The Bear Facts!

[summer_jackel]

Well, I am back from an absolutely fantastic weekend. Feels like I was gone for a week. There are tons of pictures...tidepools and an unplanned for but fabulous backpacking trip...but I thought I'd share the bear first.

Bear! I was driving our of Humboldt Redwoods State Park on my way to King's Range Wilderness towards the end of the day when I noticed a large black bear meandering around at the side of the road. He headed into the woods when he saw my car (good for him). So I did what any sensible person would do, right, and parked as quickly as I could and followed him up into the woods.

Mind you, there *was* this little tiny voice in the back of my head going, "you know you're FOLLOWING the BEAR, right? As opposed to, say, going away from it? Did you notice that this wasn't a small bear?" But mostly I was just thrilled. He was quite unconcerned and had to know I was there (we were both making a racket walking through the dead leaves) but as long as I kept a reasonable distance, he let me observe.

He was an absolutely gorgeous bear, deep brown with gold upon his back and shoulders, which stood about five feet. He was long of claw and foreleg, and I got to see him...just being a bear, living his life. He nibbled some red flowers and clawed at a tree and groomed his paw and shoulder. If I got too close he would stop and look at me, and then move away. Once, I crouched down a little and he started to walk towards me, so I stood up quickly and he backed off. Finally, something startled him (the wind had changed...perhaps he caught my scent. Their eyesight is not great) and he ran deeper into the woods, amazingly silent given how loud he was when he was foraging. This time I didn't follow.

It was a stunning thing, to be so close to this wild creature, no fence or car or anything between us. I've seen wild bears on several occasions before, a couple of times in camp in the middle of the night (when you really don't want to see them) or running away really fast on the trail. Never just to be near one, watching it, neither of us threatened. I feel so blessed.

I did get a couple of pictures, although the light was too poor for them to come out clearly. So fuzzy pics, but still neat ones.

Comments

[dustmeat.livejournal.com]

that IS a gorgeous bear!

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

isn't he beautiful? It's a shame I didn't have enough light for the camera. He had the most lovely golden cast to his back and shoulders.

[demonvaska.livejournal.com]

I do not mean to be nasty, but you should have not been that close. Bears, while impressive, are unpredictable. (As opposed to humans who are always predictably vicious) Any place that has animals that can be a severe threat to your health, such as bears, boars, etc, you should either go in properly trained and armed or not enter into at all.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

oh, I know the danger, as with any big predator. Still, I've been backpacking in bear habitat for many years and have studied bear danger a lot, and the chance I took was not that great. Black bears are most dangerous if they are in your camp looking for your food or if you come too close to a mom who has cubs. There are very few accounts of them harming people unless it is in one of those situations. Grizzlies are a different story, they are far more dangerous and will hunt people, but alas, the California Golden Grizzly is extinct, only black bears here now. :(

The scariest bear experience I had was years ago in Yosemite (where the bears know people have food :P) and one came into camp at night and, despite a lot of commotion and yelling (and all the smelly things being in bear boxes), kept coming back. The one I followed here made it very clear that he would tolerate me within a certain distance (the photo was at my camera's highest zoom) and then he was running.

So yes, it was a risk, but I'm not willing to live my life without risk, and following the bear into the woods was probably a lot safer than the drive I took to get there.

[demonvaska.livejournal.com]

I would just prefer never to read an article about a certain artist, lawyer and violin player being found mauled in woods.

[summer-jackel.livejournal.com]

Oh, believe me, I don't really want that article out there either. ;) Still, if I ever do meet my end in some way like that, I want my friends to know that I died doing something I loved.

[snebold.livejournal.com]

Amazing!

[knnyx.livejournal.com]

wow!
thats beautiful...
KOOL!
:)

[sabledrake.livejournal.com]

Very cool even if they are godless killing machines :)

-- C.

[a-rowan-dryad.livejournal.com]

Melts. You know, I am not big hiker these days (much to my sorrow since I am stuck in Orange County... oh well) but... Thanks for taking me with you. If only in telling me about it.

[baxil.livejournal.com]

Looks a lot like the one I scared away from a trickle creek in SoCal during my PCT hike. (ref)

Geez, it's been a hell of a year since then. Your hike looks like it was beautiful, though. I need to get out to the mountains and at least do a few day hikes this summer.