Man oh man, do I have an adventure story for you! Ok, it goes like this ::clears throat::
Yesterday I woke up and could feel that my muscles were very tight and knew that I needed lots of physical activity, which means hiking. Lance suggested that we try to head up to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park. In comparison to most of the hikes around here, which usually involve hiking up or down a mountain, Big Meadows is fairly flat, since it's well....a mountain top meadow. That means it's easier for me to hike AND I can move faster which helps with my muscles.
There's a service road that cuts right through the meadow that meanders off into the woods. We'd never walked it before and thought it would be fun to go check it out. About a mile in, we come to a small path that went off the road down the mountain. There was also a sign: RAPIDAN RD 6 MILES, HORSE TRAIL 2. The decision was obvious. Even though the road was more flat and easier, I wasn't going to walk 6 miles. Horse Trail it was. We had no idea where it went, only that it would end up at "Rapidan Camp"...whatever that was. The first half was fairly easy and wasn't a steep descent but after that, it got really rocky, steep, narrow and slippery. We did find a very pretty waterfall but I didn't bring my tripod (cause I didn't think I'd be seeing a waterfall that day) so all the pictures turned out pretty crappy. When we got to the bottom, we found "Rapidan Camp" which was a small cabin retreat for President Hoover. Overall though, it was kinda lame. I was soooo tired though from the hike and my legs were so shaky, I really didn't want to head back up the mountain on the Horse Trail. We figured that with as strenuous as that hike was and as tired as I was, it'd be just as fast to hike back up the 6 mile service road, which would be easier. SIKE. 6 miles up a mountain!?!?! What on God's green earth were we thinking?!?!? Too late, we were committed.
At one point, Lance slowed down, almost to a stop, holding his hand out and looking down into a gully. He said there was a black bear waaayyyy down in the gully but we figured that us and the bear would be fine since we were so far apart. I had been telling Lance about all my plans for whenever I'd finally be able to take Sean on our "Bosther-Stister" trip to Gatlinburg, whenever I get well. I figured it was best to keep talking 'cause I had heard somewhere it's best to make your presence known when you're hiking to avoid startling any bears. Further up the mountain we both heard a noise down in the woods and both froze. We heard a crack, crack, crack, SMASH and a fluttering and squawking of birds. We had NO idea what it was. Maybe it was a coincidence that a rotted out tree fell over right then but we suspected that something very large pushed it over....like a bear...trying to get to bugs and grubs. We immediately hurried our pace until we were far beyond the bend. I kept thinking about how I had flipped through the "Bear Activity" log book at Big Meadows Lodge before our hike and noting how many bear sightings there had been in the area. The whole time I kept saying that we should really look up bear safety when we get home if we didn't get attacked by one before that.
It was so hot, so steamy, the road was so
long, I was hungry and everything on me hurt. 4 miles. 3.5 miles. 2
miles. Nearly there. I knew that once we made it back to the sign
where we originally separated from the road, that I'd be able to make.
it. The road began to get more and more flat. We knew we were nearing
the top, nearing the sign, nearing the meadow and ultimately, THE CAR.
Lance called out, "Babe! I see the sign!" The sign that said, RAPIDAN
RD 6 MILES, HORSE TRAIL 2 and another larger one that said BIG MEADOWS
1.1 MILES. 1.1 miles to go!!!! Almost there! And the sun was
setting!!! And we'll be able to get dinner!!! And rest!! And shower!!!
Suddenly Lance stopped, holding out his hand again. I immediately
knew. I couldn't see it yet but I knew. We both simultaneously slowly,
slowly started to walk backwards. There, right by the sign in the
brush and undergrowth was a large, black face, that slowly emerged. A
black bear. Of course. Of course this would happen right at the very
end.
We couldn't go back down the mountain.
Be calm.
Don't turn your back.
Don't make any sudden moves.
Then, out hopped a little fuzzy cub. You've got to be kidding. Momma was watching us VERY closely. She starts to walk down the road towards us. Keep walking backwards, do not turn your back, keep giving them space, make sure they know you're giving them space!!! Please don't keep coming towards us! What do we do if she decides to attack!?!? We'd be goners. We're out here in the middle of nowhere, we haven't seen anybody for a couple of hours and we have no cell service. We backed up to where we could still keep an eye on them.
