The walking I’ve done these last weeks has been either in rain, just before rain or just after rain. My garden is still under water. I ate one red tomato, but I can’t get to anything else easily. The grass and the corn are fighting to see who is the tallest. Hopefully this mornings heavy rain was the last for a bit. My yard is squishy, and earthworms are fleeing in mass. I played tennis with a few friends in the indoor courts, and a wave of earthworms slithered towards the courts. We picked them up and moved them back, and by the end of a game, they were slithering towards the serve line again. It felt like a low-key slow horror movie, Attack of the Worm. At one point, chasing a ball, I felt a squish underfoot, but I said nothing to my animal loving teammate.
One of the walks I enjoyed was in NC, while we were gathered for a family reunion. I love visiting with family, cooking and catching up, listening to others visit, all the chaos and warmth of family. But, the day after, I always need a quiet time, a recalibration of sorts, so dog and I drove over to a local park and walked. We started on a wooded path bordered by a large river. The river was high, brown, full of rapids, and very noisy. Once out of the wooded section we walked along the busy road, and turned into a swamp area with cypress trees, with their wide trunks and knees sticking out of the settled water. We walked to another park in town and turned back. Dog was extremely interested in every squirrel we passed, but as we finished the last mile she stopped trying to chase them. She drank water at every opportunity. Back at the truck, sweat dripping down my face, I gave her more water to drink. She was breathing harder than normal, and felt hot, so we cut the second part of the walk and drove home.
Another walk I did during this time was short, but hopefully impactful. I created 6 postcards, addressed them to various senators and to the White House, wrote short notes about the importance of due process and saving National Parks, clean air and water. I walked from my house across the city park and to the post office, mailed my complaints, and walked back. I felt like a cranky old lady in a British mystery. I am happy to live in a country where I am allowed to express my opinions, to walk safely to the post office to mail my opinions and to not be afraid of the consequences of such. I hope it stays that way.
On the AT I would be on mile marker 259, just past Roaring Fork Shelter in NC. Soon I’ll be in Tennessee, if the rain holds off, anyway. Last week I wrote about some hiking memories in the area I was walking in, and this week I want to share a bear story. It took place on Mt. LeConte, just off the AT but near Ice Water Springs and Clingman’s Dome. I was on a backpacking trip with my mom and dad, and we were staying in the Mt. Leconte lean-to. We had just arrived, and set up our sleeping bags. The lean-to is a three sided shelter with benches for sleeping on, and usually a fireplace. When I was in high school the fourth wall of the shelter was simply a chain link wall, and we had to enter through a door, like the gate of a fence. I was tired after the hike and laid down on the grass in front of the shelter, closed my eyes and enjoyed the sun on my face. Nearly drifting off, I heard my mom say softly, “Shell, get up slowly and come in here.” I stood, saw nothing but joined mom and dad inside the shelter. They had seen a bear in the meadow, not far from where I was resting. We waited a bit but didn’t see anything else and relaxing we moved back outside. Two young men hiked in and joined us, and perhaps a couple more, I don’t remember. As we were chatting we saw the bear moving in among the trees, then he moved back out of sight. The two men decided to walk down to the spring and fill their water bottles. After they left the bear poked his head out from behind the lean-to. We moved back inside. He disappeared, then poked his head out from the other side of the building. After a moment he disappeared, and poked his head out from the first side. We didn’t stop to think how strange it was one bear was moving back and forth behind our little shelter, we were just thrilled with watching. He poked his head out from the left side, and dad decided to take a picture. He opened the fence door and stepped out into the “yard,” camera held up to his face. Dad moved around, trying to get a good picture, and stood in front of the door, with the door hinged so it opened from the opposite side from where he was standing. Just at that moment the bear looked towards dad, stood on his hind legs a moment, fell back down and ran right at my father. Dad backed into the door, couldn’t get in, had to swing it open, mom and I grabbed his shirt and pulled him inside. The bear ran on by, and then we heard the loudest growling and snarling, like a giant dog fight. There had been two bears. We were caught in the middle, and my dad had walked outside right between them. Luckily the first bear was only interested in the second bear. After a few moments the losing bear ran out of the woods and took off down the trail. We struggled to calm down, and we all talked at once. “There had been two bears! They were only interested in each other! I thought you would never get back inside the shelter!” It had been very exciting.
After a few moments the guys returned from the spring with a story of their own. The losing bear had run into them on the trail. They knew nothing about the bear fight. One of the men said to the other, “”I read that the best way to handle a bear is to make noise and seem bigger than you are.” They banged their tin cups, and yelled. The defeated, angry bear stood on his hind legs, and the two men scurried off the trail to make way. We shared our stories, each group cooked and ate their suppers, and then settled down for the evening. One of the men said, “I'm going to step outside and look at the stars. Anyone want to come?” I joined him, and as we looked around we saw, in the top of a tall tree, a young bear cub. Here was the reason for the bear fight, and the reason we were quick to go back inside.
I’ve been watching videos of AT hikers, and I haven’t noticed any bear encounters or bear stories. I wonder if that is because hikers do a better job of storing food than in the past. It is regulation now to hang your food or use a bear box. I hope there are still lots of healthy bears out there. Enjoy rain, enjoy sun, enjoy earthworms and bears. Protect and love the great outdoors, and especially our National Parks, the wild lands that belong to each one of us.
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