[pct-l] those darned bears

[judsonb at internetcds.com (judson)]

All this discussion of ursines and the hikers who love them reminds me of a
funny experience from my recent visit to sunny section F.

I was camped in the "transitional range" on my second night in, and it was,
predictably, windy. Non-stop 20-40 mph humming through the Joshua trees. I
kept hearing things in the wind and was having trouble falling asleep. Now,
I knew that bears were present, though not overly abundant, in both the
Scodies to my north and the Piutes to my south, but that I should not expect
to encounter any in the deserty in-betweens. Not terribly worried about it
anyway.

At some point in the evening, though, I heard a low growl nearby. Twenty
seconds later, another in different position. Soon after, a third from yet a
different place. All within 10 feet, though it was hard to judge with the
wind. Whatever it was sounded larger than a breadbox, so I yelled, "Hyah!
Get outa here!" a couple of times. After that, not a thing other than the
wind.

In the morning, I got out of my tent and noticed I was surrounded by a herd
of Slow Elk- aka "burgers". It turns out my nightly visitor was in more
danger of being eaten by me than vice versa.

Pounder
Ashland