Came face to face with a bear today.

[graywarrior]

I live smack in the middle of the White Mountains and there are hiking trails all over my neighborhood. So today, we took a trail that used to be a railroad track and leads deep into some really wild forest.

About 2 hours in, we come face to face with a big male. We stared eachother down, Mr. Gray and I backing away slowly til the bear turned into the woods and started running away. Shit man, that's the second time in a month we've come in close contact with a bear. They usually cover 40 miles of territory, so it may have been the same one. And there is one trying to get into our trash nightly, so that could also be the same one.

Anyway, stuff like that makes my life worth living.

[Robb]

1. We've got them in town just about every night now

Drought has made berries scare, I guess.

My tactic has been, when approached by a bear, to behave as little like a honey sandwich as possible.

[graywarrior]

4. Where are you?

[lildreamer316]

36. He's in Aspen..

I checked the profile.}(

[sarge43]

2. Welcome to New Hampsha, graywarrior; it's the same one and

he'll be back.

One tried to get into the spousal unit's beehives last night - the learning process vis-a-vis 9000 volts fences was reinforced. :evilgrin:

[graywarrior]

3. Hey thanks.

It's good to be back here.

Just down the road in Gorham, some lady is throwing food over her fence for the bears, so now there are 4 or 5 all in one area in the same neighborhood. Fish & Game have already warned her, but she keeps feeding them.

[CrushTheDLC]

7. If you have a vehicle with a really loud stereo, drive by her house

playing this song by the band "M.O.D."

Don't Feed The Bears

You have to prove
That you're not scared
Enter the cage
Take the dare
Screaming death
In the beast's lair
You couldn't read the signs
DON'T FEED THE BEARS

Don't go in there
You best beware
Don't feed the bears

Stupid fool
You should have known
That's some place you shouldn't go
Polar giant on you
Blood starts to flow
They belong not in a cage
But in the fucking snow

Don't go in there
You best beware
And please don't feed the fucking bears!

[graywarrior]

8. Oh man, that's good. I n eed a copy of that.

I'd love to feed her to them.

[sarge43]

22. She's sucking around for trouble.

Even if she's stops feeding them, they'll still hang around and could even get tetchy about having their meal ticket pulled. You be careful, gray.

[trof]

20. I thought it was 'Numpsha'.

Used to live in Murrahmack, Numpsha.
Merrimack

[sarge43]

23. That's how we pronounce it on Ga Rud.

(That's Gore Road, Flatlanders)

[Redstone]

30. We're moving to Lanc'sta. Just down the road from Nothumlin.

Redstone

[graywarrior]

50. Hurry the fuck up and get here, dude!

[idgiehkt]

5. I've only seen one 'in person' once

Driving in my car, it was across the road eating berries and I was coming out of the Arboretum in Asheville NC. i was stopped waiting to turn and my dog had her head stuck out the window and the bear stood up when he caught her scent. It was pretty amazing looking, very tall, and just completely goofy. It was black with brown cirles around it's eyes, very pretty. As soon as it saw the dog that it had smelled it went right back to eating the berries without a thought in the world. One of my favorite moments.

[graywarrior]

6. It's almost spiritual, ain't it?

[idgiehkt]

9. it was

because I understood it, kind of. It was just so goofy. I really wasn't that far away from it. There have been many times in those woods when I've known there was a bear around but this is the first one I actually saw, and I got to see it stand up with a worried look on it's face when It smelled my dog, and since I was directly across from it, I got to see his face relax (and I swear it looked like he almost smiled) when he saw my dog sitting in the car looking at him and then he went back to happily eating his berries. Plus, not all the black bears I've seen around have that beautiful brown marking around the eyes, so that was neat. I'm such a wuss that had I encountered him on foot I'd probably have a heart attack, so getting to see one in this circumstance was the optimum for me.

[tinfoil tiaras]

10. Aw, black bears are SO cute!

I remember when I was younger, I was obsessed w/ them. I even had a stuffed animal black bear.

