[RC] Black bears on the trail- California - sherman
I’ve had 4 or 5 bear encounters on the Tevis trails
and surrounding trails. The bears ran off or stayed away in all but 1 case,
which was at night, below Robie Pt. I could smell a barbecue at one of the
houses above (probably the Halls) and the 2 bears wouldn’t leave the
trail. However, our hoses had stopped and would not advance either, so that may
be why the bears didn’t leave. Every other incident
was in daylight, my horse kept advancing and the bears left. One time the bear
was just about 50’ off the trail, just went over to a tree and sort of
hid behind it to watch us pass. I’m fortunate that none of my horses seem
very fearful of the bears, at least in daylight.
There are so many hikers on the trails though, that I do
worry about them and the bears. I doubt most of the hikers would have a clue of
what to do if they encountered a bear. It is an accident waiting to happen. So
many people try to get closer to wildlife, show their little kids, or as in one
previous case, teenage boys were throwing rocks at the bear on the trail
instead of leaving it alone.
