Road upkeep and bear safety

Last weekend the North Fork River was running bank-full and muddy, but there was no flood damage. This week the river has dropped a foot or more and is no longer muddy. It isn’t clear either, but leafy green indicates it is within its normal channel.

So far so good, a spring runoff that rises with warm weather and drops with cool weather. Lower elevation snow is about gone, but there is still a lot of snow in the high country. I don’t expect our peak flow until the first two weeks of June.

The North Fork Road is in great shape for May. The road is well-graded and smooth to Polebridge, with much of the traffic exceeding the 35 mph speed limit. Above Polebridge to the Community Hall it is good, but not as smooth as south of Polebridge. From Whale Creek to Trail Creek, it is rougher, but as good as it ever gets.

Above Trail Creek, and especially north of Reynolds Ranch, there have been mud and ruts. Last week several vehicles were sunk in the mud and had to be pulled out, but early this week Flathead County dumped at least eight loads of pit run rock in the mud hole. By all reports, it is now passable for all traffic.

Hopefully, the FLAP grant will solve the muddy road problem by 2020. This is the last stretch of the road that is pretty much as it was in 1955, and the grant is designed to make it easier for recreationists to access the backcountry.

It does make me wonder why the Forest Service has fewer dollars to maintain their roads, which are also important for recreational users. The McDonoughs arrived last week and, of course, saw a grizzly before they even got to their cabin, while I had seen zero bears all spring. Luckily I saw a bear this week so we are currently tied.

Becky Braunig, full-time Trail Creek resident, has already seen six bears, several of them from her house. Almost everyone has seen multiple bears, and Lynn Ogle and others have even taken some great photos - although there are more rear-end shots than full-frontal photos.

I still worry about bear-human confrontations and hope everyone continues to be careful. Keep garbage and pet food contained, discontinue bird feeders for the summer, and hang hummingbird feeders high and out of reach of bears. Even feeding pancakes to the gray jays and chipmunks can attract bears.

It is neat to see a bear in the meadow, but they are lousy house guests. Smelly, dirty, destructive, and have large appetites.

Larry Wilson’s North Fork Views appears weekly in the Hungry Horse News.