Every peak in Glacier had a name, names given to them by the Blackfeet, Salish, Ktunaxa (Kootenai), and Qlispe peoples. Those names have been replaced by others, some by white people living amongst the natives and earned their right to live with them, others by explorers who saw their expedition as the right to rename them. Medicine Grizzly is an example of the former.

Medicine Grizzly was named by James Willard Schultz, a common man who married into the tribe. The Peak name itself refers to a specific Grizzly bear that both Blackfeet chief Mad Wolf (I climbed a peak named after him in this same valley) and a white man named Walter McClintock encountered.

This tale is told in Walter's book, The Old North Trail, and is quite riveting, to say the least. The Blackfeet hold the Grizzly in very high regard, and this one showed that it owned this valley. Chief Mad Wolf tells that the bear could be older than any known bear. If you are lucky to camp underneath this peak at the nearby Medicine Grizzly Lake, be extra vigilant not to leave any food or smellable items near your tent. Hoist them high in a tree or use the convenient bear-safe boxes, provided by the National Park Service. Witness the power of the Medicine Grizzly, from a safe distance of 100 yards, and take the memories with you forever.