In the footsteps of grizzlies

If you have ever been in bear country before you know where to go and where not to go. You do not walk through densely packed new growth where the visibility is 2ft in all directions. You do not walk along riparian environments or near berry bushes. Yet, what if your job is to track grizzlies? Then you would go to where the bears are and you would seek out the environments where every ounce of your body tells you not to go. To the dark corners of the forest where the dead trees make a mazelike framework and the new growth covers up the exits. You do this not with a hope but with an expectation of seeing a fresh track, bed site, marked tree, or scat.
Bears are movers and easily cover 50km in a day. That is 50km over multiple 5-6,000m mountains and through some of the roughest country on this continent. When I started this research the large carnivore expert for BC told me, “You’re doing the impossible”. We are tracking two sub-adult male grizzlies that do not have established territories. Young males travel farther and faster than any other sex or age group in the grizzly family.
After releasing the bears they immediately proceeded to head to the tops of the nearest mountains. We have found their bed sites, seen where they dug for food, walked in their footprints. Now after a week of tracking them they are headed in opposite directions. Koda, is tracking in a near straight line to the west heading for the snow covered mountains. The other, Espen, has been chased to the north by a large black bear. Espen has now crossed 2-3 mountains and is proceeding up a ravine headed for the higher elevations.
I thought I would be doing this research in shorts but I now find myself bundled up in layers of polythermals as we ascend into and well beyond the snowline. Tomorrow, we will head out after Koda who has been circling an area for the last 2 days. We will be extremely careful to stay downwind of the site and to make frequent VHF checks to ensure that we do not walk in on our bear. At present, I can only guess as to what Koda is circling, at that high of an elevation…a carcass? Possibly…We will soon find out!
I hope this finds you all well and enjoying you summer as much as I am. Until next week, we’re here in British Columbia doing the impossible.

The Release

The release was truly a rush. In the morning we tranquilized five black bears. One bear that was 100+lbs came instantly awake while we were placing it in the cage for transport. So I grabbed it by the back of its neck and forced it into the cage while one of the managers retrieved a catchpole in order to help remove its claws from the edge of the cage. I acted out of instinct but when the manager told me to just hold it until she got the catchpole; I really started to think that maybe my instinct wasn’t working in my favor.
Then the moment arrived to tranquilize the grizzlies. The head wildlife veterinarian for BC took blood samples and assisted me with gauging how tight to make the GPS collars. I was rather daunted by the responsibility placed on me as I muscled all of the bolts as tight as possible on the collars. Finally, we lifted one bear at a time and placed them inside the cages that we would use to transport them to Lillooet. It was here that the veterinarian said, “Ryan, this is your project you go in the cage first”. It may sound trivial but the honor of walking inside of the bear cage first carrying a grizzly that you will track for the next 5-6 months was an amazing feeling. I pulled the mostly sleeping bear inside the cage with me and adjusted his body to insure he was in the best position. The same procedure was repeated with the other grizzly and then the trailers were hitched to our vehicles and off we went.

Oops.

We tranquilized two black bears (Cassie and Royal) today in order for us to tattoo and ear tag them. Tranquilizing them was “difficult” to put it mildly. The bears were in a cage with 15 other black bears and when we entered the enclosure they got very worked up. We broke the first needle while attempting to tranquilize Royal and after that there was no way to calm the bears down enough to successfully inject the drug. Now you might think you are brave. You may even think you’re a badass but let’s be honest you probably wouldn’t go head to head with a scared/pissed off bear. Well that is what ended up happening. We cornered the one bear and attempted to administer the drug but again without luck. At this point the bear was howling, roaring, and foaming at the mouth. So we decided to chase the bear into a smaller enclosure. My job was to open the door to the smaller enclosure as the wildlife shelter managers chased the bear inside. Yes, inside the smaller enclosure with me! The bear came running into the small enclosure and then charging right past me. This is the point where I need to be leaving the enclosure but realized that I had locked the door on my way in…A door whose locks are designed so that they cannot be opened from the inside. That’s embarrassing! Ultimately, we got both of the bears tranquilized and then released them in the backcountry. We planned to release a few this weekend but it is hunting season until the 15th and apparently bears are the prize that everyone is going after. So we’re not going to release our bears until hunting season ends.

