The young couple looked dusty, tired and worn out. 1down the window, I asked, "Where are you2? " The woman replied, "We were supposed to meet our mate there, with the car, at the crossroads. " My husband and I3each other and nodded our agreement in giving them a
4. We opened the trunk and they put their packs inside.
Although talking was difficult with the steep and5road, we discovered that the wife came from Edmonton, Canada and her6was from the Netherlands. They had been out on the7 for four nights, seen about 12 bears, not much8because of the smoke from the big wildfire in Glacier National Park. We were having9problems with the poor air quality. We10how my husband and I had backpacked along that same trail many years ago and our own11of searching for bears.
I asked them if they wanted any more help from us, 12 they said they could manage themselves. They had13 to go back to her mom's in Canada, regroup, and then14 round the world for a year, maybe Bali, New Zealand, but they weren't15 sure yet. For now, they were looking forward to16 their friend and getting a special pizza because they had17 a lot before about how good the pizza was.
I gave them each a big "bear" hug, with blessings ( 祝 福 ) for a18 journey. I put some cash into the young woman's hand,19 her "Get some pizza! Our treats. " I smiled, thinking of them 20pizza and good wishes from kind strangers—my husband and me.