[u4ic]

11. Holy shit!

I've only seen them from the safety of my car, luckily. :scared:

[graywarrior]

12. Hah, Mr. Gray was walking in North Conway on the tracks one day

and ran into one who stood on his hinds and then hit the ground with his front paws and grunted as if saying "get lost, dude...these are MY berries." Needless to say, Mr. GW backed off slowly, whisteling til he was far enough to run like a mutha.

[wildhorses]

13. that is SO cool....but, this thread is

worthless without PICS:P

[graywarrior]

14. For you, wildhorses.

[wildhorses]

18. did you take that one today??? that is AWESOME!!!

tell the truth...cos I am shitfaced IMPRESSED

[graywarrior]

19. I'm a shitfaced liar. No that was taken by someone down the

road in North Conway.

[wildhorses]

21. you had me going there for a minute...

still and all...what a cool story:thumbsup:

[Jara sang]

15. Call Colbert, he'll take care of that.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

16. Godless killing machines, they are.

[graywarrior]

17. Awwwww, not black bears. They like dumpsters and trash

Only time they come after you is if you threaten their babies.

[trof]

24. In Maine they're called 'bayuhs'.

We were camping on the Saco River and the property caretaker stopped by our site one evening.
"Have you seen the bayuhs?"
"The what?"
"The bayuhs. They come by thuh dumpstuh down thuh road at thuh Buhguh Haven e'vry evenin' along about 6. Black bayuhs. Two of 'em."

Next evening we parked behind the restaurant, but not too close to the dumpster.
Sure enough, at 6 two bears came out of the woods, flipped up the top of that dumpster, dived in, and just went to TOWN!

[graywarrior]

25. Were you at Swan's Falls?

Ay-uh, them Maine-ahs love story tellin.'

Here's a true story told by 3 women hikers who were camping in the White Mountains. Two of them were in one tent, one of the them was solo in the second tent. It was night and they were all asleep. Suddenly, they heard a bear enter the tent with the 2 women in it. One woman escaped, the other could not get out. The bear actually sat on her as she lay in her sleeping bag for over 10 minutes going through all their bags seeking out the chocolate candy bars he smelled miles away.

The bear finally got off her and left the tent. The woman who was sat on will NEVER EVER hike again, and will NEVER EVER walk on a dirt path.

[sarge43]

26. In Nuampsha that's a "show her a good time" date

An evening at the town dump, watching the bars fight over and picnic on the steak bones and lobster shells the local restaurant threw out. Then, after sundown, a rat shoot.

[graywarrior]

28. You're my kinda people

[Redstone]

32. But it's not the dump anymore! It's the "Transfer Station!"

I miss the old dumps. Rat shooting is (was) big sportin Vermont too, when I was a kid. Never forget the day when one of the the men from town showed up with a Thompson he had smuggled back from WWII...

Redstone

[sarge43]

42. It's Recycling Center here

Well, at least he didn't bring a mortar or howitzer.

Q: How can you tell if a Granitehead really loves his wife?

A: He gets their anniversary present at Wally World instead of the dump.

[graywarrior]

48. No shit, huh? The dump store was THE place here in the north woods

[sarge43]

52. Aye-up.

The high point of the social week.

Take the dog; dogs love dumps.

Discuss the asshole aldermen (even if you are one), the weathah, the ruds, the weathah, the flatlanders movin' in, the weathah, Booger Sanborne who got nailed again by Sheriff Kimball, the weathah, taxes, the weat ..... (Make sure to park the trucks so the flatlanders can't get around you while you're talkin')

Pick up something nice for the wife.

Pick up something nicer for yourself.

Dump trash.

[graywarrior]

60. Oh man, you got that down.

You could live there for a hundred years, but if you're from away, you're still a flatlander.

[trof]

47. Hard to beat a rat shoot for impressing the ladies.

;-)

[sarge43]

54. An evening in Paris - poo.

A pickup, a huge bag of pretzels, 12 pack, daddy's service revolver, a moon lit summer night, a soft breeze rattling the tin cans - it doesn't get any more romantic.

[bridgit]

27. good grief, proof of life...

:wow:

[Roon]

29. I saw my first bear about three years ago

at our cabin. He was cinnamon and CUTE!!!!

[flvegan]

31. Better than coming face to big-damn-paw with a bear.

Well it is.

