So at this point--the bears have assaulted our camp twice . . . . stolen my backpack with all my belongings, scared the bejesus out of our rookie camping friend, and somehow managed to avoid the trip lines the entire time. Now the mother and two babies have returned for a THIRD time to get some more food.
When jay and i arrived back at the camp, the mother was sitting calmly on a rock that was raised slightly from our campsite. We knew she would never be crazy enough to assault the camp with all three of us standing there in opposition to her, but since she seemed to be staying put, we busted out the cameras as it was an awesome photo op. Naturally the cameras were of no use. I'm beginning to suspect that bears have a magical power over digital cameras. Whenever they're around the cameras either mysteriously won't turn on, or the picture comes out completely black (as in this case). Every bear shot i've ever gotten looked like bigfoot. Not being able to get good pictures (and the flash apparantly was her cue to leave), we began following her down the secondary path she was walking. Still she didn't seem afraid of us the way other bears did . . so it was our decision that for her own benefit (and the benefit of future lunches), we needed to teach her a lesson and scare the crap out of her. (If at the same time we manage to tree her and get some great pictures . . . that's just a bonus).
We quietly crept to the sides--Jay flanking to the right . . . me flanking to the left (the same wordless synchronized movement we commence when trying to catch a difficult snake or turtle). We made eye contact . . . "1 -- 2 -- 3" We both took off at full speed . . . following the three bears down the mountainside . . . we were bounding from rock to rock, sliding gracefully down the slippery patches, using the most dexterity we're capable of using. We were flying down that hill. Only problem was . . . the bears kept a healthy distance from us without even applying effort. We were no match for their speed . . . it was really almost a joke. When all was said and done they were the same distance from us as when we started, and had resumed ignoring us. Perhaps the lesson wasn't working. We decided to climb back up to camp and look for the stolen backpack.
After about another half hour of searching out the mountain (and finding a few more ravaged backpacks), I did manage to find my own--not very far off from the camp. They didn't tear it open like i thought . . . they simply unzipped the compartment containing food (how civilized of them), opened the sub container and ate it, opened the noodles, ate them, and chewed on the packets of beef flavoring like gum till they lost their taste, at which point the bears spit them out. All my belongings were intact, and they didn't even slobber on my backpack much. It was a great stroke of luck.
So at this point . . . I considered myself and the bears even. I got this awesome experience, the thrill of seeing those majestic animals, a good story . . . and they got my breakfast lunch and dinner. Fair enough.
So we packed up our stuff and hiked back into worthington for a day of relaxation and searching for animals. We went to sunfish pond and boiled water for drinking . . . walked around to all our usual spots . . . but really found nothing from that point on. Just one baby gray treefrog and a whole lot of bear poop. By 11am we were ready to head out of there. The lack of luck and abundance of exhaustion made us just want out of there.
So we took our normal path back . . at a snail's pace. Hungry . . . tired . . . thirsty . . . and with only one cigarette left each . . . we were cranky just from the thought of running out so far from refreshment. We were so oblivious in fact, that it took me a second to think about it when jay jumped to the right, pointed his finger and yelled "RATTLESNAKE!!"
Well I woke up REALLY fast at that point. Jay's brother of course took off in the other direction, but we worked like a well-oiled machine. Jay kept an eye on the snake while i got out my snake hook . . . I followed the animal (now trying very hard to escape) and made attempts at a grab . . . waited for the perfect opportunity . . . . got it!
This was such a beautiful animal . . . black phase with bright banding . . . a long healthy rattle--not nearly as large as the last rattlesnake I caught (which happened to be in this very same forest).
(my other uploaded shots are in my photoalbum under reptiles)
We allowed the wrangle to last about 20 or 30 minutes . . . I'd manipulate the snake while jay took pictures . . . when Jay saw what a wonderful placid animal it was (just like the last rattlesnake I handled) he even took a try at wrangling it. It was as close to a spiritual experience as I've ever had.
Well eventually we decided we'd stressed the snake out quite enough . . . i walked him off the path a good ways (to avoid conflicts with hikers) in the direction he was originally moving . . . gave it one more stare of adoration . . and let the rattlesnake go.
We weren't far off from the car, and on the walk down the mountain all we really discussed was how this was the first time we came into the woods and the only things we saw were the things we wanted to see most...
My remaining goals for the year . . . get a good bear picture. . . up my number of rattlesnake encounters to three . . .and get it all on video.
Jay (the veterinary tech) claims that since seeing the rattlesnake, the only things he has left to do in New Jersey are to wrestle down a coyote and scruff a bobcat. which got me thinking . . . i used to be a vet tech . . . i've wrangled some really huge really mean animals . . . I bet i can wrestle down a small bear . . .
