I saw a bear!!

I've been a semi-regular hiker at Shenandoah since I moved here a year ago. (Though not nearly as frequently as I want.) I actually haven't seen that much wildlife in my hikes, although a few months ago I saw a deer. In the last few months, I've been really, really, really wanting to see a bear! Shenandoah has black bears. Supposedly.

Today was my lucky day! First of all, early this afternoon, we had an activity with the mid-singles group in the stake. We did an easy hike up to Blue Hole, this nearby swimming hole. This isn't in Shenandoah, but it's not far from the park. We saw a bear!! It looked like a teenage bear (if such a thing exists). I didn't have my camera though, but I was still excited to see one! It was well off the trail, but we got to watch it for a few minutes.

After the activity, I went to Shenandoah to do some more hiking. I hiked a 6.5-mile loop that took me past the Jones Run and Doyle falls. (Three waterfalls in total.) There were parts of the trail that were actually pretty steep. And it was so humid! But I had loads of fun.

The last 1.2 miles was along a relatively flat, narrow stretch of the Appalachian trail. I was about 0.5 miles from the end, when I saw it ahead of me....a BEAR! And it was an adult bear this time! It was on the trail, about 30 meters in front of me, at most. I totally froze when I saw it, as it sort of startled me, and I waited for it to make the first move. (It saw me too. However, it seemed much less impressed by me.) Once it started moving away, I tried to grab my camera to take a picture. I wasn't fast enough...

Honestly, I don't even know if the bear is anywhere in this picture. So not only is the picture kind of blurry, but I don't think the bear is even in it.

So I continued on my way, and the bear was out of sight. Though after about a minute, I thought, I have to go back and get a better picture! So I gingerly retraced my steps, in an attempt to find the bear again. It had crossed to the other side of the trail and I saw it through the trees. It was much harder to photograph now, and I had to zoom way in.

Despite the fact that this looks like a picture of Bigfoot, I SWEAR there is a bear in there.

No really. It's right there in the middle. A big, black bear!

Best hike ever!

Oh Shenandoah

I'm so lucky in that I live only 30 minutes from one of the entrances of Shenandoah National Park. One of my favorite things to do outside is hiking. This summer I have a goal to spend as much time as I can hiking in Shenandoah. And since I work at the temple every other Saturday, that means I only have every other Saturday right now.

In the last month I've been able to go twice. There are so many trails in the park, it's hard to know where to start. So I decided to start off by narrowing it down, and I am hiking as many of the waterfall trails as I can. First I went to the Dark Hollows Fall trail. This trail is only about 1.4 miles round trip, but it's steep at parts. But it's a relatively quick hike, so it was a fun one to start with. Here are some pictures.

Dark Hollow Falls:

Looking down stream:

A deer at the top of the trail head as I was finishing. (Park literature talks a lot about bears, and I'm hoping I'll get to see one at some point!) (From a distance, of course.)



And then today I hiked the Rose River Trail. They have it so you can hike a four mile circuit that takes you parallel to a stream for awhile, with many cascades and mini-falls. So much fun! And it's fun to see the trees starting to get their leaves again. I can't wait for summer! It will be even more beautiful! Here are some pictures from Rose River Falls hike.

View from the parking lot, just off the Skyline Drive.

Heading down the trail, it comes you pick up the stream just coming off Dark Hollow Falls.

More mini-waterfalls along the way.


First view of Rose River Falls.

My and the falls. This is where I ate lunch.

Rose River Falls.

Hiking back out. Soon it will be a complete canopy as the leaves fill out on the trees again!