It's Never a Mistake to Say Goodbye. My Daughter Encounters a Momma Bear with Cubs in the Wilderness

In one of his books, Kurt Vonnegut says something all adults know (and fear): "It's never a mistake to say goodbye." Anything can happen to our family and friends at any time. One thing I fear most is a car coming right at me at 60 miles per hour, the driver distracted by texting, the curse of our age. This is a real and present danger in America today, and I have a constant nagging fear for my safety and for those that I love. But what about encountering an angry momma bear in the Bob Marshall Wilderness, a bear protecting its two cubs? Most of us don't have to worry about that! But my daughter Carolan has to give it some thought!

Carolan works for the Montana Conservation Corps. In the past weeks, she has put in long hours organizing the summer program, interviewing candidates for crew leaders and crew members, setting up the training regime, attending to every little detail of the summer youth program. This past Friday she worked until 8 PM and came home, totally worn out, to her place just below Big Mountain outside of Whitefish, Montana. What gave her some sense of hope, energy, and renewal was the possibility of hiking the next day from the Spotted Bear Ranger Station, just south of the Hungry Horse Reservoir, to the Pentagon Cabin in "The Bob" (The Bob Marshall Wilderness, one of the great wilderness areas in the Lower 48). And that is what Carolan did. Early Saturday, she loaded up her backpack, got into the old Toyota, and headed down the East Side Road along Hungry Horse Reservoir to Spotted Bear. Near Columbia Falls, still in reach of cell phone towers, she called home to tell us of her plan. I talked to her briefly and noticed how happy she was. As I said goodbye, I said, "Watch out for the bears. And mountain lions!" We both laughed.

All Saturday we thought about her hike to Pentagon Cabin, where she would see two of her Forest Service friends, including Jeremy Rust. I pictured the lonely hike down an old trail, a couple of creek crossings--mostly a long hard slog. I didn't picture an encounter with bears.

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Late yesterday, Father's Day, Carolan called me to wish me a happy Father's Day and to tell about her quick trip into The Bob. Again she was near Columbia Falls, where she had called from the morning before. When I asked her about her trip, the story caused the hair on my neck to stand up.

Carolan had been in a serious encounter with a bear about 9 miles (some three hours) into her hike to Pentagon Cabin. At this stage of her hike, she was getting tired and her attention waned. Suddenly, she heard some rustling in the bushes ahead. She was thirty feet from a female bear and her two cubs--the most dangerous situation you can have when hiking alone in the wilderness. Carolan stopped, and then slowly started backtracking. At the same time, her finger took off the safety on her bear spray--something she has never had to do in all of her years of hiking in this wilderness. The Bob is one of the last places in American you can encounter all the large primeval predators: grizzly bears, mountain lions, grey wolves, and black bears. They are all to be feared and respected. All will attack and prey on humans if they are hungry, provoked, or protecting young. The worst situation she had ever encountered in The Bob happened a few years ago when a local chef, camping alone and not following good procedure, was attacked and nearly killed by a black bear. The man was mauled and would have died if Carolan and her crew had not come upon him and rescued him, calling in over their radio phone for helicopter rescue. So Carolan was aware that black bears, considerably smaller than grizzlies, could wreck havoc--they could kill you!

Carolan's slow retreat gave the bear a chance to retreat also. And after a while, Carolan felt it was safe to proceed up the trail, this time singing her bear song ("Oh Bear, Hey Bear!") and making lots of noise. All the while, her finger was on the trigger of the bear spray, and her heart was beating a hundred miles per hour.

In less than an hour Carolan arrived at the Pentagon Cabin, but Jeremy and his buddy were not back from their trail-clearing work yet. After about an hour, a young man came running up to the cabin carrying a bouquet of wildflowers for Carolan. Jeremy was happy to see her. And Carolan was relieved and so happy to see him. And boy did she have a story to tell!

