この5番目の目に会いたくて、長い旅を続けて来ました。グレイシャー国立公園内、メニーグレイシャーホテルの近くのジョセフィン湖でようやく会えました。 Because we wanted to meet the #5 eye, we traveled a long way. And finally we met her at Lake Josephine near Many Glacier Hotel in Glacier National Park.
チャンスはいつも突然です。今回のチャンスはあまりにも突然で、あまりにも近くから急接近してきました。だから、茶色の体を見た時「グリズリ〜〜〜」と叫んで逃げ出しました。そこは流石のバンちゃん、勇敢にも怖さを堪え、よく観察してから「ムースだよ！」 A chance like this always suddenly. This time, it came so suddenly and so closely, even more than other times. So when I saw a huge brown hairy thing moving towards us among a thicket, I screamed “a grizzly!”, and I ran away. Banchan, however, bravely stood there and observed the brown object well, and said quietly but steady, “it’s a moose. Be quiet.”
近すぎたので、やっぱり顔すら収まりきらないショット。I couldn’t capture its face again because it’s too close.
背中の高さがバンちゃんより高い、巨大な体。驚かせないよう、息を潜めて見守っていました。 The shoulder height was taller than Banchan. We held our breath and observed her movement.
耳を澄ましていると、「ヒー、ヒー、」という鳴き声が時折聞こえていました。子供がお母さんの後を追いかけているんですが、山道が時々険しすぎて追いかけられないんですね。Being very still and quiet, we could hear the calf’s voice, “hee, hee~” every once in a while. The calf was trying to follow her mom, but the hill was very challenging for the calf. So he cried.
なんだかか弱すぎて、これからちゃんと生きていけるのか心配になる程。後で調べたら、子供の生存率は5割だそうです。大きくなるまでは他の動物に襲われる可能性大だということです。The calf was so helpless and fragile. I wondered if he could survive over the next few months. According to several moose websites, the survival rate for a calf is only 50%. It’s safe once it grows big enough, but until then, many other wild animals often attack them.
この日は驚くことに2度ムースを見ることができました。1度目は5-6mの至近距離、2度目は湖の反対側で約600ｍぐらい離れていたので、豆粒みたいな大きさでしたが、カメラレンズを通して水草を食べているところを見ることが出来ました。We were lucky on that day because we could witness the moose twice. The first encounter was only 10-15 feet away, and the second time was on the other side of the lake about 2,000 feet way. So the figures were like rice grains, but we could see the way they eat water plants through our camera lenses.
再びビデオを作りました。子供の長いまつ毛の長さに驚きます。I made another video. You will be amazed how long the calf’s eyelashes are.
早朝、7時ごろ。4番目のこの目の方はグレイシャー国立公園内のゴーイングトゥザサンロードの東側、セントメリー湖が見える丘の上にいました。We met the owner of the #4 eye at a field where you can see Saint Mary lake off from the Going-to-the-sun road in Glacier National Park around 7 o’clock in the morning.
ハックルベリーが大好きと言えばわかるかもしれませんね。If I say that they love huckleberries, you might have guessed who they are.
こんな顔をして嬉しそうです。I love the expression of her in front of a huckleberry bush.
ハイイログマ（グリスリーベア）のお母さんと子熊2匹。まだ夜が開けたばかりだったので朝ごはんの最中だったのかもしれません。We saw a mother grizzly bear and her two cubs. It could be their breakfast time because the sun had risen a few minutes before.
お母さんがハックルベリーの木のそばで仰向けに腰を据えると、1匹、2匹とお母さんに近寄ってきました。5分から10分ぐらいでしょうか。授乳が終わると子熊たちは遊び始め、お母さんはせっせとハックルベリーを食べ始めました。As soon as the mama bear sat on her back near a huckleberry bush, the cubs came closer to her one by one. I don’t remember exactly how long it was but the breast feeding lasted 5 – 10 minutes. Once it was done, the cubs started playing and mom started eating more huckleberries.
