Met this guy while in the Trinity Alps last weekend. Swipe through for a color shot. Here’s my journal entry from that day:
TWIN LAKES, 05.24.20
I followed the sound of rushing water to the larger of the twin backcountry “lakes.” The lack of a trail made traversing the steep mountainside difficult. This wasn’t a beautiful, granite lake like the ones I had seen at higher altitudes, though the water pouring in from the snow melt was quite clear. It was instead a boggy, marshy place, full of mosquitos and mud, and difficult to approach because of all the thick vegetation which continued all the way to the waters’ edge. If my intention in cutting uphill through understory during the heat of the day was to be rewarded with a picturesque mountain lake, I had failed miserably — —
— — I was interrupted just now by the sound of splashing in the pond. I looked up to see a cinnamon bear paddling around in the southern end of the lake (black bears are reddish brown in California). I watched quietly while he made his way to the west end, opposite me. He hauled himself out of the water, shook himself dry, and began making his way around the lake, nose in the air. I realized my soup was still cooling in my camp-pot, and I suspected this was what was leading him toward my camp. Not wishing to encounter the bear at a closer proximity, I yelled out “HEY, BEAR!”. This was the most original and clever phrase I could think of under the circumstances.
The bear cocked his head toward me, trying to see me through the trees. He scanned the bank until we made eye contact. He had a mortified expression on his face, as if he were incredibly embarrassed to have been spotted during his private moment in the lake. I’ve never seen a more expressive wild animal. After a brief stillness in which we both regarded each other, he crashed away though the forest.