 | We set out to hike up Fred Burr to the reservoir about 5 miles in. We've been there before but not in the spring, so I wanted to see it filled up more and hopefully also while there was still some snow on the peaks and ridges. However, Fred Burr has been the most common trail where we see large game animals (especially moose), and as we were coming around a bend near our destination, we came across a bear meandering on the trail ahead of us and it was headed in our direction. It didn't appear that the bear had discovered us immediately, so we unhesitatingly retreated back around the bend out of sight and quickly evaluated the situation. |
Because the brush was too thick, there wasn't anywhere to easily get off the trail to go around him at a safe distance or to wait for him to pass us by. We also didn't know if it might be a female with cubs nearby. Cubs or no cubs, I didn't want to chance having a confrontation with any bear, so we made the decision to head back and come again another day. Play it safe and let the bear have the trail this time. :)
| I so wish I would have had time to at least get a quick pic of the bear before retreating, but we were just too close for me to feel comfortable doing so. He was about 40 yards away in a clear stretch and the gap was closing as he meandered down the trail, so remaining undiscovered by the bear and creating more distance were my top priorities at the time. I'm a firm believer that photos are never worth a life, so we came back to give it another try several days later. This time we made it to our destination without any roadblocks. These photos are a combination of both wonderful hikes. Enjoy! :) |  |
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