Absentee Fathers Among Black Bear Populations: A Silent Epidemic

[trb]

If you like hunt reports with big dead boars, this ain’t it.

But if you crave single sows in your area, fecal misadventures, and scrotal baptisms via creek crossing, you’re in the right place.


Day 1:

An allegorical dawn to my hunt


Hiked in early afternoon


Backcountry beaver activity


Beaver dams making some crossings a tad deeper than I would’ve liked


Setup camp 7 miles in and climbed up a chute to glass before dark


Small red sow appears on top of a ridge, clearly walking with gangly limbs, an arched back, and narrow face.


Generally acts skittish and disappears over the horizon.


600 yds away, a blonde bear appears, but only briefly, fading in and out of cover. From a distance, this bear looks compact, blocky, and walks confidently. Fool’s gold.


A quick bedtime ass bite


Don’t do it! You have so much to live for!

 

[trb]

Day 2:


I roll out of my tent door at first light, still half in my sleeping bag, and pick out the blonde bear immediately, 20 yds from where it was the night before. Again, it only offers a series of fleeting glimpses. It is in a narrow bowl between cliffs that would either offer a 750 yd shot, or an 150 yd shot. I obviously elect the latter, knowing also that it is going to take a while to get up there. I pack to stay to til dark, cross the creek and begin to climb.


No landscapes for you!


Making friends


Things are heating up


So many drumming grouse


Getting close


Waiting, for 8 hours


Nada


Long down climb through cliffs and thick brush

 

[trb]

Day 3:

Plan was to climb a large finger ridge on the S slope to be able to see into some smaller pockets of habitat and be able to make more timely stalks.


More new friends


Lanceleaf springbeauty


1,500 ft of alder and deadfall


Maybe the closest I came to a mature boar


From on top, quickly pick out a blonde shape moving through deadfall 400 yds away.


Seems like every bear looks big going directly up or down a slope facing to or away from you. Again, looked wide in the front and blocky.


Slope it was on


380 yds and I am not feeling confident in my judgement on this bear. Blocky body but has a narrow raccoonish face.


It rounds the corner of a finer ridge, and I follow, aiming to intercept it if it stays feeding at that elevation band. I find its tracks, then where it slid down the snow on its butt, but no bear.


Sitting down to glass, I pick out dark shapes on the opposite face.




Then look who re-emerges an hour later. After looking back at my pictures and video, I had decided this was a sow based on the face and short legs. I believe this was the same blonde bear I saw Days 1 and 2, and had now dropped 600 ft and gained 1,000, and was about 3 miles from where I originally saw her.


Just a small, compact bear that I was able to watch for an hour or so that afternoon. Walked within 20 ft of a bull, and the bull did not budge.


Pawed out mineral lick


Creek crossing to get back to camp, waters rising


At last light, I pick out the red bear from day 1 in the same bowl I had sat on day 2. I get a glimpse of a tiny cub bounding behind her.

 

[520 Road Sow]

Looks like one hell of a trip for sightings

 

[trb]

Day 4:

I decide to relocate up another fork of this drainage. At first light the red bear and cub are out way above my camp.

One of several moose on the way


One of 16 crossings this day. One of them almost goes very badly. I’m 6’4”, and seems like the water level at which things get real spicy is conveniently right around the nether regions. Taking off boots and putting on crocs and vice versa gets old quick.


But within a mile up the new creek I round a corner and have a bear at 81 yards.



I tried to convert some videos to gifs to be able to post them but it doesn’t appear to be allowing that. Oh well.


Clearly a dink. When she sits down I take full advantage of the salacious teet glassing opportunity. After watching for a half hour or so less than 150 yds away, I move on.



Hate this


Eventually I arrive to the head of the drainage, where in starting to cross bigger snow drifts, but the S slopes directly across from me are bright green and mostly within reasonable range.



Good sign


It starts raining heavily, I set up my tarp over a tree well and overlooking some great looking close range S slopes.


Less than an hour later, to my left, a black shape moves into a bright green meadow at 300 yds. I rush to get my spotter on it.



I stuff my spartan bipod into my rain jacket pocket, grab my rifle and spotter, and rush across a snowy chute to close distance and get into a better position for where it’s heading. I proceed to eat absolute sh*t on the chute and the bipod falls into a little crevasse. If anyone finds it let me know.



From 200 yds, I start to have doubts. Walked with attitude, better facial shape, but still a bit pear shaped, and tapering forelegs to defined ankles. Then, I see her bluff charge something just out of view of my spotter, I zoom out.


