Bear Scat and Other Delights

I’ve been a hiker all my life. The thirty wooded acres behind the house where I grew up became my second home as I spent long, luxurious hours walking through them. Today I am blessed to live close to the Appalachian Trail as well as other beautiful places in which to hike.

When on the trail I find myself giving into the rhythm of my steps, my breathing. Everything else goes away for awhile and there is only myself and God. Self-awareness, creative ideas and spiritual insights come much more easily.

After I retired I began recording some of those ideas in a hiking diary, which I will be sharing with you from time to time. The following is an entry from September.

It’s a cloudy day and I am really need this hike, even though my old bones are resisting any thought of moving. The weather is so lovely today that it beckons me outdoors and I manage to get organized and to the trail.

It is my “default” trail, close to my house, comfortable, familiar, exactly what I need today. Once I’m on it, my aches and pains give way to the sheer joy of being outdoors and moving. Fall is my favorite season and this early October day the woods are showing fall in all its glory.

Animal scat is a reality of being on the trail. After all the woods are full of all kinds of creatures. But today I encounter some scat that doesn’t look like anything I’ve encountered. It seems relatively fresh and I’m thankful I didn’t step in it.

I continue to saunter along, wondering what creature might have left the scat. Suddenly, I realize what I saw could be bear scat! I hear of bears being sited here and it is the time of year they would be out and about, so it makes sense.

On my way back down the trail, I take a moment to snap a photo, which I text to my husband, Ken. He gets right back to me – yes, this is definitely bear scat – he’s seen lots of it before. I can’t say I felt scared on learning that, but I sure took a very good look around me!

Ken proceeds to text me detailed instructions about what to do if I encounter a bear, which sweet of him. It’s always reassuring to know someone wants you to be safe. Ken has encountered bears before and lived to tell the tale, so you bet I paid attention.

“Talk out loud, yell even. If a bear is in the vicinity, they’ll try to avoid you. If you actually see one, back away slowly, yelling/shouting and don’t run.” I can do that. Good to know! Then the next text read, “figure which way the breeze is blowing and stay downwind of them.” Since there was no breeze to speak of, I had less success with this, but I figured I was close to my car in the parking lot and I’d be okay.

My husband’s loving advice gave me permission to sing today, so I sang my way home with gusto. Doing so reminded me of how delightful singing is for my soul. That it keeps bears away is simply icing on the cake!