There was bear scat, lots of bear scat, fresh bear scat, all along the trail. I was making a lot of noise and stopping often to scan the hillside above for bears or bear sign. The bear that I had spotted earlier remained in sight for much of the way down to Sheridan Creek, where the turnoff to campsite 8H3 is located, right on the north side of the little stream. I was so intent on keeping an eye on the wandering bear on the slope above the trail that I managed to miss the little campsite sign, stepping across the creek and hoofing it on down the trail. It was only after I noticed that I was approaching the south end of Heart Lake, probably a mile and a half further on, that I realized what I'd done. Oops!

I took a few minutes to study the map, making sure that I had some good landmarks picked out to pinpoint the location of the campsite, and then turned back. Man, that was a cold, lonely, and spooky place to be with a big storm threatening to sweep the mountainside with a curtain of snow. It was with a great deal of relief that I stepped, once again, across Sheridan Creek and noticed the small brown sign that indicated the location of the campsite. Evidently, this site gets little use, since the trail was barely visible in the tall grass. However, it was obvious from the surrounding landmarks that the site was directly below me, so I headed on down the slope towards the lakeshore. If you look at the lower photo, the campsite 8H3 is located on the right side of the little stand of timber, and 8H2 is located on the left side of the same stand. Both sites have a terrific view of the lake and the high country to the south and east, but 8H3 seemed a little more open and 'friendlier'. If you haven't camped alone in Grizzly country, you probably wouldn't understand what I mean by 'friendlier', but it has to do with a feel that you get for a place. 8H2 seemed to be a little darker and more closed in, at least what little I saw of it.

The low ridge on the other side of Heart Lake in the bottom photo is part of the Continental Divide, separating the Pacific drainage (Heart Lake and the Snake River) from the Atlantic drainage (Yellowstone Lake and the Yellowstone River.) Only a little over 8 miles of easy trail separates the two high country lakes. I had planned originally to head on across the Divide to the Southeast Arm, but a part of the Trail Creek trail near Outlet Lake had been closed because of bear/human conflict.