[mousepod]

On our last trip, Heather and I were hiking up to Glacier Point. I looked off the trail to my left (the mountain was to my right) and saw a bear, who looked right back at me. Heather was about 10 feet in front of me, so I just told her to keep walking, and when we were out of sight of the animal I told her what had happened. About 5 minutes later, we passed a couple who were hiking down the trail, and I told them about the bear. They had never seen one, and were so excited that they almost ran down the path. Stupid people. Once we got to the top, I asked a ranger about the bear (I was close enough to have read the tag in its ear). He told me that it was a female who had been a food thief in the past, but who seemed to be more out of sight this year since she had cubs. I was glad I didn't see the cubs.

I look forward to seeing many deer and coyote and squirrels in April.