Bears in Whites

[DrewKnight]

...He was the most dangerous of all bears, the bear who lost his fear of humans. Brutus learned how to get food from humans rather then in the wild, and he got very good at it...

Unfortunately, we have one of those fellows in Waterville Valley... great big old boar who seems to live up in the South End of the XC trail network. He's frequently sighted making the rounds of the dumpsters in the condo complexes or heading for Town Square -- I believe he is to blame for dumping two huge drums of fry grease last summer (made the whole area smell like a spoiled french fry for a couple weeks).

I saw him twice two summers back -- once, July 6th, during the town fireworks (so all kinds of hellacious noise), we ran out of our rental condo with the kids to watch the show. The kids were sitting on top of our car for a better view, while my wife and I were standing in the driveway along with several other adults, talking quietly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a big, dark shadow move along the bushes toward the dumpster enclosure. My son saw it too, and said, "Dad, was that what I think it was?". We got them down but stayed out to watch the fireworks, and about 2 minutes later, he came back out of the dumpster enclosure muttering to himself (locks must still frustrate him), and strolled in plain sight about 25 feet from us along the edge of the parking area and back between the buildings. We beat it back inside, no reason to tempt fate, though he seemed blissfully unconcerned about our presence. He's a big boy, too, easily 30% bigger than the bears you see at Clark's, for instance.

About a month later, in mid August, Town Square put on its first "Chocolate and Jazz" evening, with live jazz and all the restaurants in town set up with chocolate desserts -- very decadent and a nice evening. Things broke up around 10pm, and I was driving back across town to deliver something to a friend, when I turned onto the main drag past Town Square, dozens of people meandering back toward their cars. Well, apparently old boars can read, and he wasn't taking any chances that anyone would beat him to the choice trash in the cans, because he came out of the trees and wandered slowly into the street in front of me -- again, people walking all around, not 50 feet away. He stopped and stared at me, and I blinked my headlights at him, and after about 30 seconds, he finally, grudgingly beat a slow retreat.

Fortunately, none of these encounters has gone badly that I have heard of, but it does make you think. I hope the old boy stays sympatico, hate to see him or someone else get hurt.

 

[wardsgirl]

I haven't seen too many bears in the Whites. Fortunately, whenever I do see one, it is always running away from me!

1. Tripoli Road near the Osceola trailhead, 1994

2. Zealand Trail near the parking lot, 1996

3. Mt. Clinton Road near the Edmand's Path trailhead, 2002- I was with Ethan, who was 7 years old at the time- it was his first bear sighting outside of Clark's Trading Post!

 

[carole]

Ahhh, Brutus…summer of ’95…the bear who came for dinner. I wrote an account on the AMC’s Hiker Journal but the posts only goes back to the time of registration (2002). But I keep a journal and it is fun to go back and see what I saved:

Postings on Hiker Journal 3/1/00
The following message was posted by Carole on Wednesday, March 1st at 7:54:37 PM
A couple years back (almost 5 yrs. actually, in June of ’95 - it seems like last year!), we had more than a passing glimpse, one came to dinner and didn’t leave! We were on a three-day backpack, and around 3 or 4 pm settled on a site for the night. We had just started to set up the tent, and had gone for water. No food out yet and Mr. Black Bear came a calling. The ‘bang pans to scare them’ trick didn’t even faze him. He went for the dog food but wasn’t interested in it, then got the pouch with our morning oatmeal (fruit and cream style, double bagged in plastic) and settled down by the tent. We were able to retrieve one pack that had the food and went down the trail. After nearly an hour of hoping he’d leave, he didn’t and we decided we would. It was a long hike out to a road and we appreciatively got a ride to our vehicle. The next day we hiked back in to retrieve our gear. Only my son’s solo tent had tear marks in it and teeth marks in the book inside his tent (he saved the book!). The oatmeal (2 days worth) was nowhere to be found. On our trip back in we met a group of four who, just upon awaking, saw their food lost to a bear. Could it be Mr. Black Bear? Most definitely. And on our trip back out, what did we see down the trail? Mr. Black Bear? Or a friend? I can laugh now. I wasn’t laughing then.

The following message was posted by David Metsky on Thursday, March 2nd at 9:40:45 AM
Carole,
I bet you were in the Pemi, right? Then it was Brutus that you met, a problem bear that got used to humans and was eventually killed by the rangers. He was the exception, not the rule. You guys found the one bear in the past 20 years who acted like that.

