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Late in September my wife and I finally made it to Glacier National Park in northwest Montana. Glacier had been on our list for a long time, and the park didn’t disappoint. Fall progressed toward peaking foliage colors each of the five-plus days we explored the park, making for some of the most breathtaking views one could imagine.

Of course, Going-to-the-Sun Road is the main attraction for the roughly three million visitors who converge on Glacier each year, with most of the visits occurring from June through September. The Road typically doesn’t even open for the summer until the middle of June after snow removal efforts are completed.

It can snow any day of the year in Glacier, and we witnessed that one day near the end of our visit in the high elevations where strong winds plastered a light coating of fresh snow on the highest mountain peaks. At the lower elevations cold rain and drizzle made the flora colors really pop and transformed the landscape into stunning hues of green, gold, orange, and even some red.

Wildlife is abundant in Glacier, where mountain goats, bighorn sheep, black and brown bears, and more roam freely. It’s not uncommon to see goats and sheep, and even bears, milling around in or near parking lots and along hiking trails.

We had two such encounters on a single hike one late afternoon into evening above the Logan Pass Visitor Center. We stepped along the lengthy boardwalk that comprises the early section of trail leading to Hidden Lake. The remainder of the trail was an easy going ascent to an overlook roughly 1.3 miles from the visitor center. When we arrived a group of tourists was marveling at the site of a bachelor group of seven bighorn sheep rams hanging out just below the overlook.

I was able to get in a position with my camera where the sheep were just 15-20 feet below my rocky perch at times as they grazed, socialized, and rested. Two rams appeared to be the elders of the group, and I captured one licking the tip of the other’s horn. The pair may have become head-butting combatants a month or so later when the annual rut commenced.

We hung out at the overlook for 30 minutes until the sun began to descend toward the distant mountain peaks, and the sheep began to wander away. Shortly after we started back down the trail, a gentleman coming up the rocky path alerted us to the presence of a large grizzly bear about 100 yards off the trail. A short time later we spotted the big boar foraging along without a care in the world. He was about 75 yards to our right and moving at a 30-degree angle toward the trail.

When the bear disappeared behind a large rock outcropping, my wife and others we were hiking with decided to continue down the trail at a swift pace to make sure they were well out of range of the bear when it reappeared. Myself and maybe a dozen others moved cautiously along until the bear was visible again and clearly getting closer to the trail.

We paused when the impressive animal was about 40 yards away and began moving directly toward the trail. With bear spray locked and loaded I planted my tripod and started shooting photos with my telephoto lens. My subject clearly wasn’t bothered by the humans gawking at him, but he definitely wanted to cross our path and everyone allowed that without any further encroachment. The grizzly quickly did so then lumbered up the mountainside, leaving a large number of us completely in awe.

A couple of fellow hikers recorded phone videos of the bear and shared those with me. I managed to get one “money” shot of the big grizzly among the many images I captured. But I really don’t need a photo or video to help me remember such an incredible wildlife encounter during my first visit to Glacier National Park.

We didn’t spend any time in the Many Glacier or Two Medicine areas, so we’re planning our return to Glacier next fall to explore those sections. On the way we intend to make stops at Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks as well. I can’t wait to see what awaits us as we continue to venture into the outdoors.