The Bear Facts!
Jun. 25th, 2007 11:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
summer_jackelWell, 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.
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.