The following message was posted by dug on Thursday, March 2nd at 4:47:22 PM
I've posted about my encounter with Brutus on here before. Dave's right, the rangers did put him down about 5 years ago. He was not at all intimidated by humans. He wanted our dinner that was left out, but the 6 of us and my dog wouldn't let him have it. He was by far the largest black bear I've ever seen. The rangers estimated 3-350 lbs., but as the years have gone by the story is now told that he was 450-500 lbs!!

The following message was posted by Carole on Friday, March 3rd at 8:27:50 AM
The timing and size described above indicate we met Brutus. The ranger at the time said they had reports of a problem bear. She was heading in as we were leaving the second time and she wondered if she’d lose her food.
We had spent well over an hour in his presence and though concerned over losing gear, we were never threatened physically.
We had always practiced safe camping and food storage, not only for ourselves but also for the bears. We are visiting their home and they are the ones who pay with their life. For this I am sorry. I was becoming quite comfortable in the forest, and this encounter set me back for a while. But a contemplation of the experience and continued learning about the wildlife had made me more comfortable now than before, and for this I thank Brutus.

Since then I have had the privilege to cross paths with many bears, not only in my yard and on the road, but in the Belknaps, Ossipees, Maine, and the White Mountains.

 

[RoySwkr]

I've seen several bears while hiking and several from cars, in every case they vanished so quickly when they saw me I'm not sure where they went.

I've been to a Ben Kilham lecture and to Clarks Trading Post, they make bears seem benign but I still prefer not to see them. In Yellowstone they say moose are more dangerous than bears and I love seeing moose so I don't claim this is logical.

 

[dentonfabrics]

I've seen a lot of bears in the Whites, probably because I hike quietly alone. I've had two "face to face" encounters with them, both times with a mother and her two cubs.

The first time was on the Avalon trail, where my presence "treed" the bears. I stood there taking pictures until the mother started to become agitated which had me beating a hasty retreat. The other close encounter came on the railroad tracks heading towards Pondicherry. I saw the bear from a distance, foraging in the bushes, and waited for her to leave. After giving her a few minutes, I continued towards where she was, down the tracks when oliver sudden, she emerged from the bushes and crossed the tracks with 2 cubs in tow. We stopped and looked at each other for a couple of seconds, then she continued to cross the tracks and head into the woods.

Both times I had the camera out and got pictures, but I'd be embarrased to post them here after looking at forestgnomes shots!!



bob

 

[Fisher Cat]

We've come across several during our trailwork. That always seemed odd considering the noise we make when working. One occasion was when 4 of us were walking out and a bear crossed our path at a 90 degree angle, intersecting us. He popped out on the trail no more than 25 feet away from my brother-in-law. I was last in line bringing up the rear, when quite suddenly I became third in line as my wife jumped behind me. Hence,and forever more, the first position in line became the "bearbait" position.

On another occasion I was in "bearbait" when down the trail in front of me I saw 2 black "dots" (they were cubs) cross the trail and scamper up the mountainside. One must have slipped and rolled back down, when momma caught up to him, swatted him in the butt and sent him back up, she following. We waited awhile to let them clear out before proceeding.

Once, when not hiking but hunting, we, being safety concious, unloaded our guns before leaving the woods, It was foggy out, visibility low, about dusk, we came out on a railroad embankment near our house to walk home an lo and behold, we came out on the embankment less than 30 feet from a surprised bruin. We were downwind and he knew something was there but didn't know what. He got low and started swinging his head back and forth while we are loading shells just in case. He stood up, stomped the ground and I thought this was it, but instead he tailed it and ran away. It was a bit nerve rattling.

I remember too, that they tried to get Brutus but I don't recollect they ever did. If they did, believe me, there would be pictures or at least some record because that would have been NH's biggest bear taken in recent memory, perhaps ever.

 

[rup]

Was Brutus the same chap who terrorized campers at Jigger Johnson in the late 70s??

 

[AlexTal]

I love my bear story.

