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Adventures in Bear Country

By: Kathy Marie
Trip Date: Summer 2000

There was the time…
We forgot our fuel pump. We were up Goodell Creek for 3 days. With Mt. Despair looming in the background, it promised to be soggy, cold trip. What I would have given for a spoonful of your split pea soup is immeasurable.

Then there was the time…
A black bear decided to stalk us. The bait we wore on our backs was obviously too good for him to resist. When we escaped the stealthy marauder's moves, we were feeling more than thankful to be at camp that night munching on your organic fare.

Then there was the time…
We had two miles to go to get back to camp. After a 14 mile day we encountered a hiking party with a boy who had just torn his ACL - Ouch! After 6 hours of carrying him uphill on a litter, my mouth would start to water just thinking of your Fiesta Pasta.

But…
Mostly there were the times the meadows full of flowers smelled so musky it was hard to breathe it all in, and the water in the creeks glistened with such pureness you wanted to be engulfed by it, and the peaks were so huge and majestic you felt like you could reach out and touch them, and the trees, with their arms reaching towards the heavens and their trunks set firmly in the earth, were so wise you could feel their power.

Thank you, Mary Jane, for making this summer possible for all of us, and for your support in helping the search for the 'Lost Grizzlies' of the North Cascades.

Peace,

Kathy Marie