[Withywindle]

33. Oooo, so cool to see one!

My parents hear them crashing around in their woods, they've seen claw marks on trees, and they've replaced at least two utterly destroyed metal birdfeeders. But they haven't seen 'em yet.

(They're in the Blue Ridge Mountains in VA)

[graywarrior]

34. I hear the one trying to get at my trash.

I also think he's having an affair with my cat.

[Withywindle]

35. That sounds, er...

...painful for the cat.

[graywarrior]

37. He chases dogs, so I don't think the bear really has a chance.

[Haole Girl]

38. You are so brave!

graywarrior is such an appropriate user name for someone who is as brave as you!

:yourock:

[graywarrior]

39. I nearly pissed my pants.

:scared:

[Nicole]

41. Nearly?

I would definitely have pissed my pants & quite possibly the shoes of anyone within 20 feet of me. :scared:

[Broken_Hero]

40. Black bear I presume?

Glad nothing bad happened...

[meegbear]

43. See ... not all bears are mean

[sarge43]

44. Black bears are very easy going

unless they're hassled, then they demonstrate how they made it to the top of food chain. Stuffed toy at ease; cruise missile with hair when annoyed.

[NewWaveChick1981]

45. OMG! Glad it turned out OK.

:hug: What an adrenaline rush... :yoiks:

[graywarrior]

46. He paid a visit again last night.

Trash barrel dragged across the lawn and left in the trees near the road. And I had the barrel wedged underneathe the stairs and 2 other barrels filled with leaves and twigs, etc. I think he's stalking me.

[earth mom]

49. Have you seen the movie An Unfinished Life?

If not, I highly recommend it! With Robert Redford, Morgan Freeman and Jennifer Lopez. Excellent movie that is partly about a bear and how he effects a rancher, his friend and family. If you haven't seen it make sure you also watch the bonus features on the DVD for some great commentary by the cast about the story and it's deeper meaning as well as what it was like to work with a bear. :thumbsup:

[graywarrior]

51. Hey, thanks for that. I'll get it next time I go to the video store.

[earth mom]

55. Hope you like it!

:hi:

[Sanity Claws]

53. Was it a brown bear?

[graywarrior]

58. No, black. No browns in this part of the country...that I know of.

[Reverend_Smitty]

56. My family and I vacation up in North Conway...

a few years ago we were dropping trash off in the dumpster and spotted a black bear no more than 50 yards away. He was sitting on the other side of the creek sunning himself and waiting for us to leave so he could try and get at the trash (good luck it was padlocked). He couldn't have been more than a year or 2 old and didn't seem phased at all that we were so close. We got back in the car quickly just in case momma bear was close by. Beautiful creatures but I wouldn't want to get any closer than we were that day.

[Pied Piper]

57. That happened to me a few years ago.

I was in the Adirondacks with my sister, husband and kids. We had gone on a hike and had found a wonderful little spot to swim. I was changing into my suit in the lean-to and there he was, right next to me. My brother-in-law started making noise and smacking the ground with a floaty device (one of the tube-thingies that kids swim with), and the bear just sauntered off into the woods. We later saw him on the other side of the lake, forraging for food on the shore. A bit scary, but not so much...

[graywarrior]

59. They're very good at opening dumpsters.

A few years ago in Jackson, NH, one entered the house of some people I know while they were eating dinner. They ran out to the back porch and watched as he swept everything off the table and feasted on the food, then opened the cabinets AND refrigerator and cleaned house.

These people had to wait for him to leave...no cell phone and their phone was in the kitchen.

Later the month, same bear got into someone else's cellar and ate all the food stored there. He was eventually caught and dropped into the Pemi across the mountains. He made it back there, so they had to shoot him.

[Pithlet]

61. You're made of tougher stuff than I am.

I would have dropped dead from a heart attack on the spot.

I actually saw a bear but didn't realize what I'd seen till after the fact. I was riding at dusk with a headlamp, and thought it was some sort of large park sign on the trail because I was whizzing by so fast. After the ride, someone asked me if I'd seen the bear on the trail :scared:

[graywarrior]

63. I'm more oblivious, than tough...trust me.

[Shine]

62. Cool story!

Lucky you...
:hi: