bear attack not far away. The victim had
been life-flighted out in very tough shape,
but a buddy who had stayed with him
was now alone, except for the airplane
circling. These guys were trying to reach
him before dark to walk him out. Our
help wasn’t needed, so we kept hiking.
After reaching our pickup, we drove
to a trailhead where another buddy was
hunting. His truck was gone, but a Game
and Fish truck was there and drove out
ahead of us. Soon, they stopped in the
middle of the road, and two guys hopped
out in the only place on the mountain
with cell service. Turns out they were
two other buddies of the victim who had
hiked out for help. Luckily, they had met
someone on the trail who ran out for help,
because they got lost themselves and had
just made it out at dark. They didn’t have a
flashlight or any survival gear, just a can of
bear spray each. So, while we visited with
the warden, we listened to them call their
wives and the victim’s wife. Listening to
the emotional calls and hearing them say,
“We don’t know. He was alive when we
left him,” was pretty darn sobering. We
gave them all the extra drinks and food
we had, told them where we were camped,
and offered to help them in any way pos-
sible. Through further contact with them,
we learned that their buddy survived, had
three surgeries in Billings, Montana, and
then returned home to have several more.
Another bad episode in 2018 hap-
Encounters with grizzlies, especially close ones, are intense to say the least. And,
when they are over, they can leave you feeling both physically and mentally drained.