Tuesday I decided to hike along the west shore of Lake MacDonald, a long narrow lake. The area where the trail runs is through a forest that burned in 2003, and is now starting over toward growing the next generation of forest. There are still a lot of dead trees standing--probably more than have fallen--and the new growth is pretty much all low level as the new trees compete for sunshine to fuel their growth. Some of the trees look very bizarre. Since height is the name of the game for trees here, most of the branches and vegetation is near the top. This makes for a skeletal appearance to the forest, especially when the undergrowth is sparse. In some places, there are a bunch of fallen trees, all in different directions, giving the appearance of a gigantic game of Pick-up-Sticks. Others are still standing, but with the trees dead, there is nothing to hold the bark on and consequently there are slabs of bark lying around the base of the trees like skin from a molting snake. Still others are twisted and broken in such a strange fashion that it makes you wonder what forces would make it break that way.
I was contemplating all those things as I was on the last leg of my hike, strolling quietly along, when I heard a nearby crashing sound. Looking that way, about 25 yards away, I saw the wide furry brown butt of a bear that I had surprised making tracks to get away from me. I am certainly glad that it wasn't a Mama with cubs thinking I was some kind of a threat, and I am equally glad I left my picnic basket costume at home, too!
Needless to say, after giving that bear a few minutes to vacate the area, I continued on my way back to the van, making lots of noise in the process. I was talking to myself and the bear (who I nicknamed Gentle Ben--wishful thinking, maybe?), and singing (don't ask--it's not something you want to hear!), and doing anything to make noise so I didn't startle any more bears.
Consequently, today I think I am going to stay a little closer to civilization and rest up a bit. I was plenty tired before seeing the bear, and the adrenaline rush burned a lot of energy too. By the way, no pics of the Gentle Ben--he was out of sight in about 3 seconds flat, long before I had my first cohesive thought!
I was contemplating all those things as I was on the last leg of my hike, strolling quietly along, when I heard a nearby crashing sound. Looking that way, about 25 yards away, I saw the wide furry brown butt of a bear that I had surprised making tracks to get away from me. I am certainly glad that it wasn't a Mama with cubs thinking I was some kind of a threat, and I am equally glad I left my picnic basket costume at home, too!
Needless to say, after giving that bear a few minutes to vacate the area, I continued on my way back to the van, making lots of noise in the process. I was talking to myself and the bear (who I nicknamed Gentle Ben--wishful thinking, maybe?), and singing (don't ask--it's not something you want to hear!), and doing anything to make noise so I didn't startle any more bears.
Consequently, today I think I am going to stay a little closer to civilization and rest up a bit. I was plenty tired before seeing the bear, and the adrenaline rush burned a lot of energy too. By the way, no pics of the Gentle Ben--he was out of sight in about 3 seconds flat, long before I had my first cohesive thought!
No comments:
Post a Comment