A trip that will not be forgotten anytime soon. Brian and I packed up our bags and headed out to the trails once again this past weekend. The plan was to hike a few miles on Friday after work, camp, hike a few miles on Saturday, camp, and hike out on Sunday. What actually happened was quite different though.
We got off work around 3:30 on Friday, grabbed our packs and headed out the door. We stopped at a gas station to fuel up and as Brian was pumping the gas I realized a young boy trying to call people for help. With the look of sadness and desperation on his face, I knew he didn’t reach anyone. So, I told Brian to ask if he needed some help. In fact, he did need help changing his tire. He was a local high school junior with a clunker that has given him tons of trouble.
After Brian finished changing his tire, we got back on the road and sat in traffic – yes Boise has traffic (well not really only in construction zones). We got to the trailhead behind schedule and knew we would be hiking in the dark. We hiked a few miles and didn’t see the first campsite – which means we had to hike even further in the dark. About 5 miles from the trailhead we found a decent campsite. I set up the tent as Brian went ahead and hung the bear bags. Finally around 11:30 pm, we were settled in the tent.
Sadly, neither Brian nor I could sleep that night - Jake, on the other hand, slept incredibly well. Early the next morning, we got up, packed the tent and headed up the trail. We were having fun walking along the river and were looking forward to the halfway point where we could stop and have some lunch.
We reached two very nice campsites right beside each other and debated on stopping there to have lunch. But, we looked at the map and realized we only had a little over a mile until our turnaround point. So, we pushed ahead and kept hiking while munching on granola bars. We turned the corner and OH NO – what is that??!?!?!! Is that a large sheep? Is that a dog??? IS THAT A BEAR! And then the conversation went something like this:
Brian: “Becky get the camera out”
Becky: “What no! That is exactly what you shouldn’t do”
Brian: “Get the camera out and take a picture then we will leave – I want to see what it is”
Becky: “Fine, but I don’t want to die”
Brian: “You wont die”
Becky: “Okay I took a few pictures”
Brian: “Give me the camera, I want to see”
---Brian takes about 40 pictures—
Brian: “Okay lets get out of here”
Becky: “OK!”
Brian: “Did he just look at us???”
Becky: “I don’t know!”
Brian: “I think he just looked right as us and turned around”
Becky: “LETS GO”
So we turned around and headed back to the camp. As we are rushing along we were debating on where to stop, if we should stop, what to eat, etc. We decided, since we are only 8-9 miles from the trailhead we should just hike out and not stay the night in the woods with the bear.
We continued to munch on granola bars and beef jerky and hiked briskly towards the trailhead. Then Brian comes to an abrupt stop. He turned and gave me Jake’s leash and pointed to the rattlesnake. He tried to scare it out of the path, but the snake wasn’t budging. We tossed sticks, rocks, we caused vibrations on the ground – everything you are supposed to do….and he wasn’t moving. He made sure to rattle his tail, but that’s about it. So we had no choice, especially with Jake, we had to hike around him. Only problem was, there was a strong river to our left and a steep hill with loose boulders covered in moss on our right. We decided to hike up and around on the loose boulders that would just fall down the hill as we placed our foot on them. After about half an hour of trying to avoid the rattlesnake, we were back on the trail and ready to get away from the BEAR and rattlesnake.
About half a mile later, we came across another rattlesnake. This one however, was willing to get off the path and out of our ways – so no massive detours were needed. A few miles later, we were safe and sound back at our car. But, Hells Canyon didn’t fail us with the wildlife this time! What an adventure!
Next backpacking trip is scheduled for July 5 – 8 with Allan!!!!!
Can’t wait!
Becky “I hate Bears” Welch
We got off work around 3:30 on Friday, grabbed our packs and headed out the door. We stopped at a gas station to fuel up and as Brian was pumping the gas I realized a young boy trying to call people for help. With the look of sadness and desperation on his face, I knew he didn’t reach anyone. So, I told Brian to ask if he needed some help. In fact, he did need help changing his tire. He was a local high school junior with a clunker that has given him tons of trouble.
After Brian finished changing his tire, we got back on the road and sat in traffic – yes Boise has traffic (well not really only in construction zones). We got to the trailhead behind schedule and knew we would be hiking in the dark. We hiked a few miles and didn’t see the first campsite – which means we had to hike even further in the dark. About 5 miles from the trailhead we found a decent campsite. I set up the tent as Brian went ahead and hung the bear bags. Finally around 11:30 pm, we were settled in the tent.
Sadly, neither Brian nor I could sleep that night - Jake, on the other hand, slept incredibly well. Early the next morning, we got up, packed the tent and headed up the trail. We were having fun walking along the river and were looking forward to the halfway point where we could stop and have some lunch.
Brian: “Becky get the camera out”
Brian: “Get the camera out and take a picture then we will leave – I want to see what it is”
Becky: “Fine, but I don’t want to die”
Becky: “Okay I took a few pictures”
---Brian takes about 40 pictures—
Brian: “Okay lets get out of here”
Becky: “OK!”
Brian: “Did he just look at us???”
Brian: “I think he just looked right as us and turned around”
Becky: “LETS GO”
So we turned around and headed back to the camp. As we are rushing along we were debating on where to stop, if we should stop, what to eat, etc. We decided, since we are only 8-9 miles from the trailhead we should just hike out and not stay the night in the woods with the bear.
We continued to munch on granola bars and beef jerky and hiked briskly towards the trailhead. Then Brian comes to an abrupt stop. He turned and gave me Jake’s leash and pointed to the rattlesnake. He tried to scare it out of the path, but the snake wasn’t budging. We tossed sticks, rocks, we caused vibrations on the ground – everything you are supposed to do….and he wasn’t moving. He made sure to rattle his tail, but that’s about it. So we had no choice, especially with Jake, we had to hike around him. Only problem was, there was a strong river to our left and a steep hill with loose boulders covered in moss on our right. We decided to hike up and around on the loose boulders that would just fall down the hill as we placed our foot on them. After about half an hour of trying to avoid the rattlesnake, we were back on the trail and ready to get away from the BEAR and rattlesnake.
About half a mile later, we came across another rattlesnake. This one however, was willing to get off the path and out of our ways – so no massive detours were needed. A few miles later, we were safe and sound back at our car. But, Hells Canyon didn’t fail us with the wildlife this time! What an adventure!
Can’t wait!
Becky “I hate Bears” Welch
2 comments:
I enjoy the Bear/Camera/Walk away slowly for your lives-dilema that you both had. Knowing that you're not bear food made it funny. I'm going to turn it into a scene one day - in a book or a movie but it's hilarious. ;-)
He did look at you, I saw him. Are you going to just sit there and allow him to look at you like that?
-Andrew " I hate bears and snakes" Welch
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