Wild One

Every morning for a week we found large grizzly tracks and fresh digging along our grizzly enclosures perimeter. I followed the tracks that circled our grizzly’s enclosure and then lead NW into the dense woods. I never saw the wild grizzly but he was there watching. We would feed in the morning and then an hour later we would come up to the enclosure to find fresh tracks and new holes dug. The situation was quite dangerous because the wild grizzly saw our two male grizzlies as intruders in his territory. The wild grizzly had also broken into a farmer’s backyard and destroyed his solar panels. In addition two other farms reported seeing fresh tracks and were afraid for their livestock. So the decision was made to trap him.

We set a large culvert trap at a slight 15 degree angle on a dark rainy night. The trap was baited with a stillborn filly, sardines, and molasses. The next morning we had ourselves a very upset male grizzly! We were really surprised that we had caught the grizzly because usually culvert traps are ineffective against grizzlies. The reason for this is because grizzlies are incredibly intelligent so you usually have to use a leg snare to trap them. We were successful because the wild grizzly was only 2.5yrs old. This is exactly the time when the mother abandons her young. So the inexperienced bear gave in to his stomach more easily than an older bear would have. We transported the bear way up into the mountains and then tranquilized him so that we could attach ear tags. When the grizzly regained consciousness we released him and watched him disappear into the boreal forest.

“Be safe and don’t do anything dangerous”

That is what my mother said and my girlfriend echoed as I left the US bound for northern British Columbia. Well I’ll see if I can oblige them while still getting some good blog posts for you! Here is the plan:
I am going to take you into the backwoods of British Columbia where we will track two male grizzlies (Espen and Koda). This predator is known to be able to detect prey by smell from 18 miles away and most likely much farther. So when I say we’re going out there to track grizzly bears I mean we’re going to follow one of the most awesome predators in the new world.
Now this is not a 9-5 job and you won’t be sleeping in your bed at night. No, you are signing up for 6 months out in the sticks. So if you like blisters, inclement weather, long absences from home, no pay, untamed lands and the chance to walk in the footsteps of grizzlies then this blog will be for you. Once more onto the brink.

Awkward Turtle

I saw this stunningly beautiful woman at my sisters’ basketball game last December. She was so amazing that I could not get her out of my head. So I tried to coyly ask my Dad who she was and that was all it took. My father knew her family and was only too eager to make the introduction…So much for being subtle! Now, I have faced charging bison, poachers, and stampeding elephants but at the end of that basketball game I was hiding in the bathroom for fear of an awkward parental introduction. So Jess and I never met because the next day I was leaving for Scotland.
Before I left my parents encouraged me…ok nearly forced me to add her on facebook and from that day on we talked every day for three months. Finally, the day came to fly home and meet her so I boarded a 15hr bus to London and arrived at the airport hours before my flight. Unfortunately, my plane tickets got cancelled due to a glitch on the website, Student Universe. So I ended up catching a plane to Chicago with a short detour to Greenland. Once in Chicago I took a train to the greyhound bus station and purchased tickets on the first bus heading north. This two day adventure sent me up to Wisconsin, then to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and finally down to Traverse City as it headed back to Chicago. So after a week of travelling by plane, train, and bus I had arrived at the TC greyhound bus station. I had not showered nor brushed my teeth during the entire trip. My parents came to pick me up and Jess was with them. I was completely surprised! Now, I am sure Jess’s first impression of me could not have been great because I had not showered or brushed my teeth in 3-4 days…But as I picked up Jess and twirled her around MY first impression was, “Wow she is even more beautiful than I remembered”. After that and a quick shower we were inseparable.

Celestial fate, true love and grizzlies

The wilds of northern Canada never entered my mind. I came home expecting to count weed species along a road in Colorado. The research would have been straightforward, easy, and my adviser would still have liked me. Yet, while looking for jobs I saw an ad for a position tracking grizzlies. The deadline for the application was the next day but I knew in my heart at that moment that I was British Columbia bound. So here I am now in BC working for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), the Northern Lights Rescue Shelter, and the Canadian government as the lead researcher on the grizzly rehabilitation and release project. So I just want all of you to know that I did not go looking for another adventure. Vincent van Gogh said it best when he said, “I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate.”

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is the fifth oldest university in the UK and my dorm is a testament to that. It has two toilets but neither of them has a sink. The heater in my room is broken and who knows when it will get fixed. The lovely 1920’s toilets spray water out of their pipes when they flush.*I just learned today from the man who came to fix my furnace that our building is the exact plans of an all women’s prison in Sweden. Best of all…It was scheduled to be demolished this year but the University was to short on housing and has pushed the demolition tell next year. This may sound farfetched to you but you are not living here. I somehow thought being a postgraduate meant that I was moving up in the world.

