[at-l] Black Bears

[pmags at yahoo.com (Paul Magnanti)]

>>I would encourage anyone to count themselves lucky
to >>see a black bear in  the wild.

I only saw one black bear on the AT: near the NJ/PA
line.
Jut ambled along and paid me no attention. Was quite
cool to see the this majestic beast in the wild.

On the PCT, saw 7 bears. Most ran away at a fast clip.
Except for one.


Was in No. Cal. cooking dinner. Hear a thrashing in
the woods. Look over and see a brown hump moving
through the bushes. Look up and see a face poke
through the bushes ~20-30FT away. The bear looked at
me as a curious dog would. Threw rocks. Banged my pot.
The bear would not go away. I ate dinnner, a bit too
anxious to take a picture. Finished dinner and packed
up my gear. The bear finally went away. 

Was my closest bear encounter ever. Looked to be a
yearling...still very curious about humans and not
afraid. All the other bears ran away as soon as they
heard/saw me.


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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
--Thoreau
http://www.magnanti.com