Tales of the Trail - Bears

   I will use this post to share some of the "Tales of the Trail" shared by Red Bull during my visit with him yesterday in Damascus, Virginia.

photo from NBC29 news

   Red Bull has become very alert for bears, and with good reason!

   One evening they encountered a "Ridge Runner" who was posting signs of bear warnings.  It was her job to travel the trail to place bear warnings, verify previous warnings had not been removed, and alert hikers to dangerous situations.  Red Bull admires this profession very much, I can only imagine the tales she told of bear encounters in the area as they hung out at the camp before nightfall.  Unfortunately she decided that the six person shelter was overcrowded with six people, so she told Red Bull and one of his companions they needed to pitch their tents.  Normally Red Bull prefers his tent, but in bear areas he has preferred the shelter (especially since a hiker was bitten by a bear through his tent while sleeping).  He immediately pitched his tent, but I could still hear in his voice how much it had upset him.  As you read on... you will understand why.

   Red Bull's hiking pal Wffls had a bad tent experience with a bear.  She was sleeping in her tent, when she awakened to the sound of a large animal outside her tent.  She could tell by the sounds it was making that it was a bear.  The bear began to nudge her tent, she did not move nor make a sound.  Eventually the bear lost interest and departed.  She was very fortunate.

   Another one of Red Bull's companions had a face to face encounter with a bear.  Hppy Ft had stopped along the trail for a lunch break.  He stepped off the trail to use the "restroom", when he returned there was a bear between him and his lunch/foodbag.  Needless to say he lost his lunch/food bag.

   Soon after, the group was spending the night in a shelter.  Rd Brd was having trouble sleeping, so was sitting up enjoying the cool night air.  He saw a bear approaching the shelter with large cubs.  Rd Brd began yelling; "BEARS, BEARS! Get out of here, this is MY shelter (insert a few profanities as well)!  Red Bull and his friends awakened to the shout of "bears" and saw the situation.  Fortunately the mother bear decided to take her cubs elsewhere, although I am certain Red Bull and his friends had a sleepless night.

   One day Red Bull was hiking alone for a time, when he saw a bear cub cross the path.  He was quickly scanning to see if he could spot the mother, to avoid contact.  He did not see her, but was very cautious over the next couple of miles.  When he met his pals at camp, one of them said he had come across a couple of bears that day on the trail as well.

   Red Bull also related to me that one day he was hiking alone on the trail, planning to meet his friends at camp that evening.  He heard the sound of something approaching behind him on the trail, and an odd growling/guttural sound... he thought there was a bear behind him and turned around with a hiking pole raised to strike.  It was only a man who was clearing his throat in a strange way...  I think they gave each other a bit of a startle, quite unintentionally.

   I can tell Red Bull is on high alert for bears from a scene I witnessed, when I had taken him to the grocery store in Damascus.  While inside the store there was an unexpected sound behind us.  Red Bull visibly jumped, and very quickly side stepped while turning to look behind him.  We saw the sound was made by something harmless, but I could see Red Bull is very on guard to his surroundings.

   He has many reasons to be cautious...

stock photo of black bears