We were told by the park rangers that there has been active bear activity by Crescent and Round Meadow if we were interested in seeing bears.Well, who isn't interested in seeing beautiful black bears in their natural environment? So we take a drive to this most gorgeous meadow. When we arrive there are a group of girls who are so excited to tell us that they just saw 11 bears! Of course we are all excited and giddy to see.
As we arrive we see mama bears with their babies and a park ranger standing guard. We stand behind the park ranger and admire the cute cub who is frolicking on the log, climbing a tree, and playing on the park bench. We stand and admire - oohh and ahhh - and then the park ranger tells us 5 more minutes. So after our 5 minutes you would think we would leave - well, we all get this brilliant idea to walk along the other side of the meadow where we see more people admiring bears!
As we walk along the trail we run into this nice lady who shows us all these wonderful pictures she has taken of the bears. She even lets us look at the bears through this wonderful telescopic lens she has. Once again we oohh and ahhh and what do we do? We continue onto the path getting closer to bears in the distance.
As we are walking I decide I do not want to get any closer and I get the kids and my hubby and we turn around and start walking AWAY from the bears. (Afterall there is a sign posted that states do not get too close to the bears!) They were getting a little too close for my comfort! We are strolling along when I hear one of our friends scream "RUN!!!!"! I do not run because we are told that it is the worst thing you could ever do until . . .I turn around and see this big black bear running in my direction. It was close enough for me to hear the sound of its claws hit the pavement - and then I began to panic! I yell at Will to scoop up Dylan and I grab Mackenzie and we RUN! I have NEVER ran so fast in my life!
Luckily the bear stopped chasing us for whatever reason. I have never been so scared in my entire life!!!! Once we were safe I ask what the heck happened? I guess as our family turned around and walked away there was a brown bear in the meadow who got up on its hind legs because a black bear was coming down the hill. I don't know if the 2 were planning on dueling it out, but that scared our friend because she was caught between them and she panicked and screamed and started running. Well, that set the black bear off! Instead of worrying about the brown bear, he saw her as prey!
We later learned that black bears are very docile and do not like the odors humans carry. We could even be holding food and it wouldnot attack us. However, the minute you run, there is something instinctual in them to chase after something that is running. So, if you ever run into a black bear - stop - stand your ground - and SLOWLY walk backwards. If it continues to come your way - look big and make loud noises - DO NOT RUN!!!!!
I must say since that first encounter with the bear I was very nervous about the rest of our hikes. I kept my eye out for anything that moved and NEVER ran! I must say it is much easier said than done to stay calm when a 250 pound bear is within 10 feet of you. When I saw a bear I stopped and did not forge on - I did not need to continue on the trail. I was ok with going back the way we came and not seeing the rest of the path. For me - the bears always had the right of way and I would gladly turn around and leave. One close encounter with a running bear was all I needed!
