Hunting with a Harley

Must be an ego thing. Having been involved in covering news for most of the last 56 years, there are not many big Montana stories I don’t have some memory of. That’s why it came as an embarrassing jolt last week when one of “the Gang” handed me an Internet story about which I had no recall. Never heard of it.

The headline read, “Huge grizzly killed by motorcycle,” and there were five colored photos of the furry victim. It was one of the largest grizzlies I have ever seen. The only observable injury was a mangled muzzle and mouth. The first photo shows the still bleeding bear lying on the flat bed of a truck, and he takes up the entire length. Other shots gave close-ups of the head and claws. Definitely a monster griz.

The short text revealed the unbelievable crash occurred in Lolo Pass on the border between Idaho and Montana. The bike was a Harley and it was totaled, but the rider only had to spend three days in the hospital.

The copy my friend, Ron Beard, gave me had no mention of when this unusual crash happened or other details. Luckily, Diane Miller, whom I work with at KGEZ, was able to find out a bit more on her computer. The fellow riding the Harley was from Canada, and the accident was in October 2009.

It was interesting to find that a grizzly that big was wandering around in the Bitterroot area of the Lolo National Forest. The people down there have vigorously fought wildlife biologists’ plans to get the big bears re-established in that large semi-wilderness area.

Another thing is, “What part of the motorcycle struck the huge beast?” Amateur guessing on my part leads to only conclusion imaginable, and that is the front wheel hit the bear square on in the nose violently enough to damage the brain. Ain’t hardly any other way to kill a griz with a Harley.

This story reminds me of another one told to me years ago about a young man working around the Glacier National Park headquarters. One day, he was hauling a pickup load of garbage out to where the now abandoned dump was located in the work area off Quarter Circle Bridge Road.

The kid was possibly driving a little fast in the area near the ball field among the thick jackpines. A grizzly jumped out onto the road and one front tire hit the bear, causing the pickup to flip over on its left side.

Can’t recall just how the driver got thrown out, but he did. Found himself lying outside with his arm pinned to the ground by the top of the cab. He lay helpless and was scared to death over the injured bear coming to attack him. Said it felt like hours.

Seems to me the driver himself told me this story, but that doesn’t matter. The fact is, after a while someone got worried why he was gone so long and came looking. He was quickly freed and happy to find his arm wasn’t broken. He never mentioned it at the time but it seems possible he probably needed a change of underwear.

Now matter what the circumstances, hitting a grizzly bear with your vehicle is not always a happy experience. About a year ago, an exceptionally large griz was killed by a heavy-duty pickup near Lincoln, and a legal tussle ensued among government agencies, including the state Fish and Game Department, Forest Service and at least one private business, over who got to display the mounted animal.

Out of these stories comes at least one worthwhile philosophical lesson. It was summed up in the Internet version of the Lolo Pass crash. The writer had this bit of advice: “Do not go bear hunting with a Harley ... they’re only good for one hunt.”

G. George Ostrom is a national award-winning Hungry Horse News columnist. He lives in Kalispell.