About 3 years ago, I was camping by waterville with my girlfriend. First signs of spring. We just finished cooking, she heard something. She always hears something. I said it's probably nothing, walked a little off, did your typical bend at the hip, hand over your eyes, peering into the woods. About 20 yards from me was a bear on his hind legs, bent at the hip, hand literally by his face (I like to say over his eyes), peering out of the woods. We saw each other at the same time, both stood up, both obviously shooken, stared at each other for what was probably 5 seconds but felt like 5 minutes, then he got on all four ran off about 10 feet, looked back, and barreled out of there.

He was probably intimidated by my amazingly toned physique and gigantic build. (Or he was starving, just came out of hibernation, saw me and figured it wasn't worth spending the energy fighting with me for my food when there's a dumpster down the street that doesn't argue)

 

[skibones]

I've seen bear tracks in Waterville Valley this week. One set by my house ( I guess it was the bears and not the wind that moved the stacked hub caps into the woods) and another set off the X-C connector trail in the woods. Not far from this trail my friend's super huge BBQ, which probably smelled of cooked turkey, was pushed down. So now I'm wondering what exactly does "hibernating" mean. I thought bears hibernated when the daylight was short, but seeing these tracks must mean I'm misinformed. Does anyone know when and how long the bears go and hibernate?
Skibones

 

[chinooktrail]

Here in Wonalancet we have quite a few bears around. I often see tracks on the trails around my house.

I have had many a bird feeded carried away and cleaned out, when I didn't get home before dark to bring them in.

My favorite 'close encounter' (cue the music) with one was a few years back, first year in my new home. I was out running with my Husky Natasha, who thankfully was on a leash. We were returning to the house when I saw a very large black dog up ahead at the AMC Wonalancet Cabin. I was hoping it was on a runner or a leash. I got closer and thought, wow, that is a really big dog. Closer still and I finally realized it was a bear.

At this point Natasha was thinking, yum, dinner! Lets go get it! I was thinking maybe the bear was having the same thoughts...

I held Natasha back, no small feat, and watched until the bear slowly meandered off down a small wooded hill. I waited a bit longer, just in case, and started jogging again. When I got to where the bear had started down the hill I looked and he/she was up on its hind legs, shaking a tree.

I thought this was a sign of aggression, and at the time it really looked like it to me. I stood there, frozen, not sure what to do. When the bear started back up the hill I took off for home, probably my fastest time ever for a half mile!

I am happy, and fortunate to live in the same areas as these beautiful and unknown creatures.

I also highly reccomend the book by Mr. Killham, he explains these creatures well, and also explains how little we really know about them. Better yet, if you can get to a talk he is giving he is a great speaker and the slide show is simply amazing!

Now Grizzleys... I have a few stories about them as well...

 

[Mad Townie]

Saw some nice, BIG bear tracks crossing the Middle Sister trail near Chocorua on Sunday 12/14. Not too high up, below the ice band, and clearly made after the ice storm. Pretty cool!

Off Topic: It's pretty near impossible to locate the trail across the open ledgy areas of the Sisters. No cairns that we could find.

 

[sapblatt]

Not while hiking - but in the woods at the height of land on Pinkham B - mother and a cub - and I saw a small bear cross I-93 at dusk just north of the Kanc...
Seen many tracks - some of the more memorable ones were along the lesser used RMC trails - Monoway, Cliffway, etc...

 

[Jazzbo]

Highland Center has bears

In August of this year I saw the only bear I ever saw in NH at the Highland Center. I had taken an 5:30am stroll around Ammonoosuc Lake and was on my way back to the lodge to catch breakfast at 6:30 when I encountered what appeared to be a relatively young bear ambling along the trail coming from the direction of the lodge. I expect he was checking out the dumpsters before the humans got up and about and was heading back into the bush. Perhaps he'd been disturbed by someone at the dumpster and was on his way back to the trees. I stopped and froze and carefully reached for my camera and had time to take a few snapshots before he had a chance to see me.

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He stopped when he noticed my presence. I sensed I was blocking his path so I backed up about 20' to give him some room and paused. He started moving again and I took this shot just before he exited into the bushes stage right.