A lopey subadult bear is circling the black one, which she is not having any of. My best guess here (and that of a few people I trust that know a lot more than I do) is this is a sow chasing away its 18 month old offspring. They wander off in the drizzle.


I sit out the rain then wander back down the drainage aways to set up camp and look at more new terrain.


Goosefoot violet


New terrain, same bear. The dink has followed me 2 miles up the drainage and is feeding 400 ft above my tent.


New bear! Near the top of the ridge, a decent sized chocolate bear emerges, but excitement fades when I see a tiny cub in tow.


Waterleaf


More friends


A fun but exhausting day

 

[Gerald Martin]

Amazing restraint. Looks like you saw a lot of bears! I doubt I would have had the ability to hold off shooting that last black one.

 

[trb]

Day 5:

Disaster strikes. The closest I’ve come to hitting the InReach SOS button. If you’re squeamish skip the next bit.

After a full breakfast of the MH biscuits and gravy I’d been saving, as is habit, I detach the bear spray from my bino harness, put it in my down jacket pocket, and walk off to take care of business. Mid squat, I sense a movement.

Looking down, I watch in horror as my bear spray plummets like Slim Pickens riding a nuclear bomb down to earth.

Aftermath. Naturally, I filled the holster with bits of pyro putty, dug a hole, covered it with twigs, and burned it back to hell where it belonged. The canister was begrudgingly cleaned, and awkwardly stuffed in my pocket the remainder of the trip.

A dubious start to my last full day. Let’s brighten the mood and the smell around here.

False Solomon’s Seal


Arrowleaf Balsamroot


Some type of geranium


Western wallflower


I setup for the day overlooking where I had seen the jet black bear. It just felt like the nexus of the best habitat and quickly stalkable terrain. Small storms roll in and out through the day.


Naturally I get bored and do some exploring across the N face.



Who shows back up? The dink. Right where I had hope to see a boar. She was now 4 miles from where I had seen her mid morning the day prior.


Unidentified friend


Glassing back towards camp, I pick up a silhouette on a snow patch.


This was one of the cooler interactions I watched on the trip, I did not get it on camera. This bear fed for a half hour, then walked up to a big fir, did a pull up with its hind legs dangling off the ground, came back down, did a back scratch wiggle dance on the tree, then its tiny cub came scrambling down. This was the same chocolate sow and its cub from the night before.


Old burn


Worked different angles along the N slope til dark.

I received word via InReach…the season was now closed. While I had several opportunities to close it myself…

 

[trb]

Day 6:

More care was taken during morning rituals. With my tag now useless, I packed up and hiked out.

A pair of porcupines


A poor picture of a lone sandhill crane


Clematis


Honeysuckle




Two of my twelve crossings to the truck were no longer safe. Was luckily able to pick my way through some cliffs to avoid them.


The real MVPs of the trip. “Teacher appreciation” gifts during covid. Who would’ve guessed that size 13 tie dye crocs would have been overstocked and ripe for charitable donation. I feel valued.


Phlox


Larkspur


10 crossings and 10 miles later


I returned to the sweet embrace of my plans for the rest of the summer.

The end.

 

[Hammsolo]

Thanks for sharing the adventure!

 

[psinclair]

Very good write up!

I wish I had that ability...

 

[rtraverdavis]

Hell of a photo journal, Tom. About the best way I can think of to kick off summer break.

 

[Gerald Martin]

Awesome hunt. Thanks for sharing. Those babies didn’t get made solo. Somewhere up there is a big ole absentee bear daddy who will be one year older and bigger next year.

 

[Wild Bill]

High quality stuff. Always enjoy your write ups.

 

[TOGIE]

Quality trip and quality trip report, as always.

 

[rogerthat]

I like the title. Good to know the black Bear population is struggling with some of the same societal issues we are.

 

[Irrelevant]

Already on the short list for best thread, certainly tops for the title. I agree with Gerald I'd have tried to take the black one home with me

 

[Ladiesman217]

This was awesome to read.

As a medical professional (sure) you have a healthy looking stool. Were you able to obtain its BTU value?

 

[Dave N]

This was awesome to read.

As a medical professional (sure) you have a healthy looking stool. Were you able to obtain its BTU value?

 

[BAKPAKR]

Very good write up!

I wish I had that ability...

Well, I for one will give you a pass on writing just to see the photos of animals you post.

 

[EKYHunter]

Outstanding all the way around. Also impressed with your knowledge of the plants.