A close encounter of the BEAR kind
Have you ever had an experience in your life that seems surreal?
Mary and I had that experience yesterday. She called me early in the morning and asked me if I wanted to go on a walk. Of course I did! I suggested my favorite hike at the Garden of the Gods.
When we got there I suggested we extend our hike by going on one of my favorite trails that had been closed all summer because of some flood damage. I hate to admit this, but the trail was fenced off, but we could see the trail so I convinced Mary that it was okay to climb through the fence and across the dry creek bed to get to the trail.
We were walking along the trail and I mentioned this would be a perfect place for a bear to hang out because there weren't many people. Then we talked about the stupid people that have bear encounters and those that go off trail and are never found. After a while we passed a group of people going in the opposite direction and not long after them there was another group (I'm apparently not the only hiker who has missed this trail). I was in the lead and as we turned a corner I looked up the hill and saw this about 50 feet in front of us:
Much to my surprise I was very calm and said in a very calm voice "oh God, it's a bear". Mary apparently heard "Oh My God, it's a bear, run for your life!" He was looking at us, we were looking at him and I starting trying to get my phone out of my pocket so I could snap a picture for the blog, but Mary would not let me stay for even 10 seconds. So, I apologize for stealing this picture off of Google images (Cute Animals World), but I did not get the opportunity to snap my own picture.
I will tell you that he was adorable, just as cute and fluffy as this picture. At no time did I feel threatened by him, but Mary later admitted that she saw her life pass before her eyes.
So we backed out and turned back down the trail. Mary was moving very swiftly and I told her to slow down. I do know from my research prior to hiking in Yellowstone that you don't want to turn your back on a bear and you don't want to run because they will think you're prey. I guess at this point we might have been prey, but I knew we wouldn't be able to outrun him if he decided to come after us.
We caught up with the people that has passed us and we asked if they had seen the bear. I thought it would have been really rotten if they had seen him and not warned us. But no, they had not seen the bear. They were the lucky ones because they would have walked within five feet of him.
Mary wanted to run back to the car and leave the Garden, but I convinced her to go on another trail so we could finish the loop of the Garden. After all, bears aren't an unusual sight on the west side of the Springs and we can't stop enjoying the outdoors because we "might" see another bear. We were both on edge and a little jumpy after this encounter, but we kept going and we had a great workout and enjoyed some amazing views.
After all this was over I really had a hard time believing it happened. Encountering a bear is something you know is possible when you're hiking, but you don't really think it will ever happen. I wish we had taken just a few more seconds to look at him. I learned a valuable lesson--always be prepared. It's better to have the bear spray with you and not need it then it is to need the bear spray and not have it. This is a trail that I do every now and then by myself so I'll be prepared from now on.
A good reminder to always pay attention when you're on a trail. Be Bear Aware is my new motto! I'm thankful to have had this experience, it was amazing, but I hope it never happens again!!
Mary and I had that experience yesterday. She called me early in the morning and asked me if I wanted to go on a walk. Of course I did! I suggested my favorite hike at the Garden of the Gods.
When we got there I suggested we extend our hike by going on one of my favorite trails that had been closed all summer because of some flood damage. I hate to admit this, but the trail was fenced off, but we could see the trail so I convinced Mary that it was okay to climb through the fence and across the dry creek bed to get to the trail.
We were walking along the trail and I mentioned this would be a perfect place for a bear to hang out because there weren't many people. Then we talked about the stupid people that have bear encounters and those that go off trail and are never found. After a while we passed a group of people going in the opposite direction and not long after them there was another group (I'm apparently not the only hiker who has missed this trail). I was in the lead and as we turned a corner I looked up the hill and saw this about 50 feet in front of us:
Much to my surprise I was very calm and said in a very calm voice "oh God, it's a bear". Mary apparently heard "Oh My God, it's a bear, run for your life!" He was looking at us, we were looking at him and I starting trying to get my phone out of my pocket so I could snap a picture for the blog, but Mary would not let me stay for even 10 seconds. So, I apologize for stealing this picture off of Google images (Cute Animals World), but I did not get the opportunity to snap my own picture.
I will tell you that he was adorable, just as cute and fluffy as this picture. At no time did I feel threatened by him, but Mary later admitted that she saw her life pass before her eyes.
So we backed out and turned back down the trail. Mary was moving very swiftly and I told her to slow down. I do know from my research prior to hiking in Yellowstone that you don't want to turn your back on a bear and you don't want to run because they will think you're prey. I guess at this point we might have been prey, but I knew we wouldn't be able to outrun him if he decided to come after us.
We caught up with the people that has passed us and we asked if they had seen the bear. I thought it would have been really rotten if they had seen him and not warned us. But no, they had not seen the bear. They were the lucky ones because they would have walked within five feet of him.
Mary wanted to run back to the car and leave the Garden, but I convinced her to go on another trail so we could finish the loop of the Garden. After all, bears aren't an unusual sight on the west side of the Springs and we can't stop enjoying the outdoors because we "might" see another bear. We were both on edge and a little jumpy after this encounter, but we kept going and we had a great workout and enjoyed some amazing views.
After all this was over I really had a hard time believing it happened. Encountering a bear is something you know is possible when you're hiking, but you don't really think it will ever happen. I wish we had taken just a few more seconds to look at him. I learned a valuable lesson--always be prepared. It's better to have the bear spray with you and not need it then it is to need the bear spray and not have it. This is a trail that I do every now and then by myself so I'll be prepared from now on.
A good reminder to always pay attention when you're on a trail. Be Bear Aware is my new motto! I'm thankful to have had this experience, it was amazing, but I hope it never happens again!!
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