Shenandoah National Park

There was still a lot left to Day 60 when I arrived at Shenandoah. So I decided to take a hike up around the campsite.

I walked from my campsite to the trailhead and began my hike. After hiking up a fairly significant hill, I came to a junction. I could go left. I could go right. I didn't remember seeing this junction on the map, so I paused.

Then I looked up and saw a black bear cub (seemed to be more like an adolescent) crossing the path on the left, heading to the right. He was about 50 feet away from me! That may seem like enough, but NPS stresses 150 feet as the safe distance. I made a little noise and the bear looked behind himself. Then my instincts kicked in - I backed away, keeping my eye on him, and returned toward the trailhead. The bear picked his head up and looked right at me.

I got back to camp and was relieved. I've been scared of bears all summer, with the warnings from camp hosts and park rangers. All I really wanted was to encounter a bear when I didn't have access to my car. Seeing that bear that close to me did just that. I am no longer scared of black bears (this doesn't mean I'm any less terrified on grizzly bears).

The reason I knew what to do was from listening and reading throughout my travels on the various methods to handling bears when you encounter them. For me, even though I hadn't practiced these techniques, simply knowing them transformed them to instincts. I was happy to learn that.

When I returned to camp I told the host of my encounter. She wasn't surprised. She said those bears hang around the camp. She also told me that bear usually hangs around papa bear who is six feet tall! I'm glad I left as soon as I did.

I was a little upset because I wanted a photo of a black bear. I knew it wasn't wise to take one at that distance on foot, but it was disappointing anyways.

About Shenandoah
There is a road - Blue Ridge Parkway - which runs 467 miles from the southern entrance of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia to the southern entrance of Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina. Shenandoah essentially extends this parkway another 105 miles as Skyline Drive; and subsequently, the park is built around the road. Also, like the Smokies, people were displaced from their homes for the creation of the park.

Day 61
My campsite was at the 22-mile mark (22 miles from the northern entrance). Because I didn't want to move camp, I knew I shouldn't drive too far in my day of visiting. So I drove a bit and walked a few trails. I continued to work on waterfall photography and think I did okay. Here's one.

On the way back to camp, I saw a black bear along the side of the road and got a photo. I was so happy to finally get a black bear photo even though I didn't get his face.

Day 62
The next day I got up and planned to drive the remainder of Skyline Drive, connect to Blue Ridge Parkway and drive until I could exit for Blacksburg, Virginia, where a friend of mine attends Virginia Tech.

I delayed myself a bit in the morning so I could meet my friend when he was available. I sat at my picnic table for a couple hours in the morning, reading and writing. As I was doing so, fog moved in and steadily became thicker. It's funny I call it fog, when what it really is is a cloud. Some of my photos turned out really well. Here's one.

I had read in my bible walking through a foggy forest is a magical experience. I can certainly agree with this. As the fog rolls in, it doesn't matter who is around you. As thick as it was, I couldn't see anything or anyone, and the sound was deadened as well. At one point, I stopped and walked to a meadow. I stood just 20 feet from the drive in this wide open field, yet none of the drivers knew I was there. What a cool experience!

Later that day I reached Blacksburg, but not before I stuck my head into West Virginia. Thus, catching up, Massachusetts was 37; Rhode Island, 38; Connecticut, 39; New Jersey, 40; Delaware, 41; Maryland, 42; Virginia, 43; and West Virginia, 44.  

Shenandoah Album

Only two more parks remaining. Stay tuned!