Day 20, August 7: Bear!

Day 20, August 7: Bear!

Okay, so I’m not good at suspense. It did happen early in the day, but I finally saw a bear. And up close.

I began my hike today at 8 a.m.  The ranger had suggested a hike that would take me up about 1200 feet and would be about nine miles long by the time I was back at my car, so I took her advice. I couldn’t help but think, as I headed out in the early morning sunshine, under these magnificent trees, what a glorious was it was to start the day. What a morning walk, no?

So I’m striding along, full of energy (always a sign it’s early in a hike), admiring the way the sunlight comes over the mountains and through the trees, and I think to myself, “Oh, there’s a bear.” Then I stop. “THERE’S A BEAR!” I pulled out my camera and began snapping shots. He was just a little fellow, and seemed totally unmoved by seeing me. I, surprisingly, had no fear at all. I watched as he hunted for food under a tree and crossed the trail a time or two. He was probably within 25 feet of me at one time, and we made eye contact a few times.

I don’t know how long I would have stood there watching him, mesmerized, but I saw a group of horses coming. I motioned and the girl riding the first horse said she saw him. She was leading two pack mules and another rider was bringing up the rear. The horses were not as nonchalant about seeing the bear as he was to see me. They shied and the girl had her hands full getting them past him and me. The bear kind of loped a little away too, but he seemed really calm – at least much calmer than the horses and mules.

After that, how could my day possibly be anything but wonderful? I did ruminate a little about the bear sighting. I’ve wanted so much to see one, and I’ve peered into numerous underbrushes and meadows, looking hard. And when I do see him, I’m not looking. He’s just there. I wonder if much of what I want in life – love, awareness, happiness – simply alights on us as we’re going about our business. I have a card at home that says, “The Dharma is like love. It simply shows up one day – be ready when it does.” That’s what my bear was. He just showed up and I was ready.

My lunchroom

The rest of the hike was lovely. The first two miles were easy with little elevation gain, and then I came to Bubbs Trail, which was basically just a whole lot of switchbacks going up the mountain, rising that 1200 feet in a few miles. I climbed it to where it joined the Sphinx Trail and had lunch there. The Sphinx Trail and River are named for a rock formation that sits atop a mountain – it looks like the Sphinx. What a lovely place to have lunch – not a human around and surrounded by trees, mountains, and rocks. I’ll remember that lunch room when I’m at the café at WITCC this winter. I took a timed picture of myself, and settled in to eat my lunch.

The hike back was much less strenuous – hiking down hill, while hard on the knees, is much faster and easier usually than climbing up. The last bit I took a slightly different route, and encountered more meadows and open space than the hike in. It was sunny and unshaded between the trees, and according to my little thermometer, the temperature was near 100. I was happy to get back to the car, and changed my boots for my sandals, made a quick walk to the river, and rinsed the trail dirt off in the cold water of the Kings River.

Yes, that is my tent! I was standing in my campsite

When I got back to camp it was still early in the day – before 1 p.m. I sat, just taking in the shade and the breeze, enjoying resting my feet, and what happens? I see my bear again. I’m not sure it’s the same guy, but he looked just the same and was about the same size. I had the same initial reaction of thinking, “Oh there’s a bear,” and then the follow up double-take. I grabbed my camera out of the car, and recorded him checking out the campsites. He looked over the campers’ next to me first, sniffing their stuff and moving on. Then he headed to my camp. He strolled over to my tent, as I’m standing in the campsite, and sniffed around. Finding nothing there, he moved on. I was really happy I had followed all the rules and didn’t have anything yummy smelling in the tent.

I watched as he went over to the restrooms and sniffed around there. He actually went into the women’s, and had to back out when he found nothing there of interest. He explored a few more campsites, then ambled off. It was amazing.

I saw some rangers about an hour later and told them. They said they knew of him and he was around a lot. “He’s hungry,” they said, adding that he’s a bit of a problem. I wonder if he sniffs around at night when we’re sleeping. I bet I wonder that if I hear something snuffling near the tent tonight.

The area here not only has four campgrounds, but also has a lodge with a laundry and showers. I treated myself to a long hot shower this afternoon and washed my clothes. I visited with a few families while I was waiting for the laundry. One was from Orange County, about six hours away, and come every year. Another father and his two twenty-something sons had just come in from a 40-mile backcountry backpacking trip. They were ready for a shower. The boys were friendly and talkative, and the wait for my laundry to dry went quickly.

I’m sitting now in the restaurant in the lodge. A thunderstorm rolled through, so I escaped to write the blog and I thought get dinner. But I decided to have a small salad and go back to cook  my burger over the campfire. My priorities have changed on this trip. I’m not looking for ease and comfort so much – I’m weighing everything I do with some other kind of scale. I’d rather cook my own burger than pay someone else to make one for me. This is a new development – I love to go out to eat and do a lot of it. I feel like something has shifted for me. My goal, during the school year, is to live frugally so I can play like this in the summer. And the satisfaction that comes from doing with less and doing it myself is invaluable.

And now I head back to camp to start my fire, cook my dinner, and read a little. Tomorrow, I’m planning about a 10 mile hike here again at King’s Canyon. There’s a glade that sound lovely, and I’m going to give it a try.  I still need to explore Sequoia, but I think I might do that the next day from the car, preparing to head east at some point. The peace and calm I feel here has been lovely. Wouldn’t it be great if we could always feel that, regardless of our surroundings? That, ultimately, is my goal.

P.S. As I was driving back to my campsite after writing this, I came across one of the most fabulous sunsets I’ve seen.