Yosemite.
The shear rock walls. The prolific water falls. The towering Sequoia's. The hungry bears.
What? The bears? Yes, all part of the beauty of camping. We spent 5 nights in Yosemite and had bears in camp 4 of those nights. I think they got a day off because of the rain (some 5+ hours of it!).
The bears mostly perform at night. The show starts up just about anytime after dark. One could be about some mundane chore and have a bear show up to help. This kind of excitement only happened the first night with less than desirable results. However, most of us experienced the performances with audio only.
Imagine laying in a sleeping bag on a half inflated mattress inside a 3/100th's of an inch thick nylon tent listening to the night. A murmur here, a chuckle there...then a "Hey", and a "Oh no!," "Did you see him?" "Where?" Then riotous clamor and the percussion of 40 feet running as every youth playing games or talking around the campfire (still not in bed!) is taking off after (no...not away from) the innocent wild bear chasing it into its own woods, where any smart bear could begin to pick them off one by one. No smart bears being available, all the young people make it back into camp safely, assaulting one another with stories of how close they were to the bear or how they were the one to ...[Warning: animal lovers may want to skip down a paragraph or two!] ...how they were the one to hit the bear with a rock or scare the stuffing out of it [don't say I didn't warn you!].
However frightening the actual events might be, lying down in a tent with 3/100ths of an inch between you and the living nightmare made each event much more epic. Imagine what images the phrases screamed by a women: "Is he still there? Did he rip the tent?" might bring to your mind. Can you picture the small children being snatched through the tent nylon mere yards away? Can you see the creature standing two footed pawing at the would be rescuer? Well, I couldn't either, but the few sound clues I had sure gave me enough material to manufacture any number of possibilities.
Apparently these bears were here first and expect a little leeway. Park Rangers tell us not to "feed the bears" and to make general fools of our selves if we happen to see one. This is their land and they are supposed eat berries and nuts while campers sup on burgers, spaghetti, chicken asada, taco salad, and cup of noodles. Hmm. This bear problem may be there for a while.
Now, some 300 miles and 6 hours away, I find myself looking over my shoulder, wondering what would possibly keep a bear up there eating tree bark while my wife, the best cook in California, is residing here.
The shear rock walls. The prolific water falls. The towering Sequoia's. The hungry bears.
What? The bears? Yes, all part of the beauty of camping. We spent 5 nights in Yosemite and had bears in camp 4 of those nights. I think they got a day off because of the rain (some 5+ hours of it!).
The bears mostly perform at night. The show starts up just about anytime after dark. One could be about some mundane chore and have a bear show up to help. This kind of excitement only happened the first night with less than desirable results. However, most of us experienced the performances with audio only.
Imagine laying in a sleeping bag on a half inflated mattress inside a 3/100th's of an inch thick nylon tent listening to the night. A murmur here, a chuckle there...then a "Hey", and a "Oh no!," "Did you see him?" "Where?" Then riotous clamor and the percussion of 40 feet running as every youth playing games or talking around the campfire (still not in bed!) is taking off after (no...not away from) the innocent wild bear chasing it into its own woods, where any smart bear could begin to pick them off one by one. No smart bears being available, all the young people make it back into camp safely, assaulting one another with stories of how close they were to the bear or how they were the one to ...[Warning: animal lovers may want to skip down a paragraph or two!] ...how they were the one to hit the bear with a rock or scare the stuffing out of it [don't say I didn't warn you!].
However frightening the actual events might be, lying down in a tent with 3/100ths of an inch between you and the living nightmare made each event much more epic. Imagine what images the phrases screamed by a women: "Is he still there? Did he rip the tent?" might bring to your mind. Can you picture the small children being snatched through the tent nylon mere yards away? Can you see the creature standing two footed pawing at the would be rescuer? Well, I couldn't either, but the few sound clues I had sure gave me enough material to manufacture any number of possibilities.
Apparently these bears were here first and expect a little leeway. Park Rangers tell us not to "feed the bears" and to make general fools of our selves if we happen to see one. This is their land and they are supposed eat berries and nuts while campers sup on burgers, spaghetti, chicken asada, taco salad, and cup of noodles. Hmm. This bear problem may be there for a while.
Now, some 300 miles and 6 hours away, I find myself looking over my shoulder, wondering what would possibly keep a bear up there eating tree bark while my wife, the best cook in California, is residing here.
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