On September 9, 2018, four friends embarked on a five-day adventure of hiking and fishing in the Beartooth Mountains in Montana and Wyoming. A trip that was named Alive2018 in planning emails and texts.
After driving 15 hours through the night from Minnesota, the four began their adventure at the trailhead on a beautiful crisp sunny day. They started out on the four-hour hike to get to the campsite at Granite Lake, which took them deep into the mountains, far from any cell phone coverage.
The hike was beautiful but difficult, with each man carrying over 60 pounds on his back, and traversing multiple mountains to get to the lake. After taking a final break about one-half mile from their campsite, Brad Johnson experienced a burst of renewed energy that came from the feeling of being so close, and broke away from the group. As he came over the top of a small hill, he encountered two grizzly bears at full charge just 30 feet from him.
“The odds of Brad making it out of this situation were incredibly slim.”
This website is devoted to the amazing story that followed, the miracles that happened on the mountain, the peace that was felt throughout all the pain, and the courage and love of these three men for their friend.