Michael has been sick for two weeks but he felt well enough this morning to go out on a hike.
We chose the shorter Tanyard Gap to Rich Mountain Tower section of the AT. I had other commitments in the afternoon so didn’t want to attempt a much longer hike.
It was a brisk pace and for once in our hiking history, he was trailing behind me.
It was the illness but I’ll take it lol
We did run into some bears, a whole family of them to be exact. I rounded a corner and there was a flurry of black fur and shaking bushes and two little baby cubs scrambled up a tree. Mama was right underneath it.
I had instinctively reached to the side of the pack and had the bear spray on the ready before I realized it but fortunately we never needed to use it.
Black bears are naturally shy and more timid and her babies were safe in the tree.
We walked past quickly and I wish I had grabbed a better photo but did not want to un-alive myself.
You can see the one cub in this frame.
Bear safety is very important for those of us that share the woods with them. I always carry bear spray and we are careful and respectful about giving them space.
NEVER feed a bear my friends! A fed bear is a dead bear.
Rich Mountain was covered in a layer of fog so we skipped going up to it knowing we wouldn’t get the beautiful vistas on a clearer day.
Get out there!