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[Gris]

yes

there are LOTS of bears in the Whites, LOTS! as you know, they are all over the Cannon slopes in late summer eating berries. there are also MANY in the Franconia-Easton area. eating garabage? reportedly there a good number in the Pemi basin, but i have not seen them there.

i have never seen a really big bear in the Whites, tho they did have a pic of a real big one on the wall at the little store in Franconia this past summer.

only big black bear i ever saw was in remote area of WV. he was HUGE. he hauled *ss, guess because they hunt them there.

been within a few feet of Grizzlies in Alaska, wasnt 'fun'

 

[Squintyken]

Butterhill Road and Main Street Franconia

your questions seem to be:
1 Did you encounter a bear,
2 what did you do...
and curiously, "(I know what the books say to do)"

personally, assuming the "books" are written by zoologists, park rangers, and other naturalists who professionally study bears and collect wisdom from numerous sources, I would do what those books say to do! ...As opposed to cherry-picking anecdotal evidence.

Apparently bears are a common topic on VFTT, e.g. "Best Animal Control Tool" by Bigearl

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18595&highlight=bear+advice

nuisance bears as a “people problem”...

http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=7635&highlight=nuisance+bear

etc.

thinking more about how your questions were posed, I can start to see an interest in "realism" or "practice vs. theory" angle.

i.e. we probably have all read the same books about bears, and other hazards / challenges / beauties of backpacking because we're all responsible, curious, and safety-wise hikers.... (right?!)... who practice continuous self-education in Nature's classroom...

So perhaps you're coming from this angle: "did you remember to do what you read in the book when you finally came face to face with the object of your fear?"...

*
(apologies for interminable circumlocutious preamble)

ok, so now for my bear stories:

1) White Cap and Kennebago Divide North Maine (NEHH)-
in the fall, hiking solo, I smelled the bear before I saw him (just like they said i might) - i'd describe the scent politely as a "warm, heavy musky smell". (or impolitely as "a really big fart" - just trying to be descriptive).

a few steps later I see a large black animal on all fours about 40 yards in front of me and just about the time I think "OMG It's a bear!", the bear looks up and sees me too. I'd guess-timate 175 pounds (bigger than me).

yes, there was a moment of acute awareness of my immediate surroundings, but fear soon abated. what could I do? not much basically. "don't run, don't panic" came to mind. "stand tall and make noise if necessary"...

so... I stood there. I did nothing.

(yup, just like Christopher Walken in The Dead Zone).

nervousness gave way to fascination and gratitude for the gift of seeing this wonderful creature. I did get out my camera from my pack pocket (shoulder strap mounted - quite useful) but b/c it was in very dark shade under thick canopy and far away I accepted that photos probably would not work.

before I got a chance to snap a picture, it sauntered off into even thicker brush.

I waited for a few minutes, watching the last known whereabouts intently, and pondered retreat to the car, because the bear had been in my "direct path"... a valley leading to a col between White Cap and Kennebago (IIRC).

chronic peakbagger that I am I just had to continue because the effort I'd invested so far seemed too much to let go of (that's a very long drive on 4-wheeling roads). at first I tried a herd path skirting to one side, which only later re-joined the original herd path i had been on. oh well.

I continued and completed the peakbagging, which had enough challenges bushwacking to forget about the bear at least part of the time!

2) Butterhill Road Franconia NH May 2008
if you're not familiar with this road, it can be very empty of cars and people for long periods of time.

training for a triathlon - solo again - I had just biked up hill to a relatively flat stretch when I saw a big black dog walking down the middle of the paved road away from me.

ohhhh... that's not a dog, is it?!

apparently I was downwind from it, as it leisurely strolled with it's back to me, sniffing at the breeze occassionally.

I wanted to get back to my car, which was parked another mile down the road, past the bear. ah, decisions, decisions.

I felt a bit safer this time, because I was on a bicycle, and I guessed that while I can not outrun a bear, I could almost certainly bike faster than a bear, especially down Butter Hill. (although biking fast down that hill poses dangers of its own. no such thing as zero risk).

I followed him slowly for a short while, but thought I had better not surprise him. so while still about 50 yards away I stopped, stood, yelled, and waved my arms.

He turned around and looked at me for a while. "seconds seem like hours" as they say.

then he returned to his original course, pausing to look back at me every few yards.

I decided to cautiously follow, hoping he would exit the road to the woods, sooner rather than later.

honestly, I don't know why I felt safe to continue, other than context... just being there, it seemed clear that he (or she?) was going somewhere, and had little or no interest in me, except for avoiding me, perhaps.

just as the bear got to the edge of the road, and looked like it would enter someone's front yard (enormous multi-acre lot) I got close enough to pass on the other side of the road. I suppose that was 30 feet - the width of a paved road - that separated us?

