Evening in Manning

Evidently (evidence being several large piles of bear poop on the road and the paths to the outhouses, which wend their way through a prolific patch of berry bushes), at least one bear returned in the night. Bugger.

Today have seen no bears at all, for a change. Went hiking up Blackwall, in a sub-alpine region. Saw a marmot, many pretty flowers (cow parsley, paintbrushes, lupins, fireweed, solomon's seal) and, when we stopped for lunch on the trail, five or six whiskey jacks. We had to guard our food, as they will steal anything. Nola offered them bribes of cracker bits and apple peel, and still one snatched the cheese from her non-bribe hand. Tried for the lit cigarette in mine, but I was watching for that and kept it out of reach. Last thing I'd want would be to be the owner of the cig that fired Manning.

For those who smoke and like to go outside: carry a zip-loc baggie in your pocket for the butts. Also, an excellent camp ashtray can be made from an old short tin (tuna, cat food, etc.) and local dirt.

We saw a marmot on the way up, as I said, and again on the way back. Nola pulled over to get a pic of it crouching nobly on the rocks above its burrow. To our astonishment, it raced over to the car, stood on its hind legs with its fore braced against the door, and looked up beseechingly at Nola from a distance of maybe six inches.

We got out, and with some maneuvering, induced it to pose fetchingly for several shots. It obviously expected some sort of baksheesh for its efforts, which we declined to provide. The signage clearly indicated that it found food in the meadow below, whatever it thought.

Tomorrow we're vaguely planning a bit of paddle on Lightning Lake. May go home after, or stay another night.