On a positive note my housing location is AMAZING! I am a five minute walk to the beach and a three minute walk to my university. My dorm is surrounded by a huge “formal garden” with vast green fields, a large river, and ancient stone pathways. It is absolutely beautiful during the day but at night it is considered one of the most dangerous areas in Aberdeen. The police posted flyers all over campus with the motto “When it’s dark don’t go through Seaton park” Catchy, uh?

Flight

So here I am again…33,500 feet above the North Atlantic puddle. My mind is darting between the anguish of having to carry two 23kg bags and the thought that within a year I will hopefully be crossing this vast blue ocean by sail. This scene is becoming all too familiar. A fisticuff wages inside me as my spirit wrestles with itself. The rational side of me lashes out in protest against the reckless rambler who cannot help what he is. I feel the pangs of leaving my friends and the uncertainty that lays ahead roll through me. It is always hard for me to leave Montana as it feels so much like home. Montana has always provided me with a horse, truck, house, million acres of playground and the best of friends. I again find myself sitting on an international flight wondering why I gave up the comfort of home and the friends I’d grown to love. This last summer was far too strange to record and yet it was the best summer I have ever had. The difference was not in scenery or action but rather in the intensity of friendships.

Departure from Montana…

I sat on top of Independence rock with rain spitting from the night sky. In the distance the coyotes were calling and I did my best to mimic and encourage their calls. It had been a perfect day. A day filled with laughter, pure shrieks of excitement, and more beef jerky than one would think healthy.

Ciara and I had stumbled down old wagon ruts left by the Oregon Trail, gawked at devil’s gap, and chatted incessantly about how cool this road trip was. We had crossed through Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton National park, Red Canyon Reserve and finally onto the Oregon Trail/Pony Express route.

Sitting on top of Independence rock I realized just what this road trip was. It was my farewell to my friends and to the west. It signaled the end of a lifestyle I had embraced. No longer would I be judged by how good I could sit a bucking horse or by the slant in my hat. No longer would I ever be paid to ride a horse.

That was it?

My Dad always tells me that in his business 90% of the time is spent waiting with the other 10% being shear panic, chaos, and terror. Graduating from the College of Wooster was not much different. I spent four years clawing to get out and then in a blink of an eye I was regurgitated out along with the other educationally instituted youth.

My ascent from undergraduate was typical of the College of Wooster. When called to receive my diploma the announcer said that I would be receiving my diploma in “absentia”. I found it very fitting that the college should have no clue that I had returned. Never mind the fact that I had received the highest marks on my senior thesis, acted as a senior senator, or given countless talks at the college. I just started laughing and walked up to the announcer and said “actually, I came back”.

Do I sound horribly bitter? I suppose I do but I do not mean too. My college experience though greatly affected by an incompetent administration was largely a success due to my professors. I may not have been the shining student but I have no regrets. I leave Wooster with only the memories of my lost boys, the geology professors who were my family, and my best friend who also happened to be my adviser.

What happens when you take two strangers and send them to the UK?

Well in Betsy and my case we did not stop talking from the moment we met at the train station tell when we left. We talked so much that quite often Betsy had to remind me the next morning of what I had missed when I fell asleep. As for our Amazing Race aspirations, I feel that Betsy would be a fantastic competitor. She was a wizard with the maps and always ready to ask the random pedestrian which way to go. As for me?...Well assuming I even made it to the starting line I still think that I would do poorly. I am forever to content with catching the wrong bus and riding it to its conclusion (not much has change from High school).

This trip had a lot of high points, quite a few low points, and a ton of memories. Yet, all I will remember will be sipping tea on a bench across the river from Big Ben, singing karaoke with twenty beautiful Spanish girls who did not speak a word of English, and eating donuts on the dock with Betsy in northern Wales. So in closing, I found the graduate school of my dreams, explored the UK, and made a best friend.

Touring the Ohio Airports...

