as we came around a corner in a sagebushy area . . . . . .
We met Teddy. . . . . .
bear!
We were walking this trail just before dinnertime, as a last walk of the day.
We were coming to an area where the manzanita is thick, and where the trail curves. B halted, and I figured she was looking at a squirrel that was nearby as she was looking in that direction.
I had to force B into moving forward, and then we practically stumbled onto a black bear that was on all fours and engrossed in something on the ground. The bear jumped, then stood up, then got down on all fours, and started running up the hill.
B and I ran down the hill for an eighth of a mile until we were back home. That was scary! We were within ten feet of that bear.
B was much smarter than I was. I should have paid attention to why she was not wanting to continue on our walk. Smart girl!
I had been talking to B the whole time as a lot of locals do that as a tactic to avoid bears by alerting the bears to voices of people nearby, so the bears have a chance to run off before being seen. I'm not sure why that bear didn't hear us, but it did seem very engrossed in whatever it was looking at, perhaps eating manzanita berries which is a delicacy for bears.
B will be wearing a bear bell from now on. It looks like a large jingle bell, and it attaches to the dog's collar with velcro.
 | |||
| Photo was taken later, but illustrates the bear bell. |
