See You On The Trails

When it comes to Cub Scouts, typically I don't get too involved.   Afterall, I saved myself for Girl Scouts, which I dedicate myself to, heart and soul.   But this year, I agreed to volunteer for two days at the Cub Scout Twilight Camp.   

There were several different stations which needed volunteers - the camp had stations to build a telegraph, tie flies, pan for gold, carve soap, make candles, woodworking, archery, BB guns, obstacle course, and much more.  But I signed up for the station I was most interested in - nature exploration.   I knew I'd be paired with a Naturalist from Mt. Baker, but that's all I knew - and, quite honestly, that was good enough for me.  Right up my alley.   I went into it thinking I'd learn some cool stuff about nature and get to help with the boys.  But I got so much more... I made a new friend.

 

Elmer Roosma is a Forest Service volunteer as well as a Mountain Steward at Mt. Baker. Mountain Stewards are volunteers with lots of hiking experience who hike the lower portion of some of the most popular trails in the area, interacting with the public and educating them about trail safety, the Leave No Trace principles, natural history, and other location-specific information.   In addition to knowing every hiking trail like the back of his hand, Elmer's specialties are the local black bear and cougar populations.

 My goodness!   I sure learned a lot about black bears and cougars through our five presentations.   One of a black bear's favorite snacks?  Bees.  Not just the honey, but the bees!  Black bears put on about 3 lbs per day when they're preparing for winter - the males eat up to 20 hrs per day to gain that weight.   There are approximately 35,000 black bears in the state of Washington; we rank 5th for the largest black bear population in the U.S.   If you see a black bear, you should do the following, in this order: 

• Never run.   He can run up to 35 mph.  If you're lucky, you can run 15 mph.
• If he doesn't see you, walk away slowly.
• If he does see you, make yourself big.  Raise your arms, wave your arms, gather others in your party together to look even bigger.
• Make noise, holler at the bear, clap your hands.  But do not say the word "bear."   A bear may associate the word "bear" with someone calling out "come here, bear, come get the food, bear" and will approach you to see if you have food.
• If that doesn't work, and he approaches you, take anything you can find - camera, binoculars, walking stick - and try to hit his nose or eyes.  Both are very sensitive.
• If that doesn't work, and he's attacking you, only then should you drop down and play dead, covering your eyes and stomach.
• *NOTE*  There have only been 45 human fatalities