Daniel Crago, 32, was descending the Grinnell Glacier Trail in Glacier National Park when a grizzly bear appeared just 4 meters away. He did what he had been taught: he alerted the animal. It was no use.
The bear sank its teeth into his right forearm, crushed both bones, and dragged him about 9 meters downhill. When he managed to look at his hand, it was hanging limp. After three surgeries — with a fourth scheduled and one bone reconstructed with donor tissue — he is facing a debt that already exceeds $20,000 for the rescue helicopter alone.
Some say the park should close those trails: that same month, another hiker died in a bear attack in the same area. Others respond that the wilderness is exactly that — wild — and that risk is part of entering it. 🐻 Is the problem a lack of restrictions or the individual responsibility of those who choose those trails?