Chief Mountain saves life - my first grizzly bear encounter

Since it was our last day on the reservation Kinsey decided we should try one more time to figure out which trail leads to Chief Mountain as in one that we could navigate without a machete.

Chief Mountain

Our first stop was a trail over to a water feature that Kinsey had been wanting to explore. Turned out to be a great stop. Not so much because of the water feature but because we continued on the path until it opened up into a meadow where we found a mare, her yearling and foal.

I totally made a nuisance of myself jumping and tugging on the leash. I dare say, Kinsey was very unhappy with my performance. The horses wanted to come to Kinsey but my shenanigans kept spooking them away.

Despite me she got some decent photos of the horses.

We continued on up the road until we got to one of the last trails we hadn’t tried this trip. Turned out to be the winner. This trail takes right off going up. We hiked in for a couple of hours. That got us to where the flora turned alpine. The trail started to get a little dicey so Kinsey decided it was far enough. She’s not one to take chances when alone in the wild. I wasn’t making things any safer with my continued lunging after ground squirrels and failing to pay attention to her.

We turned around and headed back. Normally, Kinsey looks back on a trail, every now and again, to make mental markers. A trail can look very different going in the opposite direction. Turned out I wasn’t the only one not paying attention. The trail ran up and down ravines. While we were following one trail we were passing others behind us without notice. It wasn’t long before Kinsey was unsure of which trail to follow. I could tell she was getting seriously spooked.

We were probably the first ones up here since last year. With new grass and no traffic there were places where the trail disappeared altogether. We came to one of those grassy places and suddenly there were trails all around us. We tried one but it wasn’t too far before Kinsey was sure it was the wrong way. We returned to the grassy spot. Kinsey wasn’t even sure we supposed to be in this spot. We tried another route but the flora looked wrong, alpine instead of sub-alpine. We went back to the grassy spot yet again. This time Kinsey looked up at the “Old Chief” and said out loud “Chief, I need your help. I have lost my way. Can you help me?” No sooner were the words out of her mouth than she saw an innocuous wood block that for some reason she had mentally marked. She recognized it immediately. We went over to it and not far from it we found the trail down. From that point on there was no doubt we were on the right path. Maybe the Chief appreciated the dance she did for him the other day?

Off down the mountain we went. I could tell Kinsey was really relieved. I continued to be a brat pulling and tugging, still wanting to get one of those squirrels. I totally wasn’t paying attention but those squirrels. Kinsey is really good at spotting game. She says it isn’t so much good eyesight as it is a good eye. A good eye to notice something that out of place in the landscape. While I was being a brat she was noticing something very red in the green grass just in front of us. She knew it was either a cow or a grizzly.

It was a grizzly peeking through the bush at us.. Kinsey tried to get closer. She isn’t a wildlife photographer. Her longest lens is 300m. That is not a wildlife lens. Wildlife photographers use lenses 3 times that to get their photos of grizzlies. While she was trying to get closer I was catching on. I saw that bear and I went bonkers. Jumping, barking and growling. Well, so much for Kinsey’s photo op. That grizzly took off like a shot and disappeared into the forest. I’m in big trouble now. She told me in no uncertain terms we are going to get some professional help with my prey drive issues.

Big Grizzly Bear

I do get why Kinsey always keeps me on the leash when we are on a trail, letting me off only when we are in a clearing where she has high visibility. If I hadn’t been on a leash when we came upon that grizzly I would have chased it and somebody could have gotten hurt. Most likely me. But, Kinsey too. I could have high tailed it back to Kinsey bringing the bear with me. Hate it or not having me on a leash in certain environments is probably not a bad idea.

Well, for my last day on the Blackfeet Reservation this one was by far the most exciting. Tomorrow we will be packing up Clementine, hitching up Shadow and returning home. Honestly, I can’t wait for our next trip. This road tripping is fun stuff!

Ciao for now!
MOLLY MONTANA

©Kinsey Barnard

Hiking Chief Mountain US Customs Sucks

The wind started up in the night and by morning it was blowing a gale. Wind is not uncommon at St. Mary but this was some wild stuff. I thought popcorn popping on the roof all night was something. This wind made Clementine bob around like a cork on the water. I think I almost got seasick.

