50+ thread

Is that last years haul or did you finally get out?

 

the river. where i caught some of the fishies.

 

actually see the bear? or just bear sign?
I see poop and prints and claw marks all of the time. Just because you don't see them doesn't mean they're not out there. But they generally don't want to be anywhere around humans just as much as we don't want to have them anywhere close to us.

Just saw some poop this weekend. Hard to say how long it had been there because of recent rain.

Last time I'm aware of a bear being in the same camp as me at the same time was in September 2020. Had a bear wander right through the campground and was trying to break into the dumpsters. Managed to tip a couple over but never got anything. They had been having trouble with bears getting into garbage all summer and that was the last straw. They ended up trapping/moving the bear a week later.
https://www.krtv.com/news/grizzly-bear-relocated-from-seeley-lake-area

 

best not look in my fridge right now
I ended up keeping 6 - 5 brooks and 1 cutt. figure i'll cook 3 tomorrow and freeze the others.
I just kept saying "I'll only keep it if its a brook" and bam...another brook on the line.
The cutts were fun though. Little suckers pack a punch when they decide to grab the fly!

 

https://www.kbzk.com/news/montana-news/what-happened-when-a-tesla-came-to-ekalaka
small town news

 

mmm...looks tasty! maybe I should make some more huckleberry pancakes tomorrow

65 hours? pfffttt...don't forget to add a bit for wildfire detours

yep. for as big as they are they can be sneaky quiet when they want to be.
i remember one time my ex and I were out for a hike - I think it was near Skilak Lake - and we had a gun but no spray. Got about a 1/4 mile in and there was this giant pile of still steaming bear shit on the trail and the fireweed and grass was parted in a massive V, its path intersecting the trail in an X. damn thing wanted to make sure everyone knew it was there. We turned around and headed back. Figured whatever the view was at the end of the trail wasn't worth running head on into whatever left that pile of crap

and a few years ago down in the tetons I was hiking and it was at the end of the hike, less than 1/2 mile to the trail head. it was busy, lots of people both directions. hit a rocky part of the trail and i was tired. was looking down, watching my feet so i didnt trip on a rock. looked up and there was a bear about 50 feet from me. it had its head down and it was walking along the trail too and the wind was blowing in my face so i knew it didnt have any idea i was there. i had my backpack on and my camera around my neck. i was getting my spray out with one hand and getting ready to drop my camera in the dirt as i didnt need the extra weight and bulk of it. i looked around to see what my exit plan could be and there was a fence/corral right next to the trail. thought i was going to have to launch myself over the fence and try to get away that way - or at least get to a point that my bear spray wouldn't spray back in my face given the direction the wind was blowing. i pulled my spray and had my arms over my head, trying to look big. started screaming "hey, bear! go away bear!" not sure i sounded very scary as my voice was about 6 octaves higher than normal. thankfully the bear veered off trail and up the hill. immediately had people coming from both directions at me and I'm screaming at them to stay put as I didn't want them to scare the bear back on the trail. but of course they ignored me and came running at me "there's a bear?!? ooh, where?!?"
got back to the trailhead and there happened to be a ranger there so i told him about it. then changed my underroos.
that was one of only 3 times i've ever pulled my bear spray out - one other time was for a moose and i still dont know WTF it was lurking off trail that had me on high alert the third time.

i think they consider that a busy news day.