I had a bear encounter! Now I never actually saw the bear but I didn't have to see her to know exactly what was going on. I was hiking with three other people (thank goodness) and we accidentally got between a mother bear and her cub. We could hear the cub calling out to it's mother and we heard the mother warning us to get away....all just a few feet from where we were. We couldn't see either of the pair because the brush was so incredibly dense, but I could tell we were asking for trouble if we didn't leave right away in a calm manner, and we did of course without hesitation.
If you've never been close to an upset wild mama bear, let me just say it's a bone chilling experience. I am almost positive that the only thing that kept her from charging out after us was the fact there were four of us on that hike. It was an experience that was very eye opening to say the least.
It's easy to get a false sense of security here. There are a few houses, some telephone wires, and a dirt road, so it's really hard to believe how wild and remote this place is. But the truth of the matter is the wildlife is very concentrated here and I have seen a ton of different animals everyday. On that particular hike where we heard the bears we saw a mother hawk and her baby. The mother had something furry in her talons and the baby was begging to be fed. That was way cool. We also saw a huge male elk with a rack on it's head that would probably make hunters drool. It was so majestic but a little too close for comfort. Those things are quite dangerous, especially during the rutting season...which is now.
There are hummingbirds galore here and they are not one bit afraid of us. They have flown right up to me many times to look me over...mere inches from my face. It's really incredible and I'm loving the nature here! Last night Caitlin was standing outside while her dog was about three feet away going to the bathroom, when all of a sudden an owl swooped down out of nowhere and targeted the dog. Thankfully the attempt at snatching the dog was unsuccessful. Caitlin is now going to be sure to have her dog on a leash from now on when taking her outside after dark.
It is incredible here and the beauty takes my breath away. There is so much more to tell, but I'm beat and need to turn in for the night. I hope to get pictures up soon!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
You were gone for so long we thought a bear had got you.
You training is almost complete, soon you will be ready to brave Australia
We had the rare opportunity in Ruidoso to see a baby bear run out in the road in front of us. We were going very slow, as the roads wind quite a bit, and it ran out, bawling its head off for Mommy! We slowed down to look at it, but decided, hanging out with the windows rolled down gawking over a baby lost from Mama, wasn't such a hot idea. I could see the headlines, "Family Mauled by Bear Inside Their Own Car"! We really worry about Otis when we go to the cabin, letting him out to potty after dark is scary. He's big, but he has to be tied-down and is definitely no match for a bear!
I had another bear encounter...more on that later. I'm going out today with Lynn's husband for a hike, needless to say I'm a bit nervous about it. He doesn't want to bring a gun and I have no bear spray. The wilds out here are so very remote and bears seem to be all over the place...not to mention mountain lions too...I might re-think this hike.
btw, I'm still on dial up so pics will be a while in coming. We are supposed to get high speed sometime this week...
I was hiking in the Uintas once here in Utah years ago with a friend. We were about 14 at the time and we came upon a bear down in the gulley. We watched him for a while, very neat. He didn't bug us and we didn't bug him.
Cool Poodles...did it know you were there? Tomorrow we are going for a drive on a road called Highway of Legends. I can't wait to see the views!
I don't think he knew we were there, we were upwind and uphill.
That sounds like a fun drive. Glad you are having a good vacation.
Post a Comment