When we looked out the mountains surrounding St. Mary were socked in but when we looked north there was blue sky and sunshine. Kinsey decided we should go north to Waterton. We ate our breakfast and headed out a little before eight. There turned out to be two problems with her plan. 1) We arrived at the Chief Mountain crossing at 8:25 but the crossing doesn’t open until 9:00.  2) Kinsey had checked to make sure she had my rabies certificate but hadn’t checked the date, it was last years. Waterton is in Canada and the US requires a rabies certificate for re-entry. Kinsey spoke with one of the customs people. The gal she spoke to was aloof and purposely unhelpful.  Kinsey says US Customs officers are the most arrogant you will find anywhere in the world. She's been clearing customs since she was 18 so she's met a few. We had 20 minutes to wait for the border to open and there was no guarantee they’d let me back in the country. Kinsey made an executive decision and decided to heck with it. It was going to be windy in Waterton too. We headed back south.

Chief Mountain

Turns out, even though it was windier than anything I’ve experienced, we got a pretty nice hike. We found a couple of very cool tribal trails that go over to the base of Chief Mountain. Kinsey has a thing for Chief Mountain. She’s drawn to it like bees to honey. We hiked one trail as far as we could before we hit a water crossing that would require Kinsey to take off her boots. She didn't want to get her boots wet. It wasn't any problem for me. Kinsey said we would return when she had her water shoes to put on her delicate little feet.

Creek we needed to ford

When we got back to the car Kinsey almost got her legs chopped off at the shin letting me in the passenger side. A huge gust of wind hit just as I was jumping in and it drove that door right into her legs. OUCH! Good thing she had a little tuckus sticking out to act as a buffer. She had a heck of a time trying to get out from behind the door.

The Old Chief again

We headed back to the campground at St. Mary. We’d both had enough of the wind. Turned out there was no way to get away from it.

Much to my disappointment we spent the rest of the day around the campground. Kinsey tried to get her vet to fax over a copy of my rabies certificate but no luck there. I reckon she’ll try again tomorrow. My first international trip may have to be postponed. Bummer!

Kinsey did have a very interesting conversation with a tribal member about tribal politics. Very Machiavellian. Seems us white eyes aren’t the tribes’ only problem. Their own people are busy fleecing the general population. I see now why Kinsey is no fan of politics. She says she’ll be writing an opinion piece one of these days over on her blog TheLiberatedPhotographer.com.

Ciao for now,
MOLLY MONTANA

©Kinsey Barnard

The Blackfeet Nation Montana My First Road Trip

May 27, 2014 was the day that my first ever road trip began. Kinsey Barnard, fine art photographer and my mom, is no stranger to road trips in the motorhome. Me, well, I’m a road trip virgin. Not only was this a momentous occasion for me but for Kinsey too. This would be her first road trip since Lakota crossed the rainbow bridge. She just couldn't seem to face the idea of traveling without him. They had shared so much on the road together.

It took Kinsey forever to get Clementine, that’s the motorhome, road ready. First there was the de-winterizing and then there were the systems checks. Gotta make sure no pipes got froze, the water heater works, the refrigerator works, the water pump works, the range works, the microwave works, the john works. Gads, there’s a lot of stuff the old gal has to do. We even took Shakedown Run to Glacier. Then there is the packing and provisioning.

When you live in a place like Montana, where the temps can go well below zero you pretty much have to empty your RV for winter. Then in spring you have to pack it all back in. Kinsey whizzed back and forth, in and out of the house so many times I got dizzy just watching. You shoulda seen the amount of food she packed away. Our trip was to last a week. She packed up enough food for a month! I really shouldn’t say anything because a love of good food is one of the many things we have in common.

Finally, the big day arrived. Kinsey had chosen St. Mary, Montana for our first trip. St. Mary is located on the east side of the Rockies on the Blackfeet Reservation. Many people are not aware that when they are at St. Mary they are guests of the Blackfeet. People are mainly focused on the entrance to Glacier National Park. Kinsey is no great fan of the US National Parks because they don’t allow dogs on the trails. Lucky for me, if a place doesn’t allow dogs she doesn’t care to go there.

