Yellowstone Adventure - Day 63

  Well for a day that was supposed to be mostly a rest day it turned into one exciting day, but I will get to that shortly.  I got up in time for breakfast at the EDR and some banter with my fellow co-workers. I wanted to hike today but did not want to take a long one. The road was being worked on from the west to the north. They were chip sealing twenty miles of road, so that direction was out. So after breakfast I headed east and north to see what trails I could find. It had rained overnight so in some areas the roads and trails were damp. I stopped first at DeLacy Creek trail and decided to skip it as it was not only longer than I wanted but too much increase and decrease in altitude. I went down the road to Duck Lake to see if any bears we in the meadow, but only elk were there. Just down the road from Duck Lake was the West Thumb geyser basin and some small trails. I stopped there as the overlook trail was about two miles in length and would give me a great view of Lake Yellowstone. I parked the car and put water in the day pack and set out on the trail.
   The trail went through a wooded area and then crossed the highway. Once across the highway the trail forked as this spot was where the trail loop came together. I took the left fork and proceeded deeper into the woods. As always it is pretty quiet in the woods and I stop every once in awhile just to listen for any activity. About a quarter of a mile in a bear appeared fifteen yards in front of me and approached the trail I was on. I froze in place as I did not want to startle it. The first thought that went through my brain was come on bear turn left and not right into my direction. My second thought was that this bear was not very big and I started worrying about it being a cub and a very mad mother was hanging out close. The third thing I thought was reminding the bear that it was a good day to be a non meat eater. Much to my relief the bear turned left and walked down the trail. I then reached for my cell phone and tried to video tape it walking away, but the trail veered right and it was hard to see through the trees.  I kept my eyes on it retreating through the woods. After about five minutes I walked to where the bear appeared and looked down the trail. It had left the immediate area so I started clapping my hands and whistling so it would be aware that I was around. Standing there I thought that that was one stealthy bear. I did not even hear it coming through the forest to the trail.  Who ever taught that bear to be quiet in the woods did a masterful job. I also noted the wind direction. The bear was up wind of me which is probably why it did not detect I was there but my olfactory senses were not up to par to smell it. I must work on that.
  I continued to hike the trail and believe me I was keeping a sharp eye on my back trail and in front of me. I reached the meadow where the trail started to climb up to the overlook. What I saw did not make me smile. There were no switchbacks to get you up to the top. Just one quarter mile of trail heading up. I lowered my head and plodded on. It only took a few minutes before I started to hear my heart beat in my ear. I made it to the top and could not believe how hard I was breathing. I was very very happy to see someone built a bench to sit on while my heart rate slowed down. The view was fantastic and I took some videos and pictures. I also noted that there was a few thermal areas on the top. This park is really unbelievable. When hiking you need to keep looking for these thermals because you never know what you might step in. It pays to not stray off the trail very much.
   Thank goodness the rest of the hike was downhill. I proceeded down the trail and back into the woods. No bears on the way back to the loop point. Thank God as my heart already had two workouts.  When I was about out of the trail I ran into a ranger led group of hikers. The lady ranger asked me if the hike was good and I told her about the bear. She looked at me and asked "Are you OK as that sounds like a pretty scary thing?" I looked at her and the first thing I thought to say was "Come on, you think every bear encounter needs counseling or something?" But I said, for the benefit of the people with her, "It was no big deal if you don't do anything stupid."
  I walked back to the car and unloaded the day pack. I decided that I would head to canyon and have lunch with a canyon view.  I drove north around Lake Yellowstone and headed to Canyon. I stopped at LeHardy's rapids to get a look at the Yellowstone River up close. The rapids were spectacular and I took several pictures and videos of them to upload to Facebook. The interesting thing about these rapids is that when the trout start to spawn in June you can come down to these rapids and see the trout jumping up the rapids as they make their way upstream to spawn. I wished I could have seen that. There were several fly fishermen in the river after the rapids. So I guess there was still trout in the water. The Yellowstone River heads to the canyon falls in a few miles from here.
  I walked along the river for about a half mile and sat down on the river's edge for a short while just enjoying the sound and peace. I always told Cathy that I would love to have a cabin next to a river that never runs dry. Heaven on earth for me.
  I reluctantly climbed up from riverside to head to canyon. Unfortunately the bison caused a backup of several miles. I waited for a while in the non moving line of cars before I decided that I would eat my lunch at Lake Yellowstone. I signaled the guy behind me that I was turning around and headed south back to the lake. I found an area that was called Fisherman Bay picnic area and turned down a quarter mile road that led to a parking lot. I was happy to see I was alone. I grabbed my lunch bag and headed for the picnic area near the water. I found a great table that overlooked the water's edge and unpacked my PB&J. The weather was great and I called Cathy to talk while eating. She filled me in on what was going on at home and she commented on the wind blowing. As I sat there the wind picked up and the waves picked up on the lake. I said goodbye to Cathy as I needed both hands to keep my lunch from blowing away.  Even with the wind lunch in front of the lake with the mountains in the background was fantastic.
  After lunch I headed back to the dorm to work on cleaning the car out.  It seems that a sweaty hiker is stinking up the car. So it is time to clean the seats and such and remove some clothes out of the car.
  Personal observation. People ask me if the bears worry me when hiking. Well I will tell you that the drivers in this park worry me more. Just today a guy passes in a no passing zone and comes headlong at me before he tucked himself back into his lane.  I think the odds of getting hurt by a tourist driver is a lot higher than getting hurt by a bear.
  Well back to work tomorrow and late shift. So at least I get to sleep in. You all take care and stay close to God.