Here's an image of Pentagon Cabin found doing a Google image search:

Source: http://www.summitpost.org/pentagon-cabin/596948

Carolan and an MCC Crew Save a Man Mauled by a Black Bear in the Bob Marshall Wilderness

My daughter Carolan called tonight with an incredible story. Yesterday, September 14th, near the Black Bear Creek area of the Bob Marshall Wilderness, Forest Service worker Mike Revis, Carolan, and the Montana Conservation Corps crew she was leading back to Spotted Bear, encountered a man who has just been mauled by a black bear. Mike came upon the man on a trail near Black Bear Creek. The man was bloody, dazed, and hurting badly. Twenty minutes after Mike came upon the man, Carolan and the MCC Crew arrived. The bear was still very close by, probably waiting around to finish the kill.

Mike and Carolan had radios and called for a medical helicopter to evacuate the injured hiker. Carolan, who has EMT certification, and Mike administered emergency first aid as they waited for the copter. The other MCC crew members helped with the first aid and and tried to secure the trail in case any other hikers would try to pass through (the bear was lurking very close by).

It wasn't that long before the helicopter arrived, with an EMT and a nurse aboard. Mike, Carolan, and the MCC members helped lift the injured man into the helicopter. Carolan tried to keep the man calm and warm  before the take off. Fairly quickly  the helicopter left for a hospital in Kalispell, Montana.

Meanwhile another radio call went out to the Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks Service. They soon arrived in another helicopter and decided that this dangerous bear would have to be put down. They located the beer very close to the site of the original attack, and dispatched it. The bear had bloody claws and was covered with bear spray. Sometimes you can't defend yourself with bear spray or even a gun when an attack happens suddenly. The dead bear was then loaded onto a helicopter and taken to a lab where the blood on its claws, the contents of its stomach, and other things will be analyzed.

Carolan got back to her home in Kalispell about 10:30 PM Friday after a day full of terror--and considerable excitement. The man who had been attacked survived and will be OK.

There were lots of heroes in this story--people who had been well-trained and who responded to the emergency properly: Mike, Carolan, the MCC crew, the Forest Service, the emergency medical helicopter personnel, and the crew from Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks. Courage plus training yielded a successful outcome.

The Bob Marshall Wilderness has lots of predators at the top of the food chain: wolves, mountain lions, grizzly bears, and black bears. In my mind, the black bear is the most dangerous to humans.

Text of Letter from Those Helping (Death of Mark Slovich)

For those interested in helping the family of Mark Slovich and the 2 boys who tried to save his life, Landon Decker and Jeremy Rust, my daughter Carolan forwarded this email to me:

Hello all --

 As all of you probably know by now, Mark Slovich died in a tragic and violent accident last week while hiking with Jeremy Rust and Landon Decker.  Among one of the things we are trying to do to support Landon and Jeremy in this particularly serious event, Erika and I purchased round trip flights to Philadelphia in order that those two could attend Mark's funeral. 

 Jeremy and Landon flew out of Spokane this morning.  The total cost for the tickets was $1300.  If you are friends with Landon, Jeremy or Mark, we are humbly asking for donations for reimbursement.  We will reimburse ourselves up to $1100 - $1200. 

 We will donate any overflow/excess to the Churchville Nature Center in Mark's memory.  This charity was recommended by his parents.  Additionally, as we track where and who the donations come from for these flights, a proportional overflow may be used for to purchase something for the employees at Spotted Bear in Mark's memory, if we as an employee group decided to do so.

 You can mail donations to :

 Aaron or Erika Klug
 c/o Spotted Bear Ranger District
 PO Box 190340
 Hungry Horse, MT 59919

 Thank you for the consideration, and please share this message with any relevant friends or family of these three men with whom I am not Facebooking this message --

 Aaron and Erika

Four Heroes in the Tragic Death of Mark Slovich

I don't have the whole story on the accidental hiking death of Mark Slovich, but this is what I heard: two friends were hiking with Mark Slovich in Utah a couple weeks ago when Mark fell and severely injured himself. Mark was an experienced hiker and outdoorsman, but anyone who has been in the wilderness knows things can happen. One of Mark's companions, Jeremy Rust, stayed with Mark, giving him first aid and comfort. The other fellow, Landon Decker, ran for help--some twenty miles!

