Fall on Rainier

BEAR DAY at PARADISE!

by sally Nov.10.2008 12:10:33 am

---

Taken on October 29th from Chinook Pass………


Here are some of my favorite fall photos from previous years.


Mouse over photos for information………….

Before you go any further…. let me remind you of the following information………



This photo from a previous year is where my bear adventure took place at Paradise. This is the lower paved trail into Edith Creek Basin area where there is a place to view Mrytle Falls.

Fall has come to the mountain! It’s beautiful presently! The mornings are cool, crisp and dewy! The daylight time is shorter with some downright cold evening weather. The “Caution - Roads are Icy” sign sits prominently at the national park entrance and also at Longmire to note that winter is just around the corner.

The weather has been unpredictable which is not uncommon during the month of October. There have been glorious sunny October days but unlike the month of September the sunny days stay only a day or two at a time. It has rained in the city and snowed at the mountain and yet the next day may bring warmth from the sun to melt ice or snow or dry the dew on the leaves.

The autumn colors are appearing everywhere around Mt. Rainier. The vine maples always make the biggest color statement but they were still not at their peak on Tuesday, October 14th when I visited. Paradise showed a fair amount of red low lying bushes and lots of foliage with yellow hues. But the greenish yellow told the tale that with more cold frosty mornings shades of orange and deep reds would soon appear on the slopes of the Paradise hills.



This year has been difficult for the mountain black bears! The huckleberries and blueberries didn’t ripen until mid September! The bears should have been eating berries starting in August to fatten themselves for their long winter hibernation. On this Tuesday in October, I didn’t see blueberries or huckleberries on the slopes above the Paradise Inn but instead some red berries I think are called elderberries. However, on an earlier September 26th visit to Paradise while hiking up the Deadhorse Creek Trail, I had feasted on both blueberries and huckleberries that were ripe and ready. Perhaps the cold chill made the berries drop off the bushes leaving just the red berries now for the bears. Presently, the bears are in an altered state of urgency honed into eating everything they can before their long winter nap. Thus stories of daily bear sightings are flooding in from everyone visiting Paradise as the bears eat the red elderberries voraciously. The bear reports are mostly noting the bears around Paradise are young yearling bears. A yearling bear is one that has been abandoned by the mother bear to begin their solitary bear life. The young bears seem not to be afraid of people unlike the older wiser bears. These young bears are “hanging out” around the paved lower trails and around the closed Paradise Inn populated by people most of the time. Therefore a trip to Paradise right now not only excites the senses for the beauty of the fall colors but also excites the sense of adventure of seeing a bear in the wild.

My short trip to Paradise on Tuesday, October 14th also became an adventure all about bears! The mountain was hidden behind a thin veil of clouds but the crisp fall air with its special scent from the dying foliage making autumn colors was plenty to make this trip well worth the drive. But the bear experience that unfolded at the beginning of the trail behind the Paradise Inn pushed the limits of excitement beyond my wildest dreams.

I was walking up the paved trail section behind the Paradise Inn toward Myrtle Falls and Edith Creek. Suddenly, around a curve in the paved path a bear came walking toward me.
I stood frozen with fear not knowing what to do. Scream? Run backward? Yikes, what was the right thing to do?? I didn’t have time to think because the bear kept walking toward me so I stopped moved to the side of the paved path and placed my tripod with camera attached down on the pavement and began snapping photos. What else could I do?

The bear kept walking toward me and when the bear was right beside me it stepped down off the pavement and veered down a bit away from me. But as soon as the bear was past me it walked back up onto the edge of the paved path with an obvious destination in mind. Unbelievable! I think my heart stopped for awhile as the bear past by me. I couldn’t remember the actual passing because of my extreme fright! After the bear walked past I realized its focus was on getting to a good elderberry patch. This young bear was totally unfazed by humans. I had read about this bear on Mike Gauthier’s Climbing Blog that is accessible on the right side of this blog page. This particular bear was brown with golden blonde hair sticking up in spiky points on its back neck that was an unusual sight! After seeing the photos on this blog, check out the latest posting on Mike’s blog to see another bear photo taken at Paradise.

My bear story should end here but it doesn’t! As I began leaving the parking area at Paradise while I was looking toward the Tatoosh Range, a small bear that was black darted out from behind the Paradise Inn in front of my car running to the opposite side of the road… I suspect to get more elderberries. I had to slam on my brakes since I was momentarily looking away from the Paradise Inn side of the road in order to not hit the bear with my car. Holy Cow! Or should I say……Holy Bear? What a bear day at Paradise!

I will let my series of BEAR PHOTOS show my story!
ENJOY!
Sally Johnson
Sally’s Photos
www.mtrainierphotos.com