I had a jam-packed couple of days recently. Had a gig west of the divide and camped out. On the way home, I ventured into the remote northern Bitterroots to release my grandmother’s ashes.

I ended up getting lost up at 6k during a wicked storm on my way to find a hidden lake. Trees were cracking and teetering, debris swirled in the air. Then the storm cleared as if it was never there, and a rainbow appeared over the wilderness. A few minutes later I found the lake, and spread the ashes in the largest wilderness ecosystem in the lower 48, right on the Idaho/Montana border in sub-alpine country still rimmed with snowfields. I could hear a waterfall crashing into the lake as I spread the ashes.

My grandmother was amazingly strong and independent…a centering force. I looked up to her that way, and I hope it rubbed off on me.

Thanks for everything, grandma.

I was lucky to get out into the Montana mountains a few days ago. This image was the result. There is no place in the world more beautiful than Montana in spring.

A bison and wildflowers in Montana, yesterday.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on May 12, 2018 at 1:54pm PDT

This story really, really pissed me off. And that doesn’t happen very often.

In India, a taxi driver spotted a bear along the road, and got out to take a selfie. Sure, this was dumb. There’s almost no commentary required here. To make things worse, the bear was injured and likely felt threatened. So it charged the man.

Here’s the part that gets me: in the video, the man is *slowly* being killed by the bear, while the onlookers (five to six people) *do nothing*. Well, okay, to give them “credit”, they were filming. And one boy tossed a big rock.

This bear could’ve been scared away by several people ganging up on it. Instead, they filmed. As the man died. Slowly.

Yet, there was one animal in this scene that actually tried to do something. A tiny stray dog desperately tried to save the man, and attacked the bear. Unfortunately, the bear seized the man by the head, gave two good shakes, and likely broke his neck.

Cliches are cliches because they’re often true. Man’s best friend is a dog, not people.

You can watch the video at this link. But be warned, it’s distrubing.

This mammoth black bear surprised me while I was busy taking a landscape image in the other direction. Of course, it wasn’t the bear’s fault. I was down wind, and not making noise. As visitors to the bear’s home, we must be aware at all times. Fortunately I had my telephoto lens and was able to grab a crisp shot.

Filmed in Glacier National Park.

I was filming another scene when I heard the slightest noise behind me. As I turned, I was shocked to see this enormous black bear come up over the rock outcropping. Always pay attention to your surroundings in world class bear habitat. And Glacier is just that. The bear was just curious, as most bears are. Also important to note I was downwind from the bear. Filmed at 420mm on a 1.6x crop sensor.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on Jan 30, 2018 at 3:31pm PST

I need to get back to this river. As much as I like Montana west of the divide, my heart is in the Gallatin National Forest. I first discovered this amazing spot in 2001, and have tried to make it back every year since.

And big thanks to my grandfather, who got me hooked on fly fishing. When I was 19 or so he took me into a fancy sporting goods place in St. Charles, and bought me a Sage fly rod. That’s a pretty sweet fly rod for a beginner.

Certain places remain in your blood…the sense of land, of place. Palpable, forever.

I need to get back to this river. As much as I like Montana west of the divide, my heart is in the Gallatin National Forest.

A post shared by Michael Hodges (@michaelhodgesauthor) on Mar 14, 2018 at 7:15pm PDT