Unfortunately, Mark Slovich died when help could not get there in time.

Mark's funeral would be held in his hometown of Holland, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia. Some of Mark's companions in the US Forest Service, in AmeriCorps, and in the Montana Conservation Corps wanted to attend the funeral but didn't have time to drive or funds to fly. This is when Aaron Klug and Erika Klug, a couple who worked at Spotted Bear in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, stepped up and gave money to Jeremy Rust and Landon Decker, allowing them to attend the funeral.

I sure hope that Mark's other friends will step forward and try to reimburse the Klug's for their generous act. I for one will send them a check. Here is where donations can be sent:


 Aaron or Erika Klug
 c/o Spotted Bear Ranger District
 PO Box 190340
 Hungry Horse, MT 59919

There were heroes amid this tragedy; I hope these acts of heroism bring comfort to the grieving Slovich family.

Carolan's Adventure in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness

For a day, my daughter Carolan was seemingly lost in "The Bob"--Montana's great and huge Bob Marshall Wilderness (a roadless tract of more than a million acres). This is the story as I know it right now. I'll add or change things as I find out the whole story.

I think it was this past Tuesday, August 23, 2011, when I talked to Carolan as she drove from Kalispell east on Rt. 2 to Hungry Horse, Montana. When she turned south onto the Forest Service road going past Hungry Horse Reservoir I said goodbye to her. At that point it was probably 1 PM.

Carolan then drove down the East Side Forest Service road of the long Hungry Horse Reservoir to the Spotted Bear Forest Service Cabin--I'm guessing she got there by 3 PM and talked to the people at the cabin about meeting up with her friends on a trail crew (I believe that 4 of her old friends are on that crew: Evan, Elisheba, Mark, and Barry). A ranger suggested a short cut for her to get to the crew: instead of walking the trail along the South Fork of the Flathead to Black Bear Cabin and then heading west on the south end of  Picture Ridge Trail, she should immediately get on the steep northern head of Picture Ridge Trail near Sarah Peak and locate her friends' camp site just down that trail ("just down that trail" might be a 7 to 10 mile hike!). This would involve a vigorous uphill hike, but would save her maybe 8 miles and lots of time--possibly 2-3 hours. Beware of shortcuts! I believe we first learned that when we read fairy tales as children!

Meanwhile, the ranger sent a radio message that the crew on Picture Ridge Trail (east of Swan Peak and Inspiration Point) was going to get a surprise visitor. That visitor, Carolan, never showed up that night and was presumed lost in the wilderness. Every crew in The Bob heard that radio message--not just Carolan's friends. Would the idea of being "lost" embarrass Carolan? I don't know. Of course she never was totally lost; Jim Bridger and Broken Hand Tom Fitzpatrick were never totally lost. And anyway, The Bob is one of America's largest wildernesses, and anybody, even Bob Marshall himself, could be disoriented for a while in this huge area.

After talking to the people at the Forest Service cabin, Carolan drove her car down to the Meadow Creek trailhead and began her trek, hiking over the wooden pack bridge (see image above) that spans a deep, beautiful  gorge.  After walking a mile or two, she crossed over the wilderness boundary into The Bob. She finally came to what appeared to be Picture Ridge Trail (but things are rarely marked in The Bob--that's just accepted by everyone who goes there) and headed up, only to find it impassable because of fallen trees. Somehow, trying to get through the trees, she lost the trail and found herself hiking downhill--which seemed wrong to her. Finally she came to a river (South Fork of the Flathead) and crossed, with the water up to her belly. She was carrying a heavy backpack, with food, water, sleeping bag, and tent, and trying to keep from being swept away by the deep and rushing water. For the first time in a while, she was felt a twinge of fear and tried to think of what to do if she was swept away. Her first thought was to find a way to wiggle free of her pack. Luckily, she didn't need to do that, and was finally able to reach the other shore. Carolan started thinking about how alone she was and how close to disaster she had just come.

