Black bear seen along Skyline Drive in Virginia. August 6, 2010.
As most of you know, Betsy and I do a fair amount of hiking in our search for waterfalls. Many of the trails are in remote areas, but we’ve always enjoyed them. We’re often the only people on a trail, and that’s fine with us.
We have a friend who is scared to death of bears. Just the mention of the word can upset her. Betsy and I have encountered bears on the trail only once. We were hiking near the entrance to Cade’s Cove in the Smokies and saw a Mama Bear and two cubs cross the trail quite a way ahead of us. We stopped and watched the three of scamper up the side of the hill.
The picture above was taken at an overlook on Skyline Drive in Virginia back in 2010. The bear was close enough to be easily seen, but this picture was taken with my long lens, so he really wasn’t that close. But just between us, I’m glad he didn’t come any closer.
Senior Moments 
May 12, 2011 at 7:17 am |
I’m beary happy he wasn’t any closer! We’ve seen them on the side of the road in the Rockies – but I never get out of the car – no matter how cute they are!
May 12, 2011 at 7:22 am |
We walked up close to a bear (probably 15 feet) in Glacier National Park. We were walking along a trail making quite a bit of noise and the bear was in the brush beside the trail. The three of us just stood there close together and s/he took off in a few seconds. I think it is so neat to see wildlife out in nature. To me that is completely different than seeing it in the zoo.
May 12, 2011 at 7:26 am |
Sound to me like you are wise in the way you handle the bears,stay far enough away.
May 12, 2011 at 8:07 am |
Great shot! And what a cute bear! We’ve seen quite a few black bears on Skyline Drive – had to stop several times so they could cross the road. They always take their time, too! I guess they’re used to people and cars rushing by all the time.
May 12, 2011 at 8:21 am |
i would be scared if i saw one on the trail, but the long lens shots i could handle. wow, i have never seen one in the wild.
May 12, 2011 at 8:48 am |
BEAR!!!! I think they are beautiful, but something to be wary of too.
May 12, 2011 at 8:51 am |
Wow – beautiful at a distance…
May 12, 2011 at 9:10 am |
Great photo but I’m glad they were heading away from you!
May 12, 2011 at 10:06 am |
Ah, beautiful they are — but, yes, best at a distance! Great shot though! Hope you and Betsy have a wonderful weekend with lots of blue skies!
Sylvia
May 12, 2011 at 10:14 am |
We’ve seen bear a few times. Thankfully, the bears haven’t been close enough for us to ever be in any danger. One time I would like to have my camera with me when we see a bear.
May 12, 2011 at 10:38 am |
Wow! We haven’t see any bears hiking yet but had a close up visit with a porcupine once. All was well. He waddled off into the trees.
May 12, 2011 at 12:33 pm |
Glad you got this good snap of him before he lumbered away. That is one thing that blogging would not make me brave enough to get close to, and I hope to never see one close up!
May 12, 2011 at 12:47 pm |
Oh heck no!
May 12, 2011 at 12:49 pm |
Pretty darn cool.
Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
May 13, 2011 at 1:15 am |
Great photo. I like to hike around in our woods, but I am afraid of wolves and bears.
May 13, 2011 at 2:10 pm |
We had warning issued for black bears in our town. Couple of years ago they found a bear on the tree of someone’s backyard. I hope they are not dangerous, because I walk a lot with Matthew around our town. Anna 🙂
May 13, 2011 at 4:49 pm |
At least you got a good photo…I know there is not as much danger with black bears as there is with grizzly bears…but still better to be cautious I guess.
May 13, 2011 at 6:38 pm |
Don’t blame you one bit! As excited as I would be to see one of these gorgeous creatures, I also think it would be scary!!
May 14, 2011 at 1:19 pm |
You are really brave people! I would be terribly scared! The most dangerous wild animal is the wild boar. Although I have have never seen one, I hope to see one from a respectable distance.
May 16, 2011 at 6:59 pm |
What a fun encounter! As long as it is far enough away, I would love to see one 🙂 I’ve enjoyed your recent scenery photos also.