The bears are not going far from the river. They are eating and sleeping and playing all within short distances of the river. They are also getting very lazy as they are using the roads and trails more than the woods. Which means if I want to go anywhere I have to take detours. These detours mean that I have to stay my 50 yards away from the bear but I might have to go to places that I probably didn't have on my agenda.
For instance I was walking to the lower platform and two of the larger males were coming down the road towards me. So to get out of their way I walked 50 yards into the woods. I wanted to make sure I could see the bears as they walked by but still maintain my distance. Of course, the bears don't understand time schedules or the fact that you might have something more important to do than to stand in the woods and wait for them to pass. The two males began wrestling with each other. It was quite entertaining to watch but I was not getting my work done. Then finally the mosied down the road. With all the wieght they are carrying they are not the fastest moving things right now. By the time they had walked past and got the proper distance away from me a half an hour had passed.
I wanted to cross the river and head up Dumpling Mountain as I had reports of fresh moose tracks on the trail. Once at the platform I waited another 45 minutes to cross the bridge. I headed for the ranger station but I ran into a sleeping bear on the the trail. I made my way into the woods, again, and down to the beach. Where I had just enough time to get to the next trail back up to the main trail before I ran into another bear heading towards me on the beach. When I got to the visitor center three bears were asleep around the building. Now I had to head to the other side of camp and use the back trail to the ranger station. Finally, I made it to the office. Did what I needed to do and headed down to the beach. I would need to walk to the campground to start the hike up the mountain. The beach is the best way to go when you want to see what you might run into. Right at the end of the ranger station trail to the beach was a sleeping bear. I reversed my direction and headed down to the generator trail to see if I could get to the beach that way. No luck as there was a bear sleeping there also. Next choice would be to walk the campground trail.
The campground trail winds it way through the woods about 20 yards from the beach to the campground. But again I met a bear with a fish. I turned around yet again. Trying very hard to accomplish my task I had one other choice and that is called the back trail. It is a flagged trail we made through the woods to reach the back end of the campground. I was half way there. I thought things were looking up but no I had two bears running towards me. I moved very quickly up and worked my way back to camp. I was not meant to climb Dumpling today.
By this time I had only a couple of hours to get through camp and back across the river to get to the lower platform to perform the night survey. I weaved and moved my way back through camp and made it across the bridge with 10 minutes to spare. We did the survey which last just before dark. We started to head down the road to our cabin only to find that Beadnose, a cute young female had decided that the road was the perfect place for a nap. The only problem was that on either side of the road in that area was a marsh, full of water. So to keep our distance we walked into the marsh across 50 yards than walked towards the cabin then back to the road. I would not have minded if I had my waders on but since I had planned on hiking dumpling I had my hiking boots on. Now I am wet and cold and very tired. My partner and I get a little farther down the road when we see 410. She is waddling down the road the same direction as we are. As much as I would love to hurry home I have to travel 50 yards behind 410 at a slow waddle. I was ready for some hot chocolate and my bed by the time I got home. What a day. I did a lot to keep the bears safe and happy.
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