Point Grondine fall 2022

So I admit it…I prefer to go solo for my backcountry trips. I don’t have to make small talk or adjust my pace for someone else. However my stepdaughter was very eager to go with me for an experience where she hoped to…see a bear. Hmm, already this is not going well, as my goal is to NOT see a bear while in the backcountry. And things went downhill from there. I had given her a list of items to bring and what not to bring and a good sleeping bag was top of the list. Well, she had certainly picked a great sleeping bag, weighing several tons and folding down to the size of a small car. There was no way to even pack this on us, which meant she had to carry this monster on her for the whole trail. Many times she threatened to throw it into the bush while tears shone in her eyes. We alternated carrying this monkey on our backs, which also meant we were only half way to our site before I needed to think about stopping for the night. Point Grondine is a beautiful but very rugged area. I admit I was concerned, as there was no way to make our site and a large storm was coming in from the west. With only two hours of daylight left I made the decision to leave the trail and make camp. I am thankful that my stepdaughter made the best firewood collector ever, letting me set up the camp. During the night the storm came in. Trees came down and water came into the tent due to the strong winds. And my stepdaughter…she peaceful slept through the whole thing. We headed out the next morning with sunny skies and rainbows. Remember that I said my stepdaughter wanted to see a bear? Well she changed her mind pretty quick. We were collecting water in a ravine when I happened to look up the hill and see the saplings spread apart as a large black bear made his way towards us. I had repeatedly told her that you NEVER run. So what did she do…she started to run. I grabbed her by the straps of her bag and stopped her while pulling out my bear spray. We had an anxious few kilometers until we were certain that the bear had no interest in us. This is still one of my favorite backcountry trips.