downstream until we hit the main trail and get the hell out of here."

This is where I really need to give my kids a big shout out. My son's biggest worry was that his teddy bear was up there and we would have to leave him behind. My daughter was extremely calm and cool. We hoisted the gear on our backs and off we went. It was a muddy, wet slog through the bush in sandals but that that was the least of my concerns. We got out of the area and then took a break. I was a little leery of the bushwhacking because that is how all these survival stories go. Luckily cool thinking and the kids' knowledge from a couple of years of Junior Forest Wardens gave them the confidence we needed to push on. After about a kilometre we still had not hit the trail but we took a break and assessed what we dide have. Map and compass, matches, shelter material and lots of drinking water the creek would provide. It was about this time the reality set in and the kids had a little cry. We assured them that we would be OK. We pushed on and suddenly off to the right I thought I could make out trees that had been cut down by a chainsaw. We had found the trail! We were about 2km from the campsite.
From there we bee lined it back to the trail head arriving there about 8:30pm. The adventure pretty

much over we headed back to Jasper where we got a hotel for the night, showered up and I spoke to the Warden, Steve Malcolm about what had happened. He was very understanding and told me it was very unusual for bears to enter the campsites. He said we were right in our decision to leave. He was going to head up there the next day and retrieve what he could. I told him about the teddy bear and he said they would keep a special eye out.
Later on the next day Mr. Malcolm and another officer, Barbara, showed up with our gear. I have to say I was quite grateful especially when I learned that they had hiked in. I had assumed they would go on horseback. He told me that that he was hoping to see the bear. Apparently after it left our campsite it continued up the trail to toward Waterfalls campsite another 5 km up the trail. My son's teddy bear had its head ripped off but we think it's repairable.

TO BE CONTINUED!

Hiking Prep 2012: Keeping the Batteries Charged

On the trip in August I am planning on doing some "live blogging" from the trail. I just gave up my BlackBerry phone and have joined Team Android with a Samsung Galaxy S3. This device now gives me an 8 MP camera and video capability. I also downloaded the WordPress app so I feel that once I get the hang of using the onscreen keyboard I should be in a good position to send posts from the field with a small but powerful platform.
Now the big issue: Batteries! How will I keep the batteries charged on a 6 day trip through the back country?

One option is to not worry about it! I do not know how much cell phone coverage I will even have. It will at best be spotty if we are able to get up high enough. At worst I may get some on the final day or two as we approach Grande Cache.

My plan is to record blog entries on the phone and save locally. If we get in range of a tower I should be able to upload them and set times for their publication. In this manner I would solve battery issues by only turning on the phone to type, photograph and upload.

I have considered a few of the solar chargers available through the likes of a Mountain Equipment Co-Op. These are basically a battery pack this charged by solar and then you plug your device in and charge from the battery pack.

This weekend we are doing a 2  night backpack in Jasper. I will take my phone along and do a test run.  After that I should be in a better position to make a  decision.

Hiking Prep 2012: Kleskun Hill Park

In preparation for our first family backpacking trip ever we have been using Kleskun Hill Park as our training ground. Kleskun Hills is located about 15 minutes east of Grande Prairie along Hwy 43. I like to use it as there is a nice trail going around the perimeter and a number of hills to go up and down to build up those leg muscles as well as get a good feel for the backpack and how it rides on your back.

Kleskun Hills is a protected area that is off limits to off road vehicles. Any place designated as off limits to ATV's, quads etc. is alright in my books! The unique thing about the Kleskun Hills is that they have been exposed due to weather and erosion. It reminds me of the badlands of Drumheller, Alberta though on a much smaller scale. It is very dry and cactus grows in among the hills. While we were out there some were in flower. There are also lots of Saskatoon bushes and we even found some wild raspberries and a couple of strawberries.