Bright and early, maybe more like 9:30, Kinsey hooked up Shadow, that’s our little Ford Focus tow car, and we were ready to rumble. What was the first stop we made? The grocery store! I should be careful here, the stop was for cookies for me. From the Flathead, the road you take is 2 East through the Marias Pass and over the Continental Divide. The creeks were rising that’s for sure. Everywhere along the way water was gushing down the mountainsides. We stopped along the Middle Fork of the Flathead River for a picnic. The river was screaming. Kinsey had stopped here several times with Lakota but said she’d never seen anything like it.

Clementine and Shadow at the Northfork of The Flathead

There are two ways you can get to St. Mary. You can go through East Glacier taking 49 over to 89 or you can go the long way round by going all the way into Browning. Browning is sort of the capital of the Blackfeet Reservation. From Browning you go north on 89. There are length restrictions on 49 so if you are in an RV you’ll probably want to take Browning route. Kinsey's first time she accidentally got on 49 before she realized she shouldn’t be and there was no turning back. At that time, the sign advising the length limitations was after you were already at the point of no return. Let’s just say it was one of her more hair raising adventures. Glad to have missed it. Anyway, the drive over to St. Mary was nothing short of gorgeous.

Through the windshield 89 north Blackfeet Reservation

We got into St. Mary around two and checked into the KOA. Kinsey doesn’t usually stay at KOA’s but it’s still early in the season so there weren’t too many people. The other large park is up on a hill and the wind blows up there like nobody’s business. The first order of business was to go over to the Duck Lake Lodge and pick up a recreation permit for the Blackfeet Reservation. You need one of these if you plan to fish, hike or camp on the Blackfeet Reservation. The road to Duck Lake has some good vantage points for viewing Chief Mountain, a sacred mountain to the Blackfeet and an endless fascination for Kinsey.

Chief Mountain from the Blackfeet Reservation

After picking up the permit we drove around the area a little. It wasn’t long before we found ourselves on a road that said we needed to be either a Blackfeet tribal member to pass or have permission. There was a number to call for permission but it was out of service. Did Kinsey turn back? Oh, no, not that princess of the road less traveled. She figured she’d ask for permission if someone stopped us, nobody did. We passed a few vehicles and Kinsey gave the single finger wave. If you know the wave you’re pretty much accepted everywhere out in the country. Be careful though, don’t use the wrong finger.

In the early evening we took a walk down the road on the west side of Lower St. Mary Lake. It was a beautiful warm evening.

Lower St. Mary Lake - Blackfeet Reservation

  So far, I’m thinking I’m liking this road trip business. Can't hardly wait for tomorrow.

Be sure and check out Kinsey's new blog The Liberated Photographer.
 

©Kinsey Barnard

Just got back from my first ever roadtrip

Just wanted to tell you to stay tuned. Kinsey and I just returned from seven days at St. Mary's on the Blackfeet Reservation. This was my first ever road trip. I am way stoked. I wannna go out again ASAP! Got lots of stories and Kinsey took lots of super photos to back my stories up. I hope you didn't miss Kinsey's latest cool story TOOLEY BLUE SKUNK Should have my first St. Mary post up in a day or so. You won't want to miss it. Ciao for now Molly Montana.

Blackfeet Nation-Lords of the Plains

Need I say more?

Was over to the Blackfeet pow wow last weekend. Hopefully will have some good images of the event.


©Kinsey Barnard Photography

Chief Mountain-Blackfeet Country

On the very northeast corner of Glacier National Park you will find Chief Mountain rising up to meet the sky. At just over 9,000 ft. it isn’t a particularly high mountain but it is certainly a majestic one.

Chief Mountain June 2010

Chief Mountain has been a sacred mountain to Native American tribes, particularly the Blackfeet, for hundreds of years. The Blackfoot name for the mountain is Ninastiko. The mountain was first seen by white explorers in the late 1700s and was known as "Kings Peak" on maps produced in the United Kingdom in 1795. Merriwether Lewis, co-leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, saw the mountain in 1805 and called it "Tower Mountain". The name was changed in the late 1800s to reflect the Blackfeet naming of the mountain, which was "Great Chief".

