Bear Sighting

Guest Post: Commander Mouse

Yes, Amy was kind enough to allow me to go for a hike with some folks at the Y while she assisted the kids with crafts and a Junior Explorer class. It was a glorious day to spend a couple of hours hiking and eating lunch at the top of one of the mountains, 9876 feet above sea level and high above the YMCA retreat center. On our return drive back, about ½ mile outside the park entrance we stopped near a bed a breakfast since about 50 people had gathered in the area. We saw a 2 year old brown bear sitting on the roof of the house. A few minutes later he decided he was hungry so he climbed down the tree onto the wraparound porch and tried to get in the side door. When that didn’t work, he proceeded to rip the screen for the small window next to the door and kitchen sink with his teeth in an attempt to get into the house. The elderly lady inside the house started making a bunch of noise to try to scare the bear off, but he didn’t seem to mind the noise.
Now here’s the funny part. Picture a lady, probably in her 70’s, with wild white hair, coming out from the back of the wraparound porch, banging two pots together, probably 5-8 feet away from the bear. Initially, that got the bear’s attention and he promptly climbed the 8 feet back up the tree to her roof. She continues to bang away with her pots and the bear just sits there looking at her, while all us bystanders are roaring with laughter at the site of this lady with the wild white hair, totally unfazed by the bear. Eventually, the bear decides he has had enough, comes back down the tree, off the porch and promptly goes to the neighbor’s trash can to find something interesting to eat. One of the senior Y volunteers that hiked with us that day was happy to see a bear on his 6th day of working at the Y this year while the rest of us will never forget the site of the lady with the pots banging away 5 feet from the bear. What a site to see!