Date: 2003-06-25
From: Leroy A. Smith Shelter

To: Wind Gap
Miles today: 4.6
Weather: few clouds

Again, I am the last to leave. No matter. I've already decided that Wind Gap is as far as I will go today. So, it's to be almost 5 miles today. Then 11 miles Thurs. and 6 miles Fri. to meet Grampie and Dartman at Church of the Mountain Hostel in Delaware Water Gap. Grampie has decided that he would like to hike a bit more, as he has a few days free about June 27th. I've told him that I can meet him and we can hike north out of Delaware Water Gap. Grampie says that Dartman (another hiker buddy from the class of '01) would like to come, too. "Sounds good" I say, but right now, I have five miles to hike just to get to Wind Gap.These thoughts, and others, are suddenly pushed out of my head as I hear the noise of sticks breaking beneath a large, black bear no more than 10 or 12 yards in front of me. A bear! It's a big one! It's a male, about 350 lbs. and he doesn't seem at all afraid of me. He's so close and I'm so surprised, that I stand dead still. I've come upon him crossing the Trail on his way to a feast of wild wheat and blueberries. (Bears, though technically carnivores, actually eat massive amounts of plants, in this case, sweet wild wheat that grows in the mowed strip beneath the power lines.)I knew it was a male because (A) it had no cubs and (B) it was too big to be a sow. This guy was easily 350 lbs. He was well fed and not at all interested in me! As soon as I recovered my composure, I went for my brand new camera. Perodically, this big guy would stop and look back over his shoulder to see where I was, and then he would drop his head and continue to amble along at about the same speed that I was hiking. The Trail followed the spine of the ridge on the west side, the bear followed the ridge, but on the east side, so here we are, both of us walking along the spine of the ridge, but on opposite sides, me at a distance of 15 yds. and in the rear. I got about 3 pics of him going thru the shadows in shoulder high grasses. Every once in awhile he would look back to see where I was and then he would just keep walking. He wasn't the least bit afraid or hurried. I tried to get a pic of him with his head in the air, above the grasses so that everyone could see that it was a bear, but I'm sure that all the pics show only a large rounded black back at a distance of about 15 yds. I thought about getting in front of him as he approached a clearing, but I thought better of it. This is a BIG male bear we're talking about. I followed him for several minutes trying to get a good pic. Finally, I decided to leave well enough alone and I quit following while he went across the power line right-of-way. I stayed where I was for 5 minutes or so. Then I made lots of noise as I tried to pass him on the left. Don't know where he went, but I made LOTS of noise for the next 20 minutes or so. I kept looking behind me on the Trail for the next hour, then everytime I heard anything, I would look around somemore. Somewhere I remember reading these words of wisdom...        "A walk in the woods when you know there's a bear around is an infinitely different experience than a walk in the woods when you know there's no bear." Author unknown. "From this day forward, I shall be happy to testify to that account", Texas Jack 6/25/03.I got to the motel about 2:30 p.m., ordered pizza delivery, drank a 6 pack of Mountain Dew, and tried to catch up on my journals. Have an 11 mile day coming up tomorrow with a "horrendous" climb out of Wind Gap, according to Baltimore Jack. I fell down yesterday in the toxic rocks and hurt my right hand, but not too bad. A little Hydrogen Peroxide and it will be fine. Got to get some sleep now. Will meet Grampie on Fri.