クマたちが美味しそうに食べていたので、買ってきてしまったハックルベリージャム。バーボンが入っているのがポイントかも。さて、どんな味がするのかな。 Because the bears gave us the impression that it tastes so good, we bought a jar of Huckleberry Jam. It has Bourbon in it. Let’s see how it tastes.
強い風の中、800ｍｍレンズは流石に三脚なしには苦しい。それでもなんとか撮れたビデオと写真を納めたビデオが以下です。2,500枚以上の写真の中から苦しみながら絞り出した10枚です。どうぞ、見てください。It was very challenging using my 800mm lens without a tripod in the strong wind. I struggled but captured some useful pictures and video somehow. The video below includes a few video clips and 10 pictures. It was very painful and laborious to choose 10 out of 2,500 plus pictures, but they show what I witnessed, although the quality of the pictures aren’t so good. Please enjoy it.
ボウマン湖で出会ったカップルの貴重な情報、朝6時前ならチケットなしでも公園に入れること。また、ローガンパスは断然おすすめ場所であること。そしてそのためには公園内に5時前に入らないと駐車場が満杯になってしまう事などに従って、私たちは朝3時に起きて宿を出発しました。We woke up at 3:00am and left our motel on that day because the couple we met at Bowman Lake advised us to do so. Anyone could go inside the park as long as you went in before the park opened at 6:00am. But to get to Logan Pass Visitor Center parking, we should go inside the park before 5:00am. Otherwise you can’t find a parking spot.
駐車場に着くと、まずは驚きの歓迎に会いました。かなり角が大きく成長したビッグホーンシープ（オオツノヒツジ）のお出迎えです。When we arrived there, we had a surprise welcome by a few bighorn sheep.
怖くて車から出られなかった私たちは写真を撮ることができませんでしたが、携帯でようやくビデオを撮りました。旅慣れた人たちは平気で外を歩いているのに、臆病な私の慌てぶりがビデオにも出ています。We were so afraid of them, we didn’t go out and take any pictures. I realized that I could at least take a video with my cell phone, so I did. Some people were walking so casually as if nothing is happening. But you can almost see how scared I was of them when they were close to our car in the video below.
ローガンパスはアメリカ大陸分水嶺のライン上にあることでも有名です。つまり、全ての水はここから分かれ、大西洋か太平洋に流れていくんです。Logan Pass is well known as it’s on the line of the Continental Divide of the Americas. Water will drain into either the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, depending on which side of the divide it is on.
ここから出発するハイキングコースはいくつもありますが、Hidden Lake への山道は多分、もっとも人気があると言っていいでしょう。There are many hiking trails starting from here, but I think the trail to Hidden Lake is one of the most popular courses because the setting is simply so pretty.
展望台までなら1時間ぐらいと短いので、私たちは湖畔まで降りて行くことにしました。朝日を受けて浮かび出てきた湖畔の丘。遠くに氷河が霞んで見えます。It takes only one hour to get to the overlook of Hidden Lake, so we decided to go all the way down to the lake shore and back. Sunlight started shining on the mountain by the lake. A glacier is visible at the most distant peaks to the left of this mountain.
おや？ジリスが落ち着かない様子。そういえば、湖の展望台のあたりが騒がしい。 Oh? Something was wrong. The ground squirrel was restless. I noticed that there was a lot of movement and many people were around the overlook.
バンちゃんはすでに走って行きました。人の隙間から覗くと、いた！彼がいた！3番目の目の持ち主はシロイワヤギでした。Banchan was already running ahead. I peaked through between people there. Then wow, I found him. It was the owner of the #3 eye, Mountain goat.
またしても、望遠レンズをつけていたので、顔だけの写真。また会えるような気がしたので、これでヨシとしました。I had again my 800mm lens on the camera. So this is it. I could take only a head shot. But for some reason, I was all right because I sensed that I could see him again later.