Friday all of the flights out of Cleveland were cancelled so I spent the night at Ranch Jesus (i.e. The Christian Childrens Center). At 2am my amazing friends drove me to the Columbus airport through the worst blizzard since 1918. Again the blizzard grounded all the flights so I hung around making friends with the flight attendants and security guards. That night I crawled into the most pathetic fetal position and fell asleep. I was awakened by a wandering news crew who decided I was the one to interview. Eventually, I fell back to sleep with the hope of London dancing in my mind. The next day I waved and hugged my new friends good bye and took to the friendly skies.
The flight to London was smooth for all but for the last 30 minutes. This is the part where my pilot decided to try and land in the gale force winds that were howling through London. The ride was "bumpy"...Women started vomiting, children crying, and everyone else pretending to be brave. I tried to smile as the turbulence would drop the plane hundreds of feet in a second but truthfully I was concerned that Betsy might be touring the UK alone for the next week. As the plane was about to land we were slammed perpendicular to the runway by a gust of wind. This is apparently not an advisable way to land a 747. The pilot gunned it and we went roaring to 30,000 feet. So now I was headed to Amsterdam! When the plane landed in Amsterdam everyone clapped and I quickly renounced all the previous promises I had made with god. So 24 hours in Amsterdam, what to do?...What is a college guy to do in such a boring place like that? Well, I decided I wouldstrectch my legs a little by window shopping in downtown Amsterdam all night. I made lots of friends!One of them was kind enough to even get Betsy and I first class train tickets!!!
The next morning I groggily made my way to the airport. I recounted my depressing story with the flight attendants and talked with the pilots before we took off. When we finally landed the pilot announced over the PA a very warm welcome to Mr. Barnett. I strode off the plane shaking all the flight attendants hands and grinning ear to ear.
I met Betsy at the Waterloo train station. It is quite amazing that she was even there waiting for me. Betsy had run all over London trying to meet up with me only to learn that another flight had been cancelled. So our meeting at the Waterloo station was a rather joyous occasion. I do not think either of us could have been any happier about finally meeting up!
The race to Aberystwyth was on! The first class train tickets were amazing! I enjoyed salmon and tea while Betsy ate a large egg and ham sandwich and a cup of stiff black coffee. The train ride through Wales was absolutely beautiful. The rolling green hills, the white flocks of sheep, and the crumbling churchs all made for an amazing experience.
The city of Aberystwth was breathtaking. I cannot imagine a more beautiful coastal town. The brightly colored row houses clustered around the marina and ancient castle ruins was something meant for a postcard picture. Betsy and I walked the entire town through all the obscure alleys, up and down the rugged beach, and around all the old churches. I really cannot think of a more charming city.

***Alright time is up so until later!

Amazing Race: Cirque de’ UK

The newest contestants in the Amazing Race, Betsy and Ryan, will be competing against the clock to visit four universities in two weeks. In order to make this more challenging our team will be forced to travel to the distal ends of the UK. They will start in London by visiting the famed London School Arts. Then they must travel five hours by train to Wales. Their destination is the quaint coastal town of Aberystwyth. Here they will explore the numerous castles and sip ridiculously expensive coffee while gazing out across the Atlantic. After meeting their objective they then will return by train to London and onto the University of Essex in order to meet with the chair of the Marine Biology department. Here Ryan will spend three days touring the University while wearing his bright red Jacques Coustea cap speedo in order to truly experience life as a marine biologist. Finally, they will be heading to Scotland to visit the renowned University of Aberdeen. They will most likely reenact Braveheart a few thousand times and Ryan will try to have a rock throwing contest with Betsy. Their final challenge will be to catch a glimpse of the Lochness Monster and if the temperature is equal to their courage then skinny dipping with the monster should be in order.

Ryan "Wait the UK is more than one country?" Barnett

Betsy "I don't need no stinking passport" Clifton

West as Sundance and east as Ryan

I have uploaded as many photos as possible in an attempt to hide my lackadaisical attitude towards posting. The blog has suffered and I am sure my readership has greatly decreased. I apologize for this lethargic post-Indo cowboy period but let us view it as a weaning time in preparation a year of doldrums. As I sit here today I realize that the only thing standing between the College of Wooster and me is another three day Greyhound bus trip. I am not ready to take off the boots, spurs, chaps, and cowboy hats. Montana is every boy’s fairytale. I unfortunately seem to be only able to experience it for a few short months at a time. This dream which is wild horses, sagebrush fields, and meteor showers is ending for now but I have a feeling I will return to it someday. So until I return I shall remember racing my horse against the cars on the highway, the pride that came with pulling horseshoes from a crazed mare, driving a thirty horse stock trailer through the canyon at 65 mph, and bonding with a horse named Strawberry Wine.