WestCoast 7 : Bear at 12 o’clock
We left for Yosemite Park and it was quite a drive getting there. After a day full of driving we got to Yosemite National Park - and even though our drive through the park was during dusk - it was gorgeous with it’s towering hills, closely packed green trees and clear water rivers.
We sat up our tent and had to put all our ‘oderous’ stuff (deodorant, toothpaste) and food in a ‘bear box’. That is a metal container outside your tent with a special lock on it that bears can’t open. That we really were in bear country we would find out the next day on our first hike at 100 meters from the car… A brown-looking bear (but species-wise a black bear) popped up right in front of us just 15 meters on the right side the road. The bear was quite big and looking very healthy, strong and confident. There was a small bridge between us and the bear and the bear was slowly but surely coming towards us through the tiny river. I tried to take some pictures. The bear didn’t seem very interested or bothered by us, but kept coming closer. Some 50 meters behind us, other people were walking - heavily involved in some discussion. We made sure we were not blocking the bear’s path and just waited to see what he would do next - we didn’t run away as bears can easily outrun you. The bear probably was annoyed by the sound of the conversation of the guys behind us and decided at 4 meters from us to turn away from us and walk into the woods. The people behind us didn’t see mee waving repeatedly… and were pretty shocked when they finally saw us… and the bear! Wow… this was only our first 100 meters of hiking!
At our campsite at Wowona (highly recommended!) there were very friendly people who supplied tons of valuable information for us to get started in Yosemite. It is very nice to have such neighbours - we were even invited to stay with them at their house near San Francisco!
Although it can become crowded in the ‘Valley’ of Yosemite park, if you’ll travel some 100 meters from the mainstream path, you’ll find a lot of peace and tranquility.
We also did some very relaxed rafting… as it was over 40 degrees Celcius. In winter the river can be quite challenging, but as in summer the river dries up, it is a walk in the park. Nice though.