遠くにグリズリーベア（ハイイログマ）の親子を見ながら湖畔へと降りて行きました。We went down the hill, carefully observing a mother grizzly bear and her two cubs at a distance on the same hill.
湖畔でひと時を過ごしたのち、再び丘を登って帰り道に向かう途中の山道です。白い物が前の方からやってきました。After a short break by the lake shore, we came back up the same hill we came from. And it happened. I saw a white thing coming down towards me on the trail.
ウソ、シロイワヤギじゃないですか。どうしよう。一本道ですよ！Oh, No! It’s a mountain goat. What should I do? The trail wasn’t wide enough for a goat and a woman to pass by each other.
彼と私の目が合って立ち止まり、しばらく考え込んでいましたが、こんな風に足のチェック？それとも日本人の私にお辞儀でご挨拶？戦闘準備かな？ツノって、何に使うんだっけ？ハテナマーク続出です。The mountain goat paused and we were eye to eye with each other. I don’t know how long he was stopped and thinking, but I felt it was a long time. Then he started doing things like in the picture below. Is he checking on his leg? Or is he bowing to me because I am Japanese? Or, is he preparing for a fight? I wondered what their horns were for. So many questions ran through my mind like a storm but no answers for them.
ともあれ、道の端によけて息を凝らして待ちました。その甲斐あってか、彼は私の横を通り抜けて行ったのでした。I tried to stand at the edge of the trail as much as I could, and simply waited for his next action. Then he decided to walk by me. My effort, not do anything, might have worked.
その後、彼は斜面を登って、高い高い場所へと移動して行ったのでした。After that, he went up to a much higher place beyond the grassy area.
汗ダラダラ、ドキドキの出来事でした。勿論、シロイワヤギに会いたと思っていましたが、これ、近すぎです。きっと1分足らずの短い出来事だったと思います。でも、きっとこれから先も「近すぎる遭遇」として忘れないでしょう。What an experience! I was sweating to death. Of course, I wanted to see Mountain goats, but it was way too close. It was only less than a minute but I won’t ever forget it as “a close encounter a bit too close”
ちなみに、以下、バンちゃんが撮った写真です。赤いバックパックが私です。By the way, the picture below is Banchan’s shot. The red backpack is me.
＃1の目の所有者にはグレイシャー国立公園の西北にあるボウマン湖で出会いました。そして、この方が私たちの公園滞在を最高のものに導いてくれたと言っても過言ではありません。We met the owner of #1 eye at Bowman Lake located on the north west portion of Glacier National Park. I must say without exaggeration that this eye lead us to the most memorable park experience ever.
グレイシャー国立公園の花形道路、ゴーイングトゥザサンロードは通行制限をしています。入場チケットはすぐ完売、抽選もありますが、当たる確率は半端じゃないです。だから、私たちのように抽選漏れ組はレッドバスツアーなどに乗る事になります。でも、レッドバスツアーの席も完売・・・豪快な景色を満喫するのは至難の業です。The most popular road, Going-to-the-Sun road, is limited only to entrance pass ticket holder (in addition to the park pass). Needless to say that tickets sell out immediately. They reserve 400 tickets to be sold two days before the date, but is also impossible to get. So the people like us who couldn’t get it from either option need to look for an alternative, such as the Red Bus Tours. Unfortunately, this option is nearly impossible as well. The seats sell out instantly. So it was quite challenging to us to view the famous glaciers in the park.
公園の北西に位置するボウマン湖 Bowman Lake, located at North West of the park.
それでも1ヶ月前、レッドバスツアーのこの日のチケットを奇跡的に購入することができた私たちは、期待に胸膨らませて公園入り口までたどりつきました。ところが、私たちは結局入園できなかったんです。なぜなら、購入したチケットは、なんと1ヶ月前の物だった！Having said that, a month before I could miraculously purchase two tickets for the Red Bus tour. We drove up to the entrance gate with excitement in the morning. However, to keep the story short, we couldn’t go in because the tickets I bought was exactly one month ago instead of the day we were there.