On the other side of the river, Carolan bushwhacked farther, not seeing any clear sign of a trail, and came to an area with steep cliffs on both sides--an impassable area. At times she was wading on the edge of the river, steep cliffs above her, and deep blue water below--a very dangerous situation.

After an hour or so, Carolan went back, retracing her steps, recrossed the South Fork, again up to her belly in the wild rushing water, and hiked all the way back to where she first got disoriented. This time she located Picture Ridge Trail and, very late in the day, raced up that steep and demanding trail. As it was getting toward sunset, she felt exhausted by all the hiking and all the danger and uncertainty of the day. She hiked until it was almost dark, but there was no sign at all of her old friends. Then, she made the decision to hike back to her car. So in the twilight, and then the dark, she hurried down the trail back to the Meadow Creek trailhead.

What to do now? Carolan decided to drive until she saw a place to camp. But after a while, seeing no place to camp and getting a bit freaked out by all the events of the day, she decided to drive back to Hungry Horse and get a motel.

It's a long, dark drive along the Hungry Horse Reservoir, but she had driven it many times. After about an hour and a half of driving, she got to Hungry Horse and located a motel. When she knocked on the door and awakened a caretaker, she got the bad news that a room would cost $120 per night--money that she didn't have. Carolan turned down the offer, and as she returned to her car the lady said, "I'll pray for you!" but at that moment, exhausted and discouraged, Carolan needed a room at a fair price, not a prayer.

Carolan then decided to drive all the way back to Kalispell and try to get a room at Motel 6. Finally, around midnight, she was able to secure a $60 room. She flopped onto the bed and fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.

The next day, renewed and re-energized, she drove back to Spotted Bear then Meadow Creek, where she notified the rangers that she was not indeed lost. And then Carolan headed down the east side trail of the South Fork of the Flathead (keeping away from the unmaintained west side trail), hiking some 10 miles or so to the Black Bear Cabin. There, she met her old friends, who rejoiced that she was OK, and not indeed lost in  a million-acre wilderness.

And that is the story, as I have understood it, of Carolan's 2011 adventure in The Bob.#



There are a number of Youtube videos that show the South Fork of the Flathead.

Here's  a beautiful one:



Here's another Youtube video of the South Fork of the Flathead. This one has some views of the steep and dangerous cliffs that Carolan encountered:

Montana Conservation Corps--A Dad's Perspective

My daughter Carolan has worked as an MCC (Montana Conservation Corps) crew leader this summer and has lived in the Bob Marshall/Great Bear Wilderness. This past hitch she was near Inspiration Point and Sunburst Lake, rerouting and maintaining trails. I found this out last evening when she called me from the Spotted Bear Ranger Station. During the past ten-day hitch, she and her crew have lived in tents; in fact, they have lived in tents most of the summer. Most of the summer Carolan, Adam, and their crew (Lemmy, Evan, Barry, Elisheba, and Mark) have lived and worked near Strawberry Creek, just west of the Continental Divide. At times they camped by Sabido Cabin, and other times near a branch of Strawberry to the north of Sabido. If I understand correctly, Sabido is about 20 miles from Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, which is about 14 miles from the Morrison Creek/Skyland trailhead, where Carolan has parked her car most of the summer. In other words, she and here crew have lived a 2-day walk from what we in the "real world" (Carolan's words) think of as civilization.

