Inside the Suitcase

Bears, Glaciers, Singing Hikers Oh My! / March 08, 2010

WARNING: You are entering Grizzly Country. The signs were posted everywhere. Charlie and I had just pushed past the steep uphill beyond the trailhead and rounded the first trail intersection. Iceberg Lake, left 2.9 miles. Ptarmigan Tunnel, straight ahead, 4.8 miles.

There was a bear jam ahead. We stopped to take a look and, sure enough, there she was. It was a big mamma bear and her fuzzy little cub, foraging for berries below the trail. People had their binoculars out and we were even visited by one of the park rangers. He had come to check out a report of a bear sighting in the area.

With bated breath and sweaty palms, I continued following Charlie up the trail to Ptarmigan Tunnel. The crowds thinned out dramatically at this point. It was straight up and you could feel the bears staring at you the entire time. You knew they were there, just hiding.

Getting past the initial incline seemed like forever. Finally, we leveled out a bit for a beautiful view of the Montana Rockies behind us. The park ranger who was scoping out the area caught up to us. I felt so relieved. The rangers in Glacier National Park carry industrial-sized cans of bear spray clipped to their belts. You know, to be ready, just in case. So, my strategy at that point, was to try my hardest to keep up with the fast clip of our new park ranger friend.

Among the amazing things we saw, like bears and glaciers, we were equally amazed when we had a celebrity sighting on the trail! High above treeline, overlooking Ptarmigan Lake, we find ourselves in a  bowl  carved out from an old glacier. Suddenly, we hear singing. Not just singing, but beautiful singing. The acoustics in this glacial bowl were amazing! Angelic songs from Sound of Music began to reverberate through the  bowl. Our gaze turned toward the hikers, a few switchbacks above us. Who could that be?, we asked each other.

Now with the great Ptarmigan Tunnel in sight at the top of the ridge, we forge ahead, curious to see if we will run into the singing hikers above. With the hot sun beaming down on us, we finally are about to pass each other. It was a family, led by the father in front, 3 or 4 children in the middle, and the mother at the tail end. All of them touching, hand-to-shoulder, single-file, smiling. Immediately, I felt as though I knew the man from somewhere. Was he someone I know from Austin? Then he spoke. I know that voice from somewhere!, I said to Charlie. We pass the family and less than one second later, Charlie whips around and confirms, That was Jack Hanna! Exactly! That is how we knew him. He has made countless appearances on the David Letterman and Jay Leno shows as the zoologist that brings out exotic animals for show-and-tell. As we made our descent back to the trailhead, we could still hear them singing.

Special note: When we got home, Charlie googled Jack Hanna and sure enough, he has a home in Glacier Park. He also found a You Tube video of them and apparently the children were the great-grandchildren of the real Captain Von Trapp, featured in Sound of Music! Amazing!

Regina Kubelka
Austin, Texas

Posted by Mackenzie

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