22 miles
level moderate
The day started out like most other climbs I have done this summer, but would soon turn into one I would never forget. The hike up to Dawson was a quick one, as we have already done it before. Once we left the trail the fun began. We traversed along the bottom of Flinsch Peak thinking that we would attempt that summit later in the day. Once around Flinsch, The beautiful young man lake came into view. As we continued along the ridge toward Rising Wolf, Pitimakin Pass as well as Old Man lake joined the vista. The rest of the hike up to the summit consisted of some light climbing and scree scrambling. Summiting this mountain felt great as we both have been looking at it all season! Once on the summit the real story begins. I had never believed that grizzly bears hung around the top of mountains until two young cubs joined us on the summit as close as 6 feet from us. Angelika caught them out of the corner of her eye, and we grabbed all our belongings and went running down the mountain. I like to say that despite everything you are told to do during bear encounters, you never know how to react when you actually see one! We finished the climb by heading down the mountain on the east side instead of heading back to the pass. This proved to be a bad idea as we were then bush whacking till dark. A nice 4 mile hike at night while singing bear songs capped off a memorable climb!
Written by Mike
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