Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11 TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 1967 GRANITE PARK, GLACIER NATIONAL PARK 1:00 P.M. "Look there!" Steve said as they walked along the trail. He pointed at a hummingbird fluttering above a purple flower. The bird was bright red and

第十一章1967年8月8日星期二冰川国家公园花岗岩公园下午一点 “看那儿!”他们沿着小路走着，史蒂夫说。 他指着一只在一朵紫色的花上飞舞的蜂鸟。 这只鸟是鲜红色的

barely the size of Mel's thumb. Its wings were moving so fast they were almost invisible. "What kind is that?" Aunt Cassie asked. "A calliope?" Mel squinted at it. She and Mom had a book with pictures of all the birds in Glacier. They kept a list of the ones they'd spotted. "I think that's a rufous." "You're right," Steve said. "Good eye!" They'd been hiking for three hours so far, with another two to go. The Granite Park Chalet was way up in Glacier's backcountry. That was the more wild part of the park, far from any road. The only way to reach the chalet was on foot or horseback — eight miles each way. Every minute or so, Steve clapped his hands. "Hey there, bear!" he'd shout. "Hey there, bear! "Good to let them know we're coming," he explained. Clap, clap.

只有梅尔拇指那么大 它的翅膀移动得太快了，几乎看不见。 “那是什么？”卡西姨妈问。 “卡?”梅尔眯着眼睛看着它。 她和妈妈有一本书，里面有冰川上所有鸟类的照片。 他们保留了一份名单，上面都是他们发现的。 “我想那是一块红宝石。” “你说得对，”史蒂夫说。 “好眼力!”到目前为止，他们已经徒步旅行了三个小时，还有两个小时要走。 花岗岩公园小木屋在冰川的偏远地区。 那是公园里比较荒凉的地方，远离任何道路。 到达小木屋的唯一方法是步行或骑马——每条路8英里。 每隔一分钟，史蒂夫就拍拍手。 “嘿，熊！” “嘿，熊！”“最好让他们知道我们要来，”他解释说。 鼓掌,鼓掌。

The sun was boiling hot. Mel's tie-dyed T-shirt was glued to her sweaty back. Her hiking boots were too small. Her pinched toes had stopped hurting; they were numb. But she didn't complain. This was a beautiful trail. It had taken them over cliffs and down into bright green valleys. Now they were walking through a meadow filled with wildflowers. There were more colors here than in a jumbo box of Crayolas.

太阳热得滚烫。梅尔的扎染t恤粘在她汗津津的背上。 她的登山靴太小了。 她被挤压的脚趾已经不疼了；他们麻木了。 但她没有抱怨。这是一条美丽的小径。 它带着他们越过悬崖，进入明亮的绿色山谷。 现在他们正走过一片开满野花的草地。 这里的颜色比一大盒蜡笔画还要多。

Mel took swigs of cool water from her canteen and munched on nuts and raisins that Pops had packed for her. He hadn't been thrilled that they were heading to a place crawling with grizzlies. But Cassie had convinced him they'd be safe. And he was as eager as they were to find out what was happening there. As Mel walked behind Steve, she noticed a jagged purple-and-red line snaking down the back of Steve's right calf. Mel had never seen a scar that big or angry. Kevin would be fascinated. She wanted to ask Steve about it. But right now he was busy telling them all about what grizzlies eat in the wild. "The grizzly is America's apex predator," he explained. Clap, clap. "That means it can hunt any animal it wants. And no animal wants to mess with it." Mel smiled, thinking of Kevin again. He'd have about a million questions right now.

梅尔从水壶里喝了一大口凉水，大嚼老爷子给她准备的坚果和葡萄干。 他们要去一个到处都是灰熊的地方，他一点也不兴奋。 但凯西让他相信他们是安全的。 他和他们一样急切地想知道那里发生了什么事。 梅尔走在史蒂夫身后时，她注意到史蒂夫右小腿后面有一条凹凸不平的紫红色线条。 梅尔从来没见过这么大、这么愤怒的伤疤。 凯文会很着迷的。 她想问史蒂夫这件事。 但现在他正忙着告诉他们灰熊在野外吃什么。 “灰熊是美国的顶级掠食者，”他解释说。 鼓掌,鼓掌。“这意味着它可以猎杀任何它想要的动物。 没有动物想要碰它。” 梅尔笑了，又想起了凯文。 他现在肯定有一大堆问题要问。

"They'll hunt elk or deer," Steve continued. "In Alaska, the grizzlies eat lots of salmon. They pluck them right out of the water with their mouths. But here in Glacier the grizzlies mostly eat plants — like berries." Mel's mouth watered as she thought of the sweet, juicy huckleberries that grew wild along some of the trails. "They also love marmots," Steve said. Clap, clap. Those were cute little rodents that lived underground. Sometimes they'd pop their furry heads out of their dens and whistle at people who walked by. "I'm pretty hungry myself," Cassie said. "Right now I could really go for a nice, juicy… marmot." Steve and Mel burst out laughing. "Maybe we should stop for lunch, then," Steve said, pointing to a fallen log in the shade.

“他们会猎杀麋鹿或鹿，”史蒂夫继续说。 “在阿拉斯加，灰熊吃很多鲑鱼。 它们直接用嘴把它们从水里拔出来。 但在冰川这里，灰熊主要吃植物，比如浆果。” 梅尔想到小路上野生的甜美多汁的越橘，不禁流口水了。 “他们也喜欢土拨鼠，”史蒂夫说。 鼓掌,鼓掌。那些是生活在地下的可爱的小啮齿动物。 有时它们会把毛茸茸的脑袋从洞里探出来，对着路过的人吹口哨。 “我自己也很饿，”卡西说。 “现在我真的很想要一只美味多汁的土拨鼠。” 史蒂夫和梅尔突然大笑起来。 “那么，也许我们应该停下来吃午饭，”史蒂夫指着树荫下一根倒下的圆木说。

Steve took out a sad little jar of peanut butter and some cardboard-looking crackers. He eyed the thick roast beef sandwiches Pops had made for Mel and Cassie. Mel handed him half of hers. "I'm not very hungry," she fibbed. "If you're sure…" he said, happily taking it. "So," Aunt Cassie said, swallowing a mouthful of her own sandwich. "How did you first become interested in grizzlies?" "I've always been fascinated by them," Steve said. "But why?" Aunt Cassie coaxed. Steve took a gulp of water from his beat-up canteen. "Who wouldn't be? Grizzlies are powerful, smart, and curious. They're a lot like humans, if you think about it." Right then, he reminded Mel of Mom. Her eyes would get the same look of awe when she talked about bears and other wild animals.

史蒂夫拿出一小罐花生酱和一些硬纸板模样的饼干。 他看着老爷子为梅尔和卡西做的厚厚的烤牛肉三明治。 梅尔把自己的一半给了他。 “我不是很饿，”她撒了个小谎。 “如果你确定的话……”他说，高兴地接过它。 “那么，”卡西姨妈说着，吞下了一口自己的三明治。 “你是怎么开始对灰熊感兴趣的？”“我一直对它们着迷，”史蒂夫说。 “但为什么?”卡西姨妈哄着说。 史蒂夫从破旧的水壶里喝了一大口水。 “谁不会呢？”灰熊强大、聪明、好奇。 如果你仔细想想，它们和人类很像。” 就在那时，他让梅尔想起了妈妈。 当她谈到熊和其他野生动物时，她的眼睛也会流露出同样的敬畏之情。