Uphill we biked most of the day and crossed the Continental Divide 3 more times (they won't be our last). We planned on actually staying at a campsite this time, but as night drew on we found out from a park ranger that there were no campsites for another 45 miles. We biked and biked into the night, trying to find a suitable spot to just put up a tent and sleep. Ben's tire tube got a leak and by the time we fixed it, it was drawing close to 11pm. We were exhausted and ready for sleep, so we just decided to pitch up our tent at a picnic area (no harm right).
We huddled in our tent and hoped for the best with our tiny container of pepper spray to ward off the grizzly bears roaming through the country. Soon after settling into bed we heard the crackling sound of tires rolling over gravel and saw headlights piercing through the dark trees. A park ranger came up to our tent flashing her light back and forth and announcing herself in that professional way that all officers do. I thought she'd be courteous and understanding, given our situation. But instead, the woman did her job and slapped a $125 fine on us for camping in a undesignated area. She also had us store our food in the bathroom nearby, just in case bears decided to snoop around.
Ben, being much more of an optimist than myself given the circumstance, decided that the woman had possibly saved our lives by having us stash our food somewhere safer or will save us sometime in the future. We have both decided to be much more careful about where we choose to sleep, especially in national parks and will hide ourselves just as any smart animal would to try and avoid humans.
No comments:
Post a Comment