A 32-year-old man from the San Diego area is lucky to be alive after setting out for what should have been the triumphant final day of a backpacking trip in Montana’s Glacier National Park. On May 28th, Daniel Crago was exploring the Grinnell Glacier Trail, an iconic ~11-mile out-and-back route in the Many Glacier area, and was descending a snowfield when he was suddenly reminded, in the most visceral way possible, that he was smack-dab in the middle of grizzly country.
Moments after snapping a selfie, Crago spotted the movement of what he believed to be a grizzly cub passing nearby. As he scanned his surroundings, he locked eyes with a large sow just 15 feet upslope from where he was standing. Doing what experts recommend, he tried his hand at alerting the bear with “Hey bear!” to announce his presence. Unfortunately for Crago, the bear opted for fight over flight and charged at him instantly.
Before he could reach his bear spray, the bear was on top of him. Recounting from a hospital bed, Crago said the bear clamped onto his right forearm, crushing the bones in a powerful bite, and dragged him roughly 20–30 feet down the slope.
“I looked down and saw my arm just dangling,” Crago recalled. “It was just a complete crush of the bones, the forearm bones. I thought, ‘This is it.’”
The bear then released him and retreated.
Thankfully for Crago, fellow hikers were close by and one just so happened to be a pediatric ER doctor who stabilized his severely bleeding arm, while another hiker made continuous noise to deter the bears from returning, and a third called for help via satellite communicator. An airlift soon followed, taking him to Logan Health Medical Center in Kalispell, where has already undergone three surgeries, with at least one more planned, and faces a recovery that could stretch up to two years.
Crago has since launched a GoFundMe to help with mounting medical bills, that include a chopper ride that alone cost tens of thousands after insurance. As of early June, the fundraiser had raised over $30,000 and he stated that any surplus will go to support the National Park Service.
This incident marks the second grizzly-related event in Glacier this spring. Just weeks earlier, on May 3rd, 33-year-old Anthony Pollio of Florida was killed in what authorities determined was a surprise encounter on the Mt. Brown Trail, marking the park’s first fatal bear attack since 1998.
Park officials described Crago’s encounter as another “surprise” meeting, likely exacerbated by the noise of rushing meltwater masking sounds for both hiker and bear.
The trail was temporarily closed following the attack and no lethal action was taken or is planned against the bear.
