Lions and Tigers and Bears - Oh My!

Wednesday Evening, Aug. 4
I plan to begin walking toward Teton National Park to spend some time there and then continue eastward on Highway 26. Luckily, I have a friend of a mutual acquaintance living in Crowheart, Wyoming which is 116 miles from here. I am planning to spend the night when I finally get there but I'm not exactly sure when that will be.

The internet may be out for some time and if so, I will be unable to blog. If you look at a map of Highway 26 from the Teton Park area you will see it is rather remote. And speaking of remote - I have been very seriously warned about bears. I have been told by several knowledgable people that I am about to begin walking through grizzly country which I did not expect when I began. In my planning I thought that by skirting to the south of Yellowstone I would only have to deal with black bears - but I was seriously wrong. It makes me wonder if I should go on to Yellowstone where there will at least be more people. Camping alone in a little tent with bears prowling around will definitely keep me spooked. In preparation I have bought bear spray, I will keep a clean camp with my food stored away from the area, and I will definitely sleep with one eye open. I am sure some of you reading this from the comfort of your home may find this humorous - but for me - it seriously unnerves me as I enter this section of my walk. All I can do is continue forward and deal with each day as it comes. Hopefully, I will have some good stories for the grandchildren.

I think I read once that a grizzly can smell 500 times better than a human. I wonder if it can smell fear?

Just kidding - NOT!