These images are from our thru-hike of the JMT in 98. We hiked from August 16 through September 3, southbound. The hike took 18 days to complete, covering about 220 miles. Solophile and I are indebted to Big Bird (of AT 97 fame) for the splendid hospitality in the Bay City, the time he took off to be our personal tour guide, and the great hitch out to Yosemite.
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Our first bear It was the end of the day. Solophile and I had found two camps, the second one had a bearline, so it would be home for the evening. I dropped pack and started down to Sunrise Creek to wash up. Solophile expressed her concern that bears might be nearby, but I replied that it'd be hours before we had bear visits. Just when I got to the water, she called out Bear!. I rushed back, a bit frustrated sans bath. "Where?," I asked, scanning the hillsides and ridge seeing nothing. Solophile pointed to a small pine 20 feet away. Just behind was this guy. Some shouting and waving pushed it to the other side of the camp (here). I eventually chased it down a game trail littered with tinfoil and wrappers in the shape of bear scat. It's signifance wasn't lost on us. The bear would return shortly after dark and stay in camp with us for most of the night. For several hours, he clawed at the bearline from which we has suspended two full stuffsacks of food. The steel cable actually would sing and the sacks shake as if pinatas while he thrashed the cord securing the food. We imagined the worst when by early morning, we heard only grunting but no more whistling wire. |
