Black Bears Freely Roam the Hills of Garrett County Maryland
With this post, I want to dispel the rumors you may have heard about me dancing and drinking with a black bear in the mountains of western Maryland. This is what really happened.
Edward Abbey was telling his story of Desert Solitaire, as I sat by the camp fire. In the back yard of a friend’s cabin by the fire pit, I was enjoying the end of another day spent roaming the mountains of Garrett County Maryland. The spring day spent in Garrett Country was coming to a close. The fire warmed me from the chill in the air. Edward Abbey’s words warmed my solitude soul. The rest of the weekend gang was still out fishing some remote brook trout stream.
Minding my own business
“What are you doing?”
“The truck driving up the drive sure sounds like a cooler dumping over?” I pondered at the sound. A few minutes passed, and again I heard the commotion of the rattling of the cooler. Not wanting to be too unsocial, I put my book down and walked toward the front of the cabin. “Maybe they need help getting dinner ready?” I thought.
Walking toward the cabin, I stopped in my tracks. A black bear stepped out from around the cabin. We stood looking at each other. Maybe 25 yards of open air and ground separated us. It was then I knew what the sound had been. We were being raided. “What are you doing?” I asked the bear. He did not answer, but turned and walked away. Not running, but walking.
I followed. Using my cell phone, I took two quick photographs of the visitor. He seemed unhurried to leave. The two-year old boar was lonely and hungry. He sat on the edge of the gravel drive and went back to eating his stolen goods of pork chops, and salad. He was eating my dinner. The second cooler he raided contained our beer. I guess he just wanted a beer to wash down the salad. Can’t blame him for that one.
Want’a Dance ?
Time for some good bear pictures
I went to my truck parked on the side of the cabin and retrieved my camera out from the three-day mess of living, turkey hunting and fishing out of my truck. I changed the 24-70 mm lens on the camera to the 70-200 mm lens. Hoping the camera battery would last for a few shots, I walked over toward the bear. I stood (hid) next to Tom’s truck and snapped a few photographs. It was too dark of the 200 MM lens. The slow shutter speed would cause fuzzy photos. I walked the twenty yards back to my truck and changed back to the 24-70 mm lens. I also took the time to adjust the ISO from my standard 200 to a faster 800.
Dude, hold my beer
All the while, forty yards away, the visiting black bear continued to eat his salad and drink his beer. With camera gear adjusted, I walked toward him and began to snap a few photos. Wanting that award-winning close up shot, I walked around the front of the truck and stood leaning against a tree. He did not feel comfortable sharing his beer and meal with me and ran for the closest tree.
I could not help but laugh at him as he realized he was no longer a young cub able to climb trees. His claws gripped, but his weight gain kept him grounded. He turned and looked at me, puzzled as to what to do next. Standing there for a minute, he then relaxed and sat down on a rock.
“I’m just not as young as I once was.”
The party is over
In the distance the headlights of an incoming vehicle appeared. I was pretty sure it was my returning fishing buddies. I was also sure my time with my new friend, mister bear, was about to end. The truck coming up the drive was surly going to send him away. “Gig is up now buddy, see you later.” I said to him.
He sat and watched the truck pull up the drive. I pointed to the bear for the guys to see. They stopped the truck rolled down the window and began to take a few photos safely from the truck. They then jumped out of the truck and the increase in our party size, sent my buddy strolling away, never running, he just wandered off. But not before taking one last draw of his beer.
So when you hear the rumors about me dancing and drinking with a bear in Garrett County, you know the truth he was drinking but I wasn’t.
