So we're cruising along on the trail enjoying the views (Norah is napping) and we round a corner into a basin and we see groups of people moving quickly along the trail or trying to scramble up the steep mountainside. We immediately see why - a large grizzly with two cubs in tow is coming down the mountain and crosses the trail.

We stood there amazed at how close people were to the bear to take pictures (I thought for sure we were going to see a mauling). A group we had passed caught up to us and we stuck close to them because they all had bear spray (and I figured if push came to shove I could probably outrun a few of them ;-) ). The mama bear paid no attention to the hikers as she was 'grubbing' (turning over huge rocks to look for grubs) and wandering around the basin foraging for food. She finally took a downward course long enough that we could hightail it by on the trail (this was a section of trail along the steep mountainside, so it was pretty much impossible to go off trail to give her a wide berth). We always love seeing wildlife, but this one was a smidgen too close for comfort!