Chief Mountain June 2010

The mountain has long been a place where young Native Americans have gone for their vision quest.  A vision quest is a ritual in which an individual travels to an isolated area for the purpose of entering a trance, during which a life path or destiny is revealed. It is quite literally a quest for a vision.

Blackfeet Reservation June 2010

The image above is of the Northern entrance to the Blackfeet Reservation near the Canadian border. You can see Chief Mountain off in the distance.

There is a loop that one can drive, starting from St. Mary, that takes you up to the Piegan border crossing into Alberta and Cardston and then west to Waterton International Peace Park from there back south through the Chief Mountain border crossing. All along this route there is hardly a time when you are out of sight of Chief Mountain and it was interesting to me to watch it change shape as I followed the loop.

Chief Mountain

If you ever find yourself in this part of the world I highly recommend you take this little junket it's quite beautiful.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography

Blackfeet Horses-American Drinkers of the Wind

Although, I set out for Glacier National Park I found myself more intrigued with the Blackfeet Reservation. On the east side of the park you are on reservation land whether you want to be or not. For some reason I was constantly drawn to the mystique of the reservation.

It's hard to, at least for me,  imagine American Indians without horses and yet prior to circa the 1730's the Blackfeet had never seen one. The Blackfeet who roamed the great plains of northern Montana and southern Alberta were among the last Native Americans to know the wonders of the horse. The time before horses was known as "Dog Days" and all portage was accomplished using dogs. All hunting was done afoot. Acquiring horses was a tremendous boon.

Horses were in fact native to North America in prehistoric times but they died out between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. Horses were reintroduced to the continent by European explorers. Because of their geographic location the Blackfeet were amongst the last Indian tribes to come into contact with the Europeans. The Blackfeet first became aware of the horse whilst battling the Shoshone from the south around 1730.

The photo below is a photo of a photo which can be found just inside Glacier National Park at St. Mary. It was taken in 1914 and I think it's simply romantic and stunning.

Blackfeet at St. Mary 1914

On my recent visit to the Blackfeet Reservation and Glacier Park I decided to look around the reservation for some descendants of the ponies that once chased buffalo across the plains. June is prime foaling time so I was not disappointed.

North of St Mary I took a dirt road to, I knew not where, and discovered a small herd of horses with several foals.

Blackfeet Horses June 2010

Horses, as well as cattle, are pretty much free range and can be found grazing just about anywhere. In the small band that I found was a very new paint foal. Two things I found very interesting about this encounter. First, these horses wanted no part of me and started nervously milling around and moving away as soon as I stopped the car. In the photo below you can see three generations of Blackfeet horses; the sorrel mare, the new foal and the foal's older sibling.

Blackfeet Horses June 2010

The other thing that was interesting was how quickly the band joined ranks to shield the little paint colt from view. What made this so interesting to me is that there were other foals in the band but it was as though this little pinto foal was a crown prince and to be guarded and protected from the likes of me. It reminded me of the way elephants move to surround their young. Clearly a herd instinct but the little pinto was the obvious object of their concern.

June 2010

When they got far enough away they stopped and seemed to relax going back to their grazing. The little paint was a fine looking foal with lovely long legs and wild blue eyes. You can't see them in this photo but trust me they were very blue and very wild. He was a prince!

June 2010

This next fellow, whilst not a paint, I thought was a particularly regal the way he carried himself. It was easy to envision him prancing into battle with a Blackfoot warrior astride his back.

June 2010

In addition to it being foaling time it was also wildflower time and this fellow was looking quite beautiful trotting off in a field of flowers. But, that was the thing, they were always trotting or galloping off! I'm thinking these horses are not getting a lot of use these days because they seemed wild as March hares to me. You'd have a dickens of a time catching one.

June 2010

I didn't really put any serious time into photographing these marvelous beasts but now I wish that I had done. I'm thinking I may have to come back next June and try again in earnest. My imagination saw the wind drinkers of the the Great Plains and the Blackfeet who rode them.  My heart yearns to honor them! All you have to do is look into their eyes and see the what was and what might have been.

©Kinsey Barnard Photography