21 - Shenandoah National Park, VA - The Bear Facts!



View from Skyline Drive, Blue Ridge Mountains, VA

 We had read the Shenandoah area was a nice place to hike and offered many scenic views. It's kind of a skinny ridge with a road running North/South for over 105 miles along the crest of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Lots of lookout points to pull over for those Kodak moments, trail heads starting at many parking lots throughout for your hiking pleasure, or you can sit back and enjoy the views and drive as much or as little as you like...One view we had not expected was of the bear kind...




Talented Catalina can balance on a fallen tree!



Upper Doyle falls, Shenandoah National Park

But before I dish the details, I was faced with a dilemma... (a) Sit down, procrastinate a little (or maybe a lot!), eat some snacks, check my emails, think what I was going to make for dinner, etc, THEN open up my blog and then THINK what I would write, and then write it.

     -or-

(b) Go to Dave's blog and copy what he's already written on Shenandoah...Well, I think you know where I'm going with this! We're on the tail end of our trip and so it's getting a little harder to keep things as "up to date" as possible.  Besides, why be redundant, if someone has already written the tale, then the most logical solution is to use what's already been written...so without further adieu, here's the recycled version from Dave's blog:

Walking along a hiking trail, Catalina suddenly stopped and sniffed the air, then looked into the forest and started barking. There, about 120 feet away, a black bear was at the top of a tree, charging down the trunk at a high rate of speed.

Not our bear but similar!

About five minutes after leaving the campsite that morning, it was realized that the bear spray had been forgotten. A debate ensued about whether or not it was worth going back for. After all, five minutes back meant ten minutes round trip, and what were the chances that it would be needed?

As the bear neared the ground, we were happy with our decision to go back. Dave handed Avril the leash and unholstered the spray.

In the moments before the bear reached the ground, we wondered which way it would go. It was clearly agitated and in a hurry to get somewhere, but would it charge aggressively, or run away once all paws were on terra firma?

See the fear in his cute little eyes?

A second later, the question was answered, as the bear hit the ground and ran in the opposite direction, clearly more frightened by us and the barking, than us of it. 

Judging by its size, the bear looked like it was an adolescent, which raised the question of how young, and where might mama bear be? She was nowhere to be seen. It was a while before the spray was returned to its holster!

Later in the day, we stopped for lunch at an overnight hut on the Appalachian trail. This was a rustic wood cabin with a lock on the door and a sign with a phone number to call for bookings. It looked like guests would have to either make pre-arrangements for a key or else the park warden would arrive in advance to unlock the door. In any case, the cabin was deserted and we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the sunshine on the stone steps.

Enjoying our lunch like this...

Rather than like that....

After lunch, we were a scant few yards back down the trail when Catalina suddenly stopped and sniffed. Another bear. Only this time, it was already on the ground and only about 80 feet away.

Dave passed the leash again and unlimbered the spray, but while doing so, the bear turned tail and again crashed through the brush away from us. Unfortunately, the bear’s line of departure was close to that of the trail. Consulting the map, it was apparent that the only way back to the truck was to take the trail in the same direction as the bear. For most of the way back, loud talking and much jingling of the bell was in order, and keeping the spray in hand for much of the time. Fortunately, the bear did not reappear and before long, everyone was safely back in the truck.

Although it was not needed, we agreed that we were happy to have gone back for the spray.

Several months earlier, we had received some advice, (thanks Sue & Paul) regarding bear deterrents. The best deterrent is of course avoidance, and large parties, loud talking and bells all help to warn the bears and let them know that there are people there and most will avoid encounters where possible. However, some are more aggressive than others and in a small percentage of cases, they will attack people. In this case, two options for defense are considered; a gun, or bear spray. Believe it or not, the spray is deemed to be more effective. It turns out that unless you have a really big gun, you are unlikely to kill and stop a charging bear before it reaches you. Assuming, of course, that in the excitement of the moment, you actually hit the bear.

However, bear spray releases a large cloud of extremely noxious pepper spray for up to 40 feet. You don’t have to hit the bear – you just have to be pointed in approximately the right direction to generate the cloud that he will run into. This is not your mama’s pepper spray, either – it is a particularly potent concoction. According to one invincible young man, his friend tried “a small amount” on him and he “just about died” (tongue in cheek). It is painful and (temporarily) blinding and asphyxiating. The bear will be highly motivated to get away and in any event, should be sufficiently disoriented to allow the users to get out of Dodge.

All is calm and peaceful again :)

After Shenandoah, it was off to New River Gorge and the mountains of West Virginia. These are among some of the more uniquely shaped hills that we had seen on his trip. Lots of mountains and hills seemingly haphazardly placed atop one another, and covered in a thick carpet of trees, often with creeks or rivers flowing through the valleys below. Although not as high or imposing as the mountains of the West, they had their own unique beauty.

Quite the balancing act here!!!