Skip to main content

A Bear Sighting

In this episode (165) – A Bear Sighting . . .

Pull up a chair, and let me tell you the story of a bear.

I awoke to the steady patter of rain on my tent in the black velvet darkness of our cozy mountain camp. Wrapped in my sleeping bag, I sat up, craned my head to one side, and listened; there was that strange sound again. Nervously, I reached for my wristwatch and clicked the Indiglo light. It was just after 1:00 a.m., and I was wide awake.

"What was that sound? I thought, Was it a Bear?"

The skies were ominous that night. A soft, steady rain began at dusk; we had retired early and camped near Chickenfoot Lake, in the Inyo National Forest, elevation 10,789 feet, in the Sierra Mountains just northwest of Bishop, California.

This was the second night of our 2014 annual wilderness backpacking trek. Our evening conversation had centered on BIG, ferocious bears.

"It wasn't that long ago campers simply hung their food in trees. Not anymore; the bears had wised up to that old trick. Proper precaution requires every scrap of paper, food, trash, toothpaste - anything that has a smell gets packed into the bear-proof canister for the night. No exceptions!"

"What does a man-eating bear sound like outside your tent?"

Alone, in the dark, your imagination tends to run wild, fidgeting and speculating over unfamiliar noises. I convinced myself the sound that was now keeping me awake was buds from the trees above my tent dropping. Later that day, all would become unmistakably clear . . .

This Sierra adventure began at the East Fork Campground along Rock Creek - elevation 9,000 feet - with my friends Brendan and Robert to acclimate to the high altitude. A convenient site about three miles from the wilderness trailhead at Little Lakes Valley.

No reservation in midsummer; you need not make the trip. The campground was full. As we parked in our designated spot, the camp hosts drove up in their converted golf cart to warn us, "Bears had been seen just last night in the area. Be sure to use the bear boxes, do not leave anything out if you stray from your campsite," they said. "Enjoy your stay.”

“No problem, we are prepared - we're headed for the wilderness and carrying bear boxes in our packs."

With a small crackling fire in the fire pit under a starlit sky, we organized our gear and prepared dinner while reviewing the topo map to plan our route. The evening was filled with the chatter of children running about, and parents huddled around their campfires, talking amongst themselves. The illusive, sweet aroma of ganja drifting on the light breeze lulled us to sleep.

Eager to hit the trail, we were up at dawn the following morning. Sitting at our picnic table having breakfast, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye.

"Look over your shoulder," I whispered. "There's a bear padding quietly into that campsite."

A large brown bear, about the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, was calmly making his way through the campsite of snoring campers. Wide-eyed, we watched silently, frozen to our seats, unable to speak. The bear climbed onto the picnic table covered with a red-checkered plastic tablecloth sniffing the surface for food scraps. When erect, he stood over six feet tall. Finding nothing, he silently climbed down and trundled away.

You've heard it said, "time is relative" well, it was as if time stood still. Admittedly, this entire episode lasted less than three minutes. The bear had come and gone so quickly and quietly that we sat and watched, amazed at the sight of such a large creature able to move with such stealth.

"Can you believe it - we just saw a bear. That thing was huge!" said Brendan. That's my first time seeing a bear after all these mountain trips."

"He was so quiet, not a sound," said Robert. "We should have taken a photo."

Later that morning, as we packed our gear, the campsite residents emerged from their tents. We were the only ones who had seen the bear. We broke the news to the startled campers. They had been sound asleep. With absolutely no idea the bear had come and gone, they began chatting like scared mice running hither and thither, alerting everyone in camp.

Our adventure had begun. The story continues; join me next time to find out what was outside my tent in part two.

I'm Patrick Ball; thanks for listening. I'll see you in the next episode.

Comments

Most Popular of All Time

Beyond Facts-The Deep Dive

✨ In this episode, Beyond Facts: Reimagining School–in the Age of AI . . .   This week's podcast is a bit different; it's another example of how Artificial Intelligence (AI) can offer tools to creatively enhance your analytical presentation of information. We took this week's blog and copied it into Gemini with the question, “If a story is to work, it must, on some level, create an illusion of escape and also achieve a goal simultaneously. Does this apply to my blog post that follows?” What's created is not just an analysis of the writing, but an AI-generated discussion produced “On the Fly” - Enjoy! Did you know that the word "school" comes from the ancient Greek word scholÄ“ , which originally meant "leisure"? Not a rigid schedule or droning lectures filled with "facts," but free time for thinking and conversation. To the Greeks, learning happened best when life slowed down—when you had room to reflect, to ask questions, and to wrestle ...

Retirement Talk

In this episode, Patrick & Huck: Retirement Talk . . .   We all get caught daydreaming sometimes, don’t we? Just like Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn might’ve done, lazyin’ by the river with a fishing pole in hand and the BIG wide world spinn’ in their heads. This morning, with coffee steaming and plans bubbling, I found myself driftin’ into a chat with none other than my imaginary friend–Huck Finn himself. Patrick: “Mornin’, Huck. Say, I’m mighty curious what you’d make of this retirement business.” Huck: “Well now, sit tight, ‘cause I’ve been thinkin’ on that too. Only thirty-one days 'til you're sixty-nine — whew! You're talkin’ ‘bout quittin’, hangin’ up your spurs, Givin’ the workin’ life its final good slurs. Ain’t got no debts, no mortgage, no fuss, Just clean livin’ and freedom waitin’ on the bus. Most folks’d throw hats in the air, cheerin’ loud and proud, But you? You’re starin’ out yonder, lost in some cloud. You're dreamin’ of cyclin' and books and guitar...

The Summer Surprise

In this special episode, The Summer Surprise . . .   Well, howdy there! It's me, Huck Finn, and lemme tell ya, somethin' special happened just the other day. We called it "The Summer Surprise.” Phew-wee! That ol' post box, it coughed up somethin' good! Wasn't no bills, nor them pesky ads, and thankfully, no regular ol' rocks neither. Nope, this here was a letter, folded up neat as a pin, looked a bit like one o' them school lockers, just sittin' there waitin' to be opened. It was from young Sierra, a mighty fine friend, and she'd gone and made some pure, honest-to-goodness artwork with her own two hands. My fingers they was all thumbs, just itching to see what kind of wild wonder she'd whipped up this time. I unfolded that paper, careful-like, you know, and bless my bare feet, there it was! A picture of a whole gymnasium and a mini-soccer field, all done up in colors that just popped. She'd used crayons and pencils, and you could tel...

Drifting with Purpose

In this episode,  Drifting with Purpose: What Huck Finn Teaches Us About Finding Your ‘Why’ . . .  Have you ever re-read a book and felt like it had changed while you weren’t looking? That’s exactly how it feels diving back into Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to be swept away again . It had been decades since I first met Huck and Jim. But here I am – older, hopefully wiser – and finding their journey down the Mississippi more powerful and more relevant than ever. This isn’t just another dusty classic. Twain's masterpiece is a living, breathing story – one that speaks through laughter, danger, awkward truth, and uncomfortable beauty. It’s a book that dares you to ask: “What kind of person am I willing to be?” Right now, I’m deep into Huck and Jim’s incredible journey, and what’s striking me the most isn’t just the plot or the river—it’s the voice. Twain’s masterful use of local dialect pulls you straight into the 19th-century Amer...