I just rode along at a walking pace, watching him watching me.

I looked back a few times at 40 and 80 feet, etc. then felt a sigh of relief when i was definitely in the clear.

and I kicked myself for not having a camera!


3) Main Street and Butter Hill Road Franconia August 2 2008
I felt especially prepared for the Top Notch triathlon, after all, I'd already met a bear in training, what else could happen?!

well, I could meet the same bear?!

I guess I was somewhere near the front 1/3rd of the race of about 300 contestants, and we were spread out, mostly single file, with spaces of up to 6 bike lengths in between individuals and groups of bikes, nearing the foot of Butterhill road when I saw a bear.

All of a sudden, it ran out of the woods on the left side of the road, barreled across the road right in front of me, and leaped into the woods on the right, with just enough time for me and the nearest triathletes to express our surprise in various colorful metaphors.

so what did I do?

just keep truckin'

*

in case anyone's interested - these seem useful:

American Bear Association

http://www.americanbear.org/awareness/camping-hiking.html

Bearman's, although that's about Grizzleys...

http://www.yellowstone-bearman.com/b_spray.html

 

[w7xman]

Great stories and great pictures in this thread...
Yes, there seem to be a lot of bears in these mountains...

A couple people asked about bears above treeline, with some good stories, pictures and replies. I can add one to that. This was taken shortly after sunrise on a fine June morning. I can't imagine what would cause a mother to lead her three cubs up to the Sherman Adams Building on Washington, but they were right below the main windows.

From there, they walked over to the Nelson Crag Trail, and took the cog down...an amazing site.

I got terrible shots from the event, only one sharp was sharp due to my excited shaking hands...

This is not the sharp one...Kevin posted the other earlier in the thread...but it's a neat shot anyways...

 

[skibones]

A couple people asked about bears above treeline, with some good stories, pictures and replies. I can add one to that. This was taken shortly after sunrise on a fine June morning. I can't imagine what would cause a mother to lead her three cubs up to the Sherman Adams Building on Washington, but they were right below the main windows.

From there, they walked over to the Nelson Crag Trail, and took the cog down...an amazing site.


Could they be looking for the dumpsters up there?

 

[BIGEarl]

…….

Apparently bears are a common topic on VFTT, e.g. "Best Animal Control Tool" by Bigearl

….

Please don’t give this thread or me too much credit. At the time of this thread there was another very active one dealing with a dog problem. A member here was bitten by an uncontrolled dog during a hike. The discussion degraded as many “dog” posts do. I can’t seem to locate the thread and believe it must have been deleted after it was locked. My thread was as much sarcasm as anything. In fact, the Moderator could tell something didn’t smell quite right with the thread and posted a warning. He subsequently edited his remarks but in fact he was initially 100% correct. The thread did mention canine and the Moderator accurately picked up on it.

I’m concerned that you are using sarcasm as a basis for a serious point you are attempting to establish.

 

[DrewKnight]

Unfortunately, we have one of those fellows in Waterville Valley... great big old boar who seems to live up in the South End of the XC trail network. He's frequently sighted making the rounds of the dumpsters in the condo complexes or heading for Town Square -- I believe he is to blame for dumping two huge drums of fry grease last summer (made the whole area smell like a spoiled french fry for a couple weeks).

Not that anyone was closely following the saga of this particular bear, but he met an untimely death this week, of high-speed lead-poisoning. Apparently a hunter took him sometime over the last few days. A friend had the misfortune to find the results of the field-dressing on a morning hike with her dog. OK, I will admit it, it kind of bums me out.

Also, a reminder to anyone out in the woods... wear your blaze orange and make lots of noise. Last Monday MFurgal64 and I were out for mtn bike ride, and like a dope, I wore black pants and a black fleece... when the shotgun booms started fairly regularly in the not-very-far-distance, I realized I probably looked like a fugitive from Clarks, trained in the fine art of balancing a full-suspension mountain bike... We started singing and hey-o-ing almost continuously on the assumption that no one would want to shoot a bear that could both ride a bike AND sing.

 

[Barbarossa]

I was in the Benton Range a couple weeks ago, hoping to see a moose. There was a bull trotting along the forest road, but nothing in the woods. Up on a ridge, I saw a bear when I got to close for its comfort. It burst out of hiding and ran away. The encounter was too short to waste time fumbling for the camera.