But what about the Bear?

In the course of an hour I saw five bear...

I've never really been inclined towards fear. I do things without thinking about what could happen or what the risks are. I have spent twenty years on this mountain, riding, hiking and camping in the wilderness and I have rarely been afraid.

I am hoping to do my first camping trip of the year this weekend. It's supposed to be 70 degrees and blue skies. All the flowers are in bloom and the cows that graze the reservation land during the summer haven't arrived yet, so there aren't many flies or cow pies about. The creeks are running high and the meadows are covered in yellow blooms.

This year my family is pushing me to be more careful about what I do. Justis is going to come with me and we are going to go to the corals, a beautiful area on our mountain with a coral for horses. Actually, the corals are for cows, and by later in the season, the area gets dusty and smelly and heavy with flies but right now it is pristine. The cows haven't been brought down yet. This spot has big Mother trees, fields of wildflowers, hills in the background. I can drive there and park my trailer and camp out of it, so its an easy first trip of the season, especially since I have been so low energy lately. I can bring horses or not and it wont be a big deal with the corals right there.

So my family suggested I drive over there to make sure the corals are all in working order before I just show up with two horses and hope for the best. It takes an hour to get there in the trailer and truck but only half an hour from the ranch in our car, so I headed out. It was about 7pm, a perfect evening and hovering around 50 degrees.

I drove there, got out, inspected the area and took a few wildflower pictures. Then I drove home. Whole trip took just over an hour. I saw five bear. One of them was standing in the coral itself when I drove up. Three were together, a mother and two kids. And the fifth was a lone bear standing on a hillside watching me. It was the only one that didn't run. (I am posting the picture here - blurry but you can see it).

I don't usually worry much about bear when I go out, even when I go out into the Bob Marshall, which has one of the largest grizzly populations in the US. In all my life, I've only ever seen a bear while riding my horses twice, and both times it was running away. I've never had one come near my campground. But five in a few miles of each other. This made me think. And for the first time, I am feeling kind of worried about the bear. Our mountain is remote and not a popular place for recreation, so it is rare to see people even when out for days. This makes it all the more appealing to the bear.

Of course, this may be in part because I usually have at least three large dogs with me. I have never camped on my mountain without my Great Pyrenese, a dog whose instinct is to guard the area around its people and keep predators away. She would bark all night when I was out there, keeping the place well patrolled. But she died a couple of years ago of old age, and I'm down to just Kaladin. He is of the stay-by-my-side variety of protection, not the roam-the-area-and-keep-it-free-of-anything-kind. It feels different to have only him.

Of course, when I go out into the Bob Marshall Wilderness its always only him. I don't bring a dog that is going to roam wide and bark all night where there might be other campers. But on our mountain I've always had her and at least two other dogs by my side. That means there is a lot more chance of a bear getting close before it even knows that we are there. I find I am a little bit nervous about this for once.

I have bear spray. I know how to store my food safely. I even cary a gun. But I'm nervous. This first trip isn't a go-out-on-my-horse trip. I will be sleeping in my trailer. So that helps. Maybe I should suggest Justis sleep in my trailer as well. (She usually has her own tent).

There's nothing to do about it, I suppose, except be careful and be smart. Early spring is an active time for bear. That's just the way it is. And I will say, of the five bear that I saw tonight, four of them ran from me the minute they saw me. The fifth stood his ground, but wasn't agressive. He watched me for a few minutes and then wandered off (I was in my car and I stopped to watch him through the car window). I guess there is nothing more you can do about the fear. It is what it is. And you either choose to deal with it or don't go. And I will go.

I'll let you know next week how it all goes.