Howard: Bearly keeping up in Smith Wildernerness

Iwas joining the scouts of our community on a high adventure into the Jedediah Smith Wilderness--and it’s bear country.

It’s not only bear country; it’s grizzly country. That meant we needed to be prepared.

All three of us men who were leaders were packing weapons, just in case. I was also carrying bear spray. I once had a dangerous encounter with a coyote pack that almost ended in disaster for me.

I also had some close encounters with black bears and mountain lions, so I was taking no chances. None of us men expected to run into any trouble, and we definitely hoped we wouldn’t, but we felt responsible for the young men in our charge and didn’t want to take chances.

The boys, on the other hand, didn’t seem to think twice about it. We had barely lifted the packs onto our backs for the five-mile hike into Hidden Lake before they were hiking fast and increasing the distance between themselves and us. They were young, healthy, and energetic, and we were much older, with declining energy. Our packs were also heavier since we were carrying extra items for the camp.

We pushed ourselves hard to ensure we stayed within calling distance of the boys, and by the time we arrived at the camp, I was exhausted. I was the oldest, and it seemed to wear on me the most. I set up my tent and just climbed into it, too tired to move for about an hour.

The boys, meanwhile, were off to fish at the lake. There were a lot more people around the lake, so we weren’t too nervous about them being a little farther away, but we still tried to keep a watch in case there were any problems. We were careful to put our food into the somewhat broken-down bear box that was provided at the camp. And we made sure no one had any food in their tents to avoid attracting bears. Though there were a few signs of bears, like claw marks on trees, none of them were fresh.

One boy claimed he heard a bear snorting in the middle of the night, but we finally determined that it was more likely somebody snoring. Still, we were cautious.

On the day we were to hike back out of the wilderness, the boys wanted to stay as long as possible. The fishing had been good, and they wanted to do some more before we left. This meant we wouldn’t be hiking until the afternoon, and we would need to do a strong, fast hike to get out in time to get to our next campsite at Grassy Lake.

The boys came back from the lake later than expected. Though many of us had our gear packed to go, the ones who had been fishing still had to take down their tents and load them into their packs. So by the time we were ready to move out, the sun was starting down the western sky. This made the boys more anxious to hike faster.

The smallest boy also happened to be the scoutmaster’s son. He weighed less than my pack, but he had more energy than an atomic explosion. He didn’t want to be held back by us “old guys,” wanting to hike at a much faster pace. Knowing this, his father warned him about the bears and told him to ensure he stayed close enough to hear and see us at all times so we could be there instantly if there was a problem.

“Oh, Dad,” he said, “I’ll be fine. No bear could catch me.”

“Jason,” his father said, “a bear can outrun every human every time. And as small as you are, you would be nothing but a Scooby snack to a bear.”

The second-smallest boy, Devon, decided to help out. Sounding grownup and talking as if he would be responsible, he said, “I’ll keep up with Jason so he’ll be okay.”

As Jason’s dad rolled his eyes, I laughed. “That will be great,” I said. “Together, you two will just make a Scooby snack bonus pack.”

Jason’s dad laughed, but with that, we shouldered our packs and once more hiked fast to keep up, just in case the boys met a Scooby-snack-loving bear.