I saw my first bear today!

[dentonfabrics]

I've been hiking in the Whites for almost 10 years and I've never seen anything bigger than a chipmunk until today. And I damn near didnt even hike today because I hate hiking in the snow and ice. But to me, the only thing worse than hiking in the snow and ice is not hiking at all. So I laced 'em up and got out there.

I tried doing Mt Willey and made it up just shy of Avalon when I realized that I was going to kill myself if I tried to bareboot it any further. So I went back, got on the Mt Willard trail and did Willard. On the way back, right at the end of the trail and about 100 yards from the parking lot, I heard a loud rustling sound off into the woods to my right. I immediately froze and peered into the woods, looking for the source. I must have been looking for a half-minute when I finally saw them -- a mother and her two cubs treed about 20 yards away. I was so PSYCHED!! (I was in Glacier last summer and we were so dissapointed in not seeing a bear that on the last day we actually took OFF the bear bells and stalked the trails hoping to see one!)

I took my camera out and started snapping pictures as I slowly continued down the trail. At last, I saw the mother open it's mouth wide -- like she was doing a noiseless yawn -- that's when I thought I'd make like a tree and get the hell out of there. What a day!!

I know I probably took a chance when I took the camera out but what the hell. You gotta do what you gotta do. And that article about the trio of hikers from PA immediately came to mind but I just couldnt resist the chance.
Anyway, here's a picture. The mother in the tree is clearly visible. The cubs are the black blur a couple of brances above her.

 

[Chip]

way cool, Denton, good for you. I'm looking forward to my first encounter.

 

[forestgnome]

Thanks for sharing!

 

[hikingfish]

My first bear sighting was 3(?) months after I started hiking. Nearly crapped me pants as it stood on it's two back legs and rocked it's head sideways as it evaluated how tasty I looked.

And who would of thought bears were so damn fast! I was shocked at their agility and speed. Cartoons of Winnie were way off!

About the only think I could think of though was: Damn! Why couldn't I take a better picture!!

http://community.webshots.com/photo/172206561/172211211ouXnJL

Fish

 

[dr_wu002]

My parents have a house in the Berkshires and one day I was over and had all 4 doors open on my car and I was taking a few things out. Suddenly, everyone is screaming at me & running into the house. I look over and there's a bear -- right near my car. It didn't do much so I quietly closed the car doors (I had food in the car & didn't want the bear in the front seat) and snuck back to the house. I was able to observe it for a few minutes from a pretty close distance (it couldn't have eaten me -- I could have gotten in the house easily had it broken towards me) before it ran away. I wish I had my camera because I could have taken some awesome closeups.

In the end it really didn't seem interested in my car or anything else. It just wandered off.

-Dr. Wu