Baby Bear crosses the road.
Great now we have to wait for Momma Bear to cross, otherwise we'll be in between Momma and Baby.
Wait.
Wait.
She'll cross. I wish more people would come around the bend. I wish we could get help.
Wait.
Just wait.
Momma Bear crosses
the road. Good. Now just wait so that they have time to get further
into the woods.
Wait.
Listen.
Wait.
Watch.
We can't see them anymore.
Get the camera out. Use the zoom on the lens. We don't see anything. We don't know if they're far enough into the woods.
The car keys. Take the car keys off the back of the backpack so that we can jingle them louder. The water bottles. Get them and bang them together.
Go slowly. Don't startle them. Hope, pray they're not still by the road.
Closer, we're getting closer to the sign. Lance stops, looks. Baby bear is in a tree by the road. Suddenly Momma bear storms out from the bushes on the OPPOSITE side of the road! How!? HOW!? We didn't see her cross again! Baby scampers down the tree and runs to Momma. Momma Bear guards Baby giving us stern looks and taking a few steps towards us.
Keep backing up, keep going, go back to where we were! Give them Space!
How long are we going to be stuck here!? No body knows we're back here. Wait. Just wait. They'll leave.
Baby Bear crosses the road again.
Wait.....
Wait......
Ok, there goes Momma Bear.
Wait......
Give them more time to get further into the woods.
Keep jingling the keys.
Keeps banging the water bottles.
Wait.
Just wait.
Is it safe?
Where are they? Get the camera out again. Check the the trees and bushes. Nothing. Was it enough time? Are they into the woods far enough? We cant tell. I guess we'll go. Hope, pray they're not still there.
Slowly.
Go slowly.
Keep making noise.
We just want to get back to our car. We don't want to hurt you or baby.
Getting closer to the sign. Still don't see Momma and Baby. Nearly to the sign. 50 ft. Please don't attack. Please don't charge out of the bushes.
20 ft.
10 ft.
We're here. Still no sign of them. Please don't storm out. Keep making noise, keep moving. We're past the sign. Speed up the pace, keep making noise. Alright, we're far enough away. RUN. We ran as fast and as far as we could. Then, we could see the meadow!!! And people! We're almost to safety! The sun was setting. The clouds were soft peach and violet. The meadow was calm, peaceful. The deer had come out for their usual evening meal. We're safe. We're alive! We conquered a 10 mile hike and survived a bear encounter all just in time to catch a glorious sunset on Skyline!
Yesterday I woke up and could feel that my muscles were very tight and knew that I needed lots of physical activity, which means hiking. Lance suggested that we try to head up to Big Meadows in Shenandoah National Park. In comparison to most of the hikes around here, which usually involve hiking up or down a mountain, Big Meadows is fairly flat, since it's well....a mountain top meadow. That means it's easier for me to hike AND I can move faster which helps with my muscles.
There's a service road that cuts right through the meadow that meanders off into the woods. We'd never walked it before and thought it would be fun to go check it out. About a mile in, we come to a small path that went off the road down the mountain. There was also a sign: RAPIDAN RD 6 MILES, HORSE TRAIL 2. The decision was obvious. Even though the road was more flat and easier, I wasn't going to walk 6 miles. Horse Trail it was. We had no idea where it went, only that it would end up at "Rapidan Camp"...whatever that was. The first half was fairly easy and wasn't a steep descent but after that, it got really rocky, steep, narrow and slippery. We did find a very pretty waterfall but I didn't bring my tripod (cause I didn't think I'd be seeing a waterfall that day) so all the pictures turned out pretty crappy. When we got to the bottom, we found "Rapidan Camp" which was a small cabin retreat for President Hoover. Overall though, it was kinda lame. I was soooo tired though from the hike and my legs were so shaky, I really didn't want to head back up the mountain on the Horse Trail. We figured that with as strenuous as that hike was and as tired as I was, it'd be just as fast to hike back up the 6 mile service road, which would be easier. SIKE. 6 miles up a mountain!?!?! What on God's green earth were we thinking?!?!? Too late, we were committed.