As a Dad, I glory in the stories and photos that have come back our way to Northeast Ohio. I love that her food and mail come via mule train. I love the way these seven young people have learned to live and work together. They have done such good work in the Wilderness, a service to the state of Montana, the United States of America, and even Planet Earth itself. Presuming to speak for all these entities, I'll say, "Thank You!"

In the beginning of my daughter's MCC adventure, I worried about grizzly bears, mountain lions, black bears, grey wolves, and all the wild things that can potentially harm a person living in the wilderness. Turns out that they haven't had many encounters with dangerous wild animals, and when they see one they feel lucky, blessed. Carolan and her companions won't forget that rare glimpse of a grizzly browsing along Strawberry Creek. So I have stopped worrying so much about bears and mountain lions (still worry a little, I admit).

I've also worried a bit about their health. Say they broke a leg two days from help; or someone suffered a burst appendix or a thousand other health emergencies, big and little. So far they have escaped major medical problems. But I'm sure they've lived with a lot of minor problems, colds, headaches, sore throats, stomach aches, etc. These guys are tough hombres, who can't run to the medicine cabinet or doctor for every complaint.

Every day I check the weather in Carolan's vicinity, using the Weather Underground website. Of course there usually isn't a weather station right nearby, so I end up researching the weather in Hungry Horse or East Glacier Park or Choteau or someplace like that. I've noticed that fall is approaching in the Montana mountains and that night temperatures are often in the 30's (and these guys are usually in tents!). I guess the next hitch they will be sleeping at Spotted Bear, in cabins. On actual mattresses, for God's sake!

Another thing I do is study maps and handbooks about trails in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex. I also use Google to find images near where her crew works. I've even located some videos on Youtube that help me picture their work and living environment (there are several videos of small planes landing at the Schafer Meadows airstrip). I do other things, like check in with the MCC Krew blog, http://mcckrew.blogpost.com/ (which I think is so interesting and wonderful that it should be published as a book), and go to the Glacier National Park website and look at their many webcams. These images are not exactly what Carolan is experiencing, but she is not far away from these places.

My wife and I have discovered two mystery novels set in The Bob, near Schafer Meadows. One story, by Beth Hodder, is called The Ghost of Schafer Meadows; the other, just out, is called Stealing the Wild. Beth and her husband worked for the Forest Service for many years, living at Schafer Meadows and working throughout The Bob and know this landscape intimately. These books have also helped us understand my daughter and her crew's working and living environment. In a strange coincidence, we have discovered that Beth Hodder and I both grew up in Euclid, Ohio, and graduated from high school the same year. The website for her books is: http://www.grizzlyridgepublishing.com/.

So I have vicariously followed the adventures of Carolan and Adam's wilderness crew. And once this summer my wife Linda and I were able to visit the MCC office in Kalispell and then actually meet up with Carolan for a day at Glacier National Park.

All in all it has been great fun, a wonderful trip!

Daughter to Live in the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex

My middle daughter, CC, goes into the great Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex tonight in the next phase of her work with the Montana Conservation Corps and AmeriCorps. Tonight she'll be near the Spotted Bear Forest Service cabin, in the Great Bear Wilderness (part of Flathead National Forest). If there is a wilder place in the contiguous United State, I'd like to know what it is! This area has the largest population of grizzly bears in the lower 48, even more black bears, and many other kinds of large mammals--elk, moose, mountain goats and sheep, wolves, and the like. I think there are even mountain lions in the area.

Very soon, Carolan will move on to the Schafer Meadows Ranger Station, which is a day's walk (a long, hard day's walk!) from a road. But even that's not her final destination. From there, she goes even further into the wild--a 20-mile hike to the Strawberry Creek area, where a segment of the Continental Divide Trail is located. CC will be building and maintaining that trail, along with her fellow crew leader Adam and her crew (3 guys and a girl).

I greatly admire CC and her colleagues--so brave, adventurous. So full of strength, energy, and hope. Hurray for the Montana Conservation Corps! Hurray for AmeriCorps!