Dave through the Americas - 8.15.02 Bears Galore!

I decided to change my tire and not take a chance of a blow out on a downhill. I put on my knobby spare while Thomas rode ahead. It was a nice scenic ride beginning with a steep downhill to Iskut River. Then back up again. Hey, this is getting easier! No sign of Thomas, he must be way ahead. That's ok though, it's nice being alone for a change, taking my time. The weather is great, almost too good, very sunny. I took many photos of the surrounding mountains. At mile 21, finally I spotted a black bear near the side of the road. I saw something to my right running for cover. Big and round, shiny black fur, yep, it's a black bear. My heart started pounding as I circled the bike around to get another look. I wondered if it was still there. I approached the bushes where I saw it and there it was, looking at me through the branches. Light brown nose peeking through. I reached for my camera but kept the bike rolling for a safe getaway if necessary. The bear never gave me a good photo opportunity, but I was happy to finally see one, pretty close too. I looped around a couple more times to try for a photo but no luck. The bear headed back into the woods and I headed South, my heart pounding for the next couple miles. I few miles down the road I spotted some bear poop, full of elderberries. I took a photo and moved on. For the next miles, my head was pretty much on a swivel, trying not to miss any other opportunities for a bear encounter along the road. I finally reached Bob Quinn, a very small community of people who work for the highway. Thomas had been waiting about 45 minutes and before I could tell him my bear story, he told me one of his own. After about 10 miles this morning, he spotted what he though was a moose but turned out to be a grizzly bear. It wouldn't move from the side of the road where it was feeding, even after passing cars and after Thomas got one to honk their horn. Thomas took a photo and eventually was followed closely by a car while he passed the stubborn bear. We traded stories over coffee and a muffin at the Bob Quinn bed and breakfast and had a nice break before pushing on. The rest of our ride was pretty much downhill or flat as we followed the Ningunsaw River through a beautiful valley with steep mountains on each side. We eventually made it to Bell II Lodge, just past the Bell-Irving River. We stopped for a break and some snacks. By this time we had already hit 60 miles but we felt good and decided to continue for about another hour of cycling. Just a couple miles outside of Bell II, we saw a black bear grazing on the roadside vegetation. It looked at us a couple times and went back to its feeding. We were a little nervous about passing it on the road but I was fairly confident it wouldn't bother us. We took some photos and then I passed it first. Thomas said the bear followed me with its eyes the whole way. Thomas then passed the bear and we continued riding on. We were enjoying the nice easy ride on a beautiful evening with not a cloud in the sky when Thomas warned me of another bear to my left. I slowed down, but he discouraged me, thinking it was too dangerous to stop for photos. This bear was pretty big and was feeding up on a hill off the side of the road. As we passed by, the bear stood up on its hind legs, staring at us as we rode by slow enough to appreciate its size and beauty. Wow, three bear sightings in one day after none since the start of our trips. Not bad. We picked out a spot to set up camp about 500 meters North of Glacier Creek where we'd do our cooking. Tonight we were going to take extra care not to attract the bears. Now we were sure we were in bear country. We set up our tents then went down to the creek to cook. There wasn't a good spot by the creek so we set up right on the roadside, which had much less traffic in the evening hours. As we cooked away on our portable stoves, Thomas noticed something down the road and told me to look. Another black bear was walking across the road about 400 meters South of the creek. Holy ****, they are everywhere! We saw it walk into the forest and as we prepared our meals, kept one eye looking down the road and another on our food. I was happy there was at least a creek separating us from where we last saw it. No matter. Just as I was finishing up my beans and rice, Thomas spots another one (or maybe the same one) just 20 feet away, right below us in the ditch feeding between the road and the forest. It was just sitting there picking away at the vegetation. I couldn't believe how close it got to us. Fortunately it didn't seem interested in our food or us. It moved away from us, but towards our campsite. We decided to try to scare it away into the forest by clapping together our pots, but it didn't work. I took a couple photos. We were puzzled. As the bear moved up towards our campsite, along the edge of the forest, a guy in a car came along the road. Only this seemed to startle the bear but it didn't disappear from sight. We packed up our food and hoped the bear would keep moving past our tents that it was probably another 200 meters away from. I washed up my pots in the creek and we moved our bikes back uphill towards our camp area. Thomas was ahead of me and was first to notice the bear was still hanging around. It was just behind a tree at the edge of the forest, about 10 meters away from our tents. Thomas said it was waiting for us. I set up my bike and figured we'd have to try to scare the bear away, somehow. Just then we heard a crash as the bear moved over some branches and deep into the woods. We watched nervously wondering if we'd seen the last of this bear. We called out into the woods and thew a few rocks but it was gone. This experience was definitely a bit nerve racking, but I think the bear really wasn't interested in us at all. It was just passing through. It is a bit creepy though, how they stop to look at you and seem very aware of our presence. So Thomas and I go to sleep a little less comfortable than in previous nights. I hope we don't get any surprise visits while we try to sleep. I have my tiny can of pepper spray, Swiss Army knife, and two rocks to clap together to make noise, but still we are very much at the mercy of the black bear tonight. We are but guests in their great wilderness. (75 miles) (5 black bears)

Peace and thanks for reading.

Dave

Pic: Fireweed by the roadside, tall mountains all around

Pic: A view of the mountains on the decent to the Iskut River

Pic: More mountains

Pic: Bear Poo!

Pic: What bear country looks like

Pic: Elderberry Bush

Pic: Not a dog