Watch out for Buffaloberries!

While in Banff we purchased bear spray, as hungry bears ramp up their feeding prior to hibernation and one of their favorite foods - high-calorie buffaloberries - were in season when we visited. Both Aden and I listened carefully to the lecture on how to use the bear spray, and then I promptly gave the spray to Aden and told her to lead at all times. Good parenting? I think not (but Aden is truly the better outdoorswoman).  

Come to find out that we could not hike one of the routes we had planned due to the trail being in bear territory and boasting a fine crop of buffaloberries. On the Lake Minnewanka trail, hikers were required to have at least four people per group, with the front row carrying bear spray. (Sounds like a Formula 1 starting grid!) Group members could not stray further than 3 meters at any given time. Penalties of $25,000 Canadian would be levied if hikers were found breaking the bear rules. As I did not relish the thought of finding two or more strangers to hike and make conversation with for a 9-mile duration, we flexed to another trail.

The new route also had a plethora of buffaloberries trailside, their bright orangey-red skins glowing in the intermittent sunlight between bursts of rain. I clicked my hiking poles together periodically and we attempted to sing "American Pie" to alert any bears to our presence, but I ran out of breath on the climb and had to pray (in my head) for good luck and no bears.

Mama bears can eat up to 100,000 berries per day and their large male counterparts can eat twice that number, which raises the question of how any berries at all are left in Banff National Park?! But for better or worse, we saw no wildlife except for tiny squirrels carrying mushrooms to safe heights, where they either stashed the burnt orange fungi in the crook of a pine or sat nibbling, watching us with condescending bright eyes. We saw nests but no large birds, bubbling mineral pools but no fish. Disappointment vied with relief for primary emotion on our wildlife sighting.

We're still in the thrall of our trip, listening to our playlist and recalling the hikes of only a week ago. Fortunately the fall leaves are entering prime season here in Colorado and the calendar looks open for a nearby hike in the coming weekend. We couldn't pack our bear spray, so are left to hope that the berries are all "et up."