Mounds of snow spotted the slopes, despite the 65-degree days. Caribou sprawled there, cooling from the unseasonably warm sun. Sometimes the white spots moved. Peering through binoculars, we spied some of the park's 2,500 Dall sheep, the only species of wild white sheep in the world. Usually the sheep were bachelor herds of rams, with their trademark long, curling horns.
Blueberries grow here, attracting the grizzlies.
Their scat betrayed their presence, but by yelling we avoided chance encounters. By Day 3, Dave and I decided that we needed a lookout that would help us spot bears from a safe distance. My brother spied a flat spot high on a bluff, perfect for our little tent. Filling our water bottles with filtered river water for dinner and breakfast, we sweated and climbed the rocky slope for a night on a mountain ridge. At the top, we set camp and began exploring.