That's next trip.
--Bob
When jay and i arrived back at the camp, the mother was sitting calmly on a rock that was raised slightly from our campsite. We knew she would never be crazy enough to assault the camp with all three of us standing there in opposition to her, but since she seemed to be staying put, we busted out the cameras as it was an awesome photo op. Naturally the cameras were of no use. I'm beginning to suspect that bears have a magical power over digital cameras. Whenever they're around the cameras either mysteriously won't turn on, or the picture comes out completely black (as in this case). Every bear shot i've ever gotten looked like bigfoot. Not being able to get good pictures (and the flash apparantly was her cue to leave), we began following her down the secondary path she was walking. Still she didn't seem afraid of us the way other bears did . . so it was our decision that for her own benefit (and the benefit of future lunches), we needed to teach her a lesson and scare the crap out of her. (If at the same time we manage to tree her and get some great pictures . . . that's just a bonus).
We quietly crept to the sides--Jay flanking to the right . . . me flanking to the left (the same wordless synchronized movement we commence when trying to catch a difficult snake or turtle). We made eye contact . . . "1 -- 2 -- 3" We both took off at full speed . . . following the three bears down the mountainside . . . we were bounding from rock to rock, sliding gracefully down the slippery patches, using the most dexterity we're capable of using. We were flying down that hill. Only problem was . . . the bears kept a healthy distance from us without even applying effort. We were no match for their speed . . . it was really almost a joke. When all was said and done they were the same distance from us as when we started, and had resumed ignoring us. Perhaps the lesson wasn't working. We decided to climb back up to camp and look for the stolen backpack.
After about another half hour of searching out the mountain (and finding a few more ravaged backpacks), I did manage to find my own--not very far off from the camp. They didn't tear it open like i thought . . . they simply unzipped the compartment containing food (how civilized of them), opened the sub container and ate it, opened the noodles, ate them, and chewed on the packets of beef flavoring like gum till they lost their taste, at which point the bears spit them out. All my belongings were intact, and they didn't even slobber on my backpack much. It was a great stroke of luck.
So at this point . . . I considered myself and the bears even. I got this awesome experience, the thrill of seeing those majestic animals, a good story . . . and they got my breakfast lunch and dinner. Fair enough.
So we packed up our stuff and hiked back into worthington for a day of relaxation and searching for animals. We went to sunfish pond and boiled water for drinking . . . walked around to all our usual spots . . . but really found nothing from that point on. Just one baby gray treefrog and a whole lot of bear poop. By 11am we were ready to head out of there. The lack of luck and abundance of exhaustion made us just want out of there.
So we took our normal path back . . at a snail's pace. Hungry . . . tired . . . thirsty . . . and with only one cigarette left each . . . we were cranky just from the thought of running out so far from refreshment. We were so oblivious in fact, that it took me a second to think about it when jay jumped to the right, pointed his finger and yelled "RATTLESNAKE!!"
Well I woke up REALLY fast at that point. Jay's brother of course took off in the other direction, but we worked like a well-oiled machine. Jay kept an eye on the snake while i got out my snake hook . . . I followed the animal (now trying very hard to escape) and made attempts at a grab . . . waited for the perfect opportunity . . . . got it!
This was such a beautiful animal . . . black phase with bright banding . . . a long healthy rattle--not nearly as large as the last rattlesnake I caught (which happened to be in this very same forest).
(my other uploaded shots are in my photoalbum under reptiles)
We allowed the wrangle to last about 20 or 30 minutes . . . I'd manipulate the snake while jay took pictures . . . when Jay saw what a wonderful placid animal it was (just like the last rattlesnake I handled) he even took a try at wrangling it. It was as close to a spiritual experience as I've ever had.
Well eventually we decided we'd stressed the snake out quite enough . . . i walked him off the path a good ways (to avoid conflicts with hikers) in the direction he was originally moving . . . gave it one more stare of adoration . . and let the rattlesnake go.
We weren't far off from the car, and on the walk down the mountain all we really discussed was how this was the first time we came into the woods and the only things we saw were the things we wanted to see most...
My remaining goals for the year . . . get a good bear picture. . . up my number of rattlesnake encounters to three . . .and get it all on video.
Jay (the veterinary tech) claims that since seeing the rattlesnake, the only things he has left to do in New Jersey are to wrestle down a coyote and scruff a bobcat. which got me thinking . . . i used to be a vet tech . . . i've wrangled some really huge really mean animals . . . I bet i can wrestle down a small bear . . .
That's next trip.
--Bob
