Date: 2006-06-09
From: Swift Run Gap Campsite

To: Fishers Gap campsite
Miles today: 19.9

The biggest event of the day, and probably the entire trip thus far, happened tonight. Silverfoot, Baro, and I had made plans to stop at Big Meadows Lodge ( a tourists lodge inside the national park) for a really good dinner. About one mile from the lodge, we spotted a mama bear and 4 cubs! We were walking down the trail and saw 4 of the smallest bear cubs I have ever seen climbing up a tree to the left of the trail. They were so little and cute, but we immediately looked for mama. We spotted her.....she was to the right of the trail wading through the grass and plants looking for food. At first she did not see or hear us as she had her back to the trail. The little cubs were so cute that we had to stop and take pictures of them, while at the same time keeping an eye on mama bear. The little cubs saw us and began to cry. Mama bear turned to the trail and spotted us. We knew better than to go between a mama bear and her cubs, so we stopped right where we were and didn't move. Each of us made eye contact with the mama as she just kept staring at us. We were all so excited to have spotted such a rare sighting, while at the same time, our hearts were racing in anticipation of what might happen next. Were we scared? I don't think so. Anxious? Probably. For what seemed like several minutes, none of us (including mama bear) moved. As the cry of the cubs continued, mama bear slowly moved towards the trail eyeing us each step of the way. We didn't panic. We didn't turn and run. We kept our eyes on her and began taking several big steps backwards. She didn't charge at us, but from the look in her eye and the snorting, we knew she was not impressed with us. She was definitely not happy. We took a few more steps backwards. Where we were once 20 feet from the cubs, we were now about 80 feet from them. Once mama bear had made her prescence known and she had gotten her point across to back off from her cubs, she turned around and moved back to the tree where the cubs were hanging on. She raised her head and looked up at her cubs, as if to say, "It's ok. You can come down from the tree now," and one at a time they scurried down the tree as fast as they could. The one that was crying the loudest went first. Then one by one, the other 3 cubs followed right in line. Once they were all down from the tree, the mama bear slowly led them deeper into the woods to a "safer" place. She looked our way one more time to see if they were far enough off the trail where we would not bother them. Once her decision was made, and she seemed to realize we were not there to harm them, she gave her cubs the signal and they climbed up another tree. Once again, one at a time. They were so cute and fast! We were all in amazement and awe as we watched this scene unfold right before us, while at the same time attempting to capture a few snapshots along the way. We then moved on up the trail past the family. I turned around to get one last look, just to see all 10 of their eyes staring back at us. They seemed to be just as relieved as we were. Needless to say, we were sharing this story with everyone we met that night. It was such a rare sighting and I felt completely honored and blessed to have witnessed it. Although everyone back home had warned me about staying away from bears, I must admit that I was loving every second of it! It was so exciting! Nature is an amazing thing and seeing these animals at such a close range in their natural habitat was just awesome! I can't help but to remember the images that played out before us. The mama bear- the look in her eyes, her body movement and disposition, her confidence and strength, the provider of food and the protector. The cubs- the sounds of their cries for help, their claws clinging to the bark of the tree, the scared look in their eyes, their dependence on their mother for food and protection to live. The looks on our faces as we were witnessing something for the very first time. The relaxed and relieved look in all of the eyes on the trail as we and the bears seemed to realize we could share the area in harmony. The obvious parallels are there. I still have to ask myself some questions. Who do I turn to in times of trouble? When I am scared? When I am in need of food? Protection? Or how do I act when looking face to face with the enemy? Do I turn and run because of lack of faith in myself? Or do I portray faith and confidence-not in myself, but rather in the Creator and Savior of the world? Who do I depend on...myself? Others? or the Ultimate Provider of All? There are more parallels and questions that could be asked- these are just a few. None the less, it makes a great story and I am very fortunate to have been a small part of it.