The late night drive out was uneventful, but beautiful—
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| Sun on the mountains... |
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| Denali in the background |
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| Polychrome Pass--gorgeous colors! |
The next day, our first day, the sun was shinning and all
was right with the world!
(I was, however, keeping in mind the warning that Toklat was
“wild”; we needed to be additionally cautious in the camp.)
We started our morning by doing laundry and cleaning the
van. (Matt and I would have
orientation the next day.) The
first number of trips—bathroom, laundry, recreation center—Matthew and I went
together. Well, you know Matt...After
the third “toilet-run”, I told him to finish and come home on his own. I reminded him to “make noise” coming
back to the van. When he arrived,
Matt reported that he clapped his hands while jogging home. I applauded his noise making, but we
had a serious talk about how “jogging” could trigger a bear’s predatory
instinct to chase. So, the next
time we went up the road to fold laundry, we went together.
We were walking on the right side of the road; this is just
an around-the-camp gravel road. I
paused when I heard a munching sound.
After I located the maker of the sound, I did two things simultaneously. I exclaimed, “Oh shit, a bear!” and
grabbed Matthew along side of me.
Unfortunately, the expletive caught the juvenile bear’s attention and
from less than 3 yards away, he acknowledged our presence. I told Matt to “get big”—meaning, wave
your arms. The bear, obviously
disgusted by our display, returned to munching on horsetail. Matthew and I backed away slowly. (Okay, I thought it was slowly, but
even if it wasn’t, the bear was done with us.)
After folding the clothes, we wisely chose to take a path,
versus the road, home. At the end
of the path and a bit south, is another bathroom. Matthew and I saw two rangers at the back of the
building. Jeanette (one of the
rangers), loudly asked us if we saw the bear. Still strung-out on adrenaline, I loudly launch into, “Yeah,
it was right up there at…” Jeanette, intelligently interrupted, “No, THAT
bear!” Damn, she meant the large
adult bear at the opposite corner of the building (a mere 20 yards away)! So again, I exclaimed, “Oh shit, a
bear!” I was again awarded with
acknowledgement. This time, the
bear gave me the stink-eye. (Yes,
Jeanette agrees; it was the “stink-eye”.
She had gotten it too!) Matthew and I “got big” and slowly backed
away. When we FINALLY got back to
the van, I realized I had learned a few things.
1.
I won’t exclaim when I see a bear. (I don’t think they like to be yelled
at. They may not like to be sworn
at either—just a guess.)
2.
Matthew won’t be walking anywhere alone.
3.
I don’t like seeing a bear when I am on
foot.
4.
They really are BIG.
5.
The recommended 300-yard distance between you
and a bear isn’t far enough.
Oh, and I am thankful the camp has good laundry facilities.
I told Jakara, another interpretive ranger here, our
story. Her comment, “Welcome
to Toklat!” Damn, this really will
be an adventure!
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