On Saturday we drove up past the historic little towns of Sumpter and Granite, to the Granite Creek trailhead. This area was the center of goldmining activity for about 100 years and there are big piles of rocks left over from dredging activity, plus lots of dilapidated cabins and mining equipment scattered about.
The Granite Creek drainage was beautiful and parklike, with Ponderosa pines, huckleberry bushes and grasses. Granite Creek itself was swollen with snowmelt, and was more of a roaring river than a creek. The area is quite remote and unvisited at this time of year; we saw nobody on the trail, though there was one car at the trailhead. Unfortunately my ability to enjoy the setting was hampered by a) a wicked case of PMS; b) Melina's incessant whining; c) an [unfounded] fear of rattlesnakes; and eventually d) the fear of never finding a camping spot. We noted (after hiking several miles in) that our Sullivan guide did not show any camping icons on this trail. At the very lowest point, when we started bickering about whether to continue on or retreat three miles back to the trailhead (low blood sugar was setting in), I walked ahead. Suddenly I saw a big white Newfoundland dog bounding through the bushes - at least, that's what I thought, until I realized it was a blonde bear. It stopped about 100 feet away from me and looked at me; I stared back and waved frantically to Jeff to come see, but he was too far behind me. I yelled "bear!" as quietly as I could, which of course spooked the bear, who ran off at top speed, its huge blonde rump wobbling through the undergrowth. It truly was a blonde bear - yellow, darkening to brown at the ends. I had never seen a bear this close, except from a car. Luckily it seemed very wary of us and therefore less likely to raid our camp.
Immediately after, a white-tailed deer ran toward us (probably spooked by the bear), saw us, and headed away.
We found a flat space to camp at the tip of a bluff where the bear had disappeared. Coincidence? I think not.
1 comment:
Blonde bear -- cool! Remember when the crow helped us pick or camping spot by the river (I don't remember where) -- it's where I heard the fairy bells at night.
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