Date: 2004-09-30
From: Mohican Outdoor Center

To: Brink Road Shelter
Miles today: 14.3
Weather: moderate rain

Not much to tell today, unless you count the FOUR BEARS I saw! The first 10 miles went by rather uneventfully. Took a break at the junction with the trail to Buttermilk Falls. Sat and rested on a log for several minutes. I got up, and was finishing buckling my pack on, and I look back down the trail southbound (glad I was going the other direction). At this point, the trail appeared to be an old forest road, easily wide enough for a car to drive. 50-70 yards away, I see two large black shapes fighting with each other, standing and pawing and biting at each other. I think "oh shit!". This was not good. I'm in the middle of the woods, alone, haven't seen anyone in hours, the thru-hiker crowd is long gone, and here I am with these two aggressive, large, dangerous animals. Not good.The wave of fear did not last long, as I calmed down and came to my senses. I knew enough about bears to know that I probably was not in any danger. Blackies do not actively seek to hurt or kill humans, and will generally avoid us at all costs. So what was initially scary turned into a cool "Mutal of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" moment, and I was prepared to study and send in my notes to Marlon Perkins. Well, the moment I think "Oh cool", they drop to all four legs and head down the trail in my direction. "oh shit" I think. No breeze, and they haven't smelled me or heard me yet, and with their poor eyesight, probably never saw me. Well, I'm not taking any chances, so I wave my hands above my head and yell "GO! GO!" One of the fighting bears runs off into the forest, along with a THIRD bear that I had not noticed before. The other fighting bear hung around to see what was going on.Being not keen on any ursine company at the moment, I grabbed my whistle out of my pocket and blew loudly. This time, the bear left and joined the others, to my relief. When I did a section of the AT earlier this year, before my thru-hike, I had a dream about hearing a bear outside my tent, and being so panicked all I could do was sputter into my whistle, never getting it to work. I'm glad that didn't happen here.Bracing wildlife encounter concluded, I very quickly finished mounting up and took off down the trail briskly. About half an hour went by, when I hear LOUD rumbling in the brush. A small animal like a squirrel makes alot of noise in the trees, so much so that you half-expect a bear, so you can imagine how much noise a big bulky bear makes, one who isn't half as graceful as a squirrel or even a deer. Since my encounter with this one's colleagues, I had been clapping my hands and saying "yo bear!" as if I was in grizzly country. I was fairly nervous. I heard this FOURTH one and nearly jumped out of my skin with a "YO BEAR!" as I saw his black rump charging away (just like they always tell you you'll see).By now, I'm convinced that New Jersey is just crawling with bears, I'm expecting them behind every tree and boulder. I make sure to make plenty of noise so they run long before I get to them. I'm really hoping to see some people, and finally, at the end of the night, I do. I've settled into the shelter, .2 off the main trail, but they decide to camp at the trail. That'll have to be good enough, I suppose. Should be just close enough to hear my screams pierce the night air in case of attack.