Grizzly bears live generation to generation. A mother bear may raise only a few litters in her lifetime, maybe four to six cubs total, but what she passes on is far greater than her genetics. Everything those cubs learn in the first two to three years at her side becomes a road map for the rest of their lives. She teaches them where to dig for roots when the snow first melts, how to find cutthroat trout in spring creeks, where to den safely for the winter, how to move with the seasons from one f

Intrigued by the scent of food, a curious coyote follows his nose through the night. Little did he know that the “meal” he smelled had a guardian, a large male grizzly bear, slumbering beside his kill. You’d better have your wits about you when you’re wandering through bear country. Watch the wind. Listen. Look around. Look in the shadows. You’d be surprised how a 600-pound bear can disappear. Right now, bears are taking their last bites before heading high into the mountains to den for winter.

It’s that time of year, bears are heading into the high country, looking for dens where they’ll sleep away the winter, living off the fat they worked all summer to build. And guess what? I’m gonna do it too. In a real grizzly den. That is, if a bear hasn’t gotten there first. Watch the latest episode of Endless Venture on YouTube! | Casey Anderson