Soon after dropping off the summit, I would trade my three human companions for three ursine companions. My pictures aren't as good as
@scatman's of our first grizzly, but the encounters were thrilling nonetheless.
First up was a black bear in the upper basin between Mount Holmes and Trilobite Point. Seeing lots of whitebark pines here, I was keeping my eyes peeled and was very quickly rewarded. A good sized black bear was up in a tree feasting - much like his grizzly counterpart on the other side of the mountain.
My first look - I would have to eventually circle most of the way around him to continue my descent.
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From the other side - a little closer.
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Next up would be my most exciting encounter of the day - definitely the closest I've been to a grizzly when solo. Got the heart racing more than a little.
As I left my black bear buddy behind, I noticed some splashing in the small unnamed lake below. After stopping and watching for a minute, I could tell it was being caused by a bear. (At first I thought it was a mom/cub, but the cub turned out to be a rock - but that first impression led me to label this bear a "her" in subsequent encounters.) At this point, I felt like I was a good long way from the bear, but noted her location - since I would be passing right by a bit later.
My first look at her - you can barely make out the ripples in the water from her passing through.
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Turns out that I would get yet another lesson in how fast bears can move - especially compared to how slowly I'm moving. Minutes later I was coming over a small rise in the terrain when all of the sudden I see her again - this time
maybe 15' away. I immediately grabbed my bear spray and stood still to gauge her reaction, which was very minimal - she barely reacted. At this point I let out a kindly "Hey, bear!" and she stopped and stared at me. She paced for a bit, seemed a little annoyed (but not aggressive), but eventually took off back down the basin. (Exactly where I was intending to go...) I stopped for a few minutes to let the adrenaline abate a bit, then continued - taking a higher route than intended to improve my visibility.
After backing up considerably, while she continued to stare at me.
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Pacing a bit while making her decision. (Upon looking at these pictures, she seems pretty skinny for mid-September - especially compared to the other three bears of the day. I'm guessing the black bear outweighed her.)
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Taking off back into the trees.
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I would spot her off and on as I continued down - she clearly kept an eye on me, too. Never seemed predatory - mostly just concerned - but I wanted to give a large berth nonetheless, so I stayed up much higher on the hillside than planned.
Turns out I had
more company - even higher on the hillside than myself. I got past the upper lakes and denser stands of trees and decided to start moving down towards my original route again. It had been a while since I'd gotten sight of my (supposedly) female bear companion and my heart rate was finally in the vicinity of normal.
And then I heard rocks tumbling down the hillside in front of me and a distant sound almost like paper tearing. Lo and behold my fourth bear of the day, ripping apart the hillside - fortunately a good distance in front of and above me. At first I thought it was my old skinny friend, but when this guy turned sideways it was clear he was
much larger and very well fed. For a minute I watched him dig on the hillside and then continued on my route, which would take me below his position. (I did get a pretty good video of him pulling something large out of the ground.) Whatever he was eating seemed to be very satisfying, because he barely paid any attention as I made my way past. He gave me a quick 10 second stare down and clearly decided I was of no concern.
Distance doesn't make for great photos with a phone, but was much more conducive to relaxed viewing.
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Can't complain about a four bear day - I rode that high for quite some time. Was a great day out in Yellowstone.
Thanks for having me along
@scatman! Great trip, great company, and a great trip report!