At one point, Lance slowed down, almost to a stop, holding his hand out and looking down into a gully. He said there was a black bear waaayyyy down in the gully but we figured that us and the bear would be fine since we were so far apart. I had been telling Lance about all my plans for whenever I'd finally be able to take Sean on our "Bosther-Stister" trip to Gatlinburg, whenever I get well. I figured it was best to keep talking 'cause I had heard somewhere it's best to make your presence known when you're hiking to avoid startling any bears. Further up the mountain we both heard a noise down in the woods and both froze. We heard a crack, crack, crack, SMASH and a fluttering and squawking of birds. We had NO idea what it was. Maybe it was a coincidence that a rotted out tree fell over right then but we suspected that something very large pushed it over....like a bear...trying to get to bugs and grubs. We immediately hurried our pace until we were far beyond the bend. I kept thinking about how I had flipped through the "Bear Activity" log book at Big Meadows Lodge before our hike and noting how many bear sightings there had been in the area. The whole time I kept saying that we should really look up bear safety when we get home if we didn't get attacked by one before that.
We couldn't go back down the mountain.
Be calm.
Don't turn your back.
Don't make any sudden moves.
Then, out hopped a little fuzzy cub. You've got to be kidding. Momma was watching us VERY closely. She starts to walk down the road towards us. Keep walking backwards, do not turn your back, keep giving them space, make sure they know you're giving them space!!! Please don't keep coming towards us! What do we do if she decides to attack!?!? We'd be goners. We're out here in the middle of nowhere, we haven't seen anybody for a couple of hours and we have no cell service. We backed up to where we could still keep an eye on them.
Baby Bear crosses the road.
Great now we have to wait for Momma Bear to cross, otherwise we'll be in between Momma and Baby.
Wait.
Wait.
She'll cross. I wish more people would come around the bend. I wish we could get help.
Wait.
Just wait.
Wait.
Listen.
Wait.
Watch.
We can't see them anymore.
Get the camera out. Use the zoom on the lens. We don't see anything. We don't know if they're far enough into the woods.
The car keys. Take the car keys off the back of the backpack so that we can jingle them louder. The water bottles. Get them and bang them together.
Go slowly. Don't startle them. Hope, pray they're not still by the road.
Closer, we're getting closer to the sign. Lance stops, looks. Baby bear is in a tree by the road. Suddenly Momma bear storms out from the bushes on the OPPOSITE side of the road! How!? HOW!? We didn't see her cross again! Baby scampers down the tree and runs to Momma. Momma Bear guards Baby giving us stern looks and taking a few steps towards us.
Keep backing up, keep going, go back to where we were! Give them Space!
How long are we going to be stuck here!? No body knows we're back here. Wait. Just wait. They'll leave.
Baby Bear crosses the road again.
Wait.....
Wait......
Ok, there goes Momma Bear.
Wait......
Give them more time to get further into the woods.
Keep jingling the keys.
Keeps banging the water bottles.
Wait.
Just wait.
Is it safe?
Where are they? Get the camera out again. Check the the trees and bushes. Nothing. Was it enough time? Are they into the woods far enough? We cant tell. I guess we'll go. Hope, pray they're not still there.
Slowly.
Go slowly.
Keep making noise.
We just want to get back to our car. We don't want to hurt you or baby.
Getting closer to the sign. Still don't see Momma and Baby. Nearly to the sign. 50 ft. Please don't attack. Please don't charge out of the bushes.
20 ft.
10 ft.
We're here. Still no sign of them. Please don't storm out. Keep making noise, keep moving. We're past the sign. Speed up the pace, keep making noise. Alright, we're far enough away. RUN. We ran as fast and as far as we could. Then, we could see the meadow!!! And people! We're almost to safety! The sun was setting. The clouds were soft peach and violet. The meadow was calm, peaceful. The deer had come out for their usual evening meal. We're safe. We're alive! We conquered a 10 mile hike and survived a bear encounter all just in time to catch a glorious sunset on Skyline!
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