Afternoon Pond
Crouching along an alpine pond, I took this image in the Beartooth Mountains over Labor Day weekend. Though I’ve been to the area a number of times in the past, this was my first trip solely to camp and explore about on foot. Home to the highest peak in Montana, the Beartooths offer the full spectrum of wilderness geography - from technical mountaineering to languid alpine meadows. If not for the temperament of weather at 11,000 feet, one might imagine it as a peaceful place. And it was, for about 5 minutes…
On a side note, two close friends camping just across the range from us had a large grizzly walk into their remote lakeside camp at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Shouting did no good, and only after discharging a firearm into the air at 25-30 yards did the critter back off. Luckily, it was spooked enough to swim across the lake…though they were surprised by its speed and said trying to outrun one in a canoe would be futile. Gotta love the wilds.
Intriguing photo, love the color palette and it even has a painterly feel. Intriguing story too, and somehow I knew you were going to mention…”Grizzlies”! In your photo, it almost seems as if one of those boulders in the middle ground, might just move and surprise….grizzly. So glad to hear you did not see one, and also glad to hear your friends are safe after their encounter. How scary that must have been!
We spent 2wks in August visiting my parents and touring and hiking in Glacier. We only saw black bears and grizzlies from afar, but fellow hikers saw them up close. They seemed to be very busy eating tons of berries, but it makes it difficult to feel completely comfortable out hiking in their territory. Always a bit on edge. Glacier/Montana is a magnificent place.
Beautiful light in this image. It is that changeable weather that makes the alpine regions such a magical place; and offers such great photographic opportunities.
Oo la la! Love the colors. Nice to see you posting again!
You have a way of capturing an angle that makes the viewer feel as though they are sitting right there. Great photo, Cody, beautiful spot.
Beautiful, and a nice story. Wow, a grizzly in the wild, that’s way cool. Every now and then a bear gets up from Slovenia across the mountains into Carinthia. We’ve even built a bridge across a highway, 100 meters broad, to accommodate their migration, and although they are protected by law, I suppose the few end up getting shot.
@Diane - Hey there stranger. Oh yeah, it’s me who’s been the stranger! Glad to be back, I missed it… Still a bit intermittent, but it feels good to be making photos again. I’ve seen some of your Glacier pics, very cool. I’m happy you were able to get out this way for a visit.
@Roberta - Thanks for your visit and comment, I’ve fallen in love with the elevation and can’t wait to get back to photograph some more! Wish I’d taken more on this last trip, but much like my recent trip to Utah, I was too busy just enjoying being there.
@K-Bax - Happy to be back, Kerri. Hope you had a safe and fun trip to Europe, the photos I’ve seen have been fantastic! When you and your family decide to make a grand US trip, be sure to visit MT!
@Vicki - Good running into you and Dave in Red Lodge, nice little surprise. As for the pic, I just have to say that if anyone would have come by and seen me crawling around in the grass they would have laughed. Kinda makes me laugh at myself just thinking about it…
@Andreas - We also have the over- and underpasses for critters to migrate, though not in a lot of places where they’re needed. There are a lot of bears around here if you ever get bored…
If I remember correctly, 6 grizzly attacks within 50 miles of my house two years ago! Beautiful creatures, but respect and awareness are mandatory.