ジャリ道を延々と走らないと辿り着かないので、観光客もまばらで静かな湖でした。 Because you need to drive unpaved road for a long time to get there, it was a very quiet lake with only few visitors.
巨大ポカ。自己嫌悪。お金も払ってるのに、こんなに遠くまで来たのに、入れない。どうする？3日間も運転してきたバンちゃんに申し訳ない。It was a huge careless mistake. I was quite depressed by it. I paid for it, but we couldn’t enter the park. What could we do? I felt so sorry for Banchan because he drove three days to get here from home.
そんな打ちひしがれた気持ちでいた時に出会ったのが、ボウマン湖畔にいたこの鳥、シギでした。My heart sank and felt like crying. Then I met this bird, a sandpiper at Bowman lake.
こんな風に座っている所を見たのは初めてです。I have never seen a Sandpiper sitting like this by the shore.
シギの写真を撮っていたら少しづつ、心も晴れて来ました。写真はいつも私を無心にさせてくれます。そんな時、居合わせたカップルと親しくなり、シギの話題で会話が弾みます。まさにシギがもたらしてくれた出会いでした。その後、当然、公園の話題となり、貴重な情報も教えてもらいました。While I was taking the sandpiper’s pictures, my sunken feeling gradually lifted. Taking pictures is my meditation. It was at that time we met another couple there. We talked about the sandpipers (there was actually a pair of them) and had quite a good time. It was because of the sandpipers that we could meet that couple. They shared with us their park experiences and valuable information that helped us a lot for the following days.
旅は不思議です。塞がれてしまったと思った道をシギが開いてくれたんです。私たちの素晴らしい旅はその時から始まりました。Life is full of surprises. One door closed for us but a new door opened for us by these sandpipers. Our wonderful trip started from then on.
「君のおかげだよ。ありがとう！」”Thank you guys for guiding us to the wonderful people!”
「おや？何食べてるの？」”Oh? What are you eating?”
「すっかりお邪魔してしまいました。おやすみなさい。」”Sorry for disturbing you guys so long. Good night~”
利き足とかあるんでしょうか。眠る時はどっちの足の方が眠りやすいのか聞いてみたい所でした。I wonder if they have a dominant foot to stand while they sleep. I always want to ask them that, but….
遠くまで広がるフェンを眺めていると、「カナダヅルがいる！」とバンちゃん。一生懸命目を凝らすと、いた！ゆっくりと散策していました。The fen spread out far away. I was aimlessly looking at it, when suddenly a cry “There is a sandhill crane!” said Banchan. I looked out there very very hard, then found it. It was roaming slowly and gracefully.
心が和む風景です。でもじっとしていられずにレンズを800mmに付け替えてツルを追いかけて行こうと思っている時でした。突然目の前に小鹿が飛び出して来たんです。It was a comforting view which I just wanted to enjoy, but I couldn’t let go of this chance. So, I quickly changed my lens to 800mm because I wanted to follow the crane. But suddenly a fawn jumped out in front of me.
そう、小鹿の目だったんです。800ｍｍのレンズを持っていた私には近すぎて、後退りしてもこんな写真が限界でした。Yes, the #2 eye was the fawn. It was too close to me to capture it with my 800mm lens. I walked further away and took this picture.
焦点距離が足りないとモタモタしている私。小鹿はそんな私にウィンクした後、フェンの中に消えて行きました。While I was still struggling to get more distance, the fawn winked at me and disappeared into the vast fen.
秋になったら白い斑点も無くなるのでしょうか。Will all white spots on the fawn disappear in fall?
元気な子鹿たちが去った後、湿地帯に再び静寂が訪れました。The fen was once again surrounded in silence after the fawns ran away.
aomi3 now 