Bears

Before our big hike on Saturday morning

The girls were having a great time playing on the chopped up tree

in front of the abandoned house (below)

D in front of the abandoned house

The girls had such fun playing on the rocks

jumping back and forth over the brook

One of the bears we saw on Saturday!!


I


was happy


to take the girls on one of my favorite hikes in Ramsey Canyon

this past weekend.

They were having such a great time jumping on the rocks surrounding the

the small brook that runs through the Canyon.

The elevation is about 6,000ft.

so it was about 75 degrees

with a slight breeze

and there are plenty of

sweet smelling sycamores

towering overhead.

We turned onto a small trail that crosses the brook

and ends up at an abandoned house

with a giant fallen tree

in front of it.

I

was momentarily

not sure quite what to do when

we heard and then saw

a cinnamon colored small bear

scampering through the bushes and in

our direction.

The two bigger girls were sitting up on pieces of

a large tree that had been chopped up.

D was near me chatting away about school.

I first thought of climbing on top of the tree

pieces but then

remembered that a bear could easily climb up.

So I told the girls,

"Back to the main trail, let's get back!!"

As I pointed back in the direction we had come from.

The two big girls took off running,

but the smaller one stopped just for a moment and

planted her feet with a hand on her hip....

looking in the direction of the bear.

"D!!!!!! MOVE IT!!"

and off she ran in front of me.

We were back on the trail in no time.

A few minutes later we saw another bear (above)

about 50 yards up an embankment.

By then N and P had arrived and we watched the

bear

watching us

and walking along the embankment.

A few minutes later

we saw the bear cross the trail about

25 yards ahead of us.

Don't think I will ever feel that comfortable again

hiking the trail.

It is a trail I have hiked several times by myself when I had

a few hours.

It is a great hike.

It gradually rises in elevation for about a mile

and then goes straight up another thousand feet.

The people at the conservatory said

the bears have come down

due the fire in June.

A little eerie

to say the least.