I am jealous. On the whole tour all we saw was one mangy coyote and a couple of deer. The deer were close enough to touch.

When we were climbing up to New Denver there was a touring cyclist coming down the hill. He warned us about the bear in town. He told us a bear had come into town a ripped a man's arm off!

When we departed, I got out my whistle. I think I blew that thing every 10 feet. No bear was going to rip my arm off! If I could help it.

We got into town and the lady that runs the cabins where we were staying that night was not there. She finally showed and apologized for being late. She said her husband was in the hospital. I asked if he was the one attacked by the bear. She said no, her husband was clearing trail for his ski businesses. A tree fell on him and crushed his pelvis. Luckily his friend was a paramedic. He assessed his injuries and determined while it was serious not immediately life threatening. He had to hike back down to the road and then drive into town where he could get cell service. The man with the crushed pelvis was under that tree for 4 hours! Those had to be the longest 4 ours of his life. Rescue had to long line him out from a helicopter.

The lady said her husband had a lot of discomfort but was fine. I asked about the bear and the man that was attached. She said, oh that bear. He comes into town all of the time. A man was walking his dog and the dog took after the bear. The bear took a swipe at the dog, so the man punched the bear in the face. The bear bite the man on the arm. The man had to go to the infirmary for some stitches. So much for an arm being ripped off.


The only sign I saw of that bear was the mess he created in that poor ladies yard when he tore up the garbage. We tried to clean up as much as we could. She already had other problems to deal with.