Ben has this uncanny ability to sense the presence of things coming up behind us, perhaps by hearing them. There have been many times we are hiking up a trail and he suddenly stops and and looks back. I turn and find another hiker coming up the trail.
Both Ben and Maggie are so attentive that by following their gaze I see wildlife I would certainly have missed. Last year in a period of calm weather we camped near a timberline lake, above 12,000 feet. In the dim light before sunrise I could tell Ben and Maggie spotted something by how they gazed across the lake. I looked and saw a herd of mule deer that had been browsing on the forbs and greenery on the lakeside.
A few years ago we were hiking in winter when Ben stopped and looked behind us. A group of seven massive Bull Elk with racks had just come out of the trees. They were an impressive sight - tall and magnificent. It was one of the few times I have seen Ben exhibit a slight hint of fear. He stood silently watching them cross the meadow about 400 yards from us and backed up a step, pressing against my leg.
Last week we hiked up high in the Crandall Creek drainage, in the Beartooth mountains north of Yellowstone. It is an area known for aggressive Grizzly bears, possibly because Yellowstone's problem grizzlies are released up in the Closed Creek drainage, which is a tributary of Crandall Creek.
Coming down the trail both Ben and Maggie stopped and looked back, into the forest. I didn't see anything, and encouraged them to keep going. They took a few steps and stopped again, gazing into the trees again with worried faces, different from when they spot elk or deer.
They kept this up as we went on down the trail for a couple of minutes, fixated on something behind us. I expected a horse and rider to come around the bend, but none did. There was no doubt something was back there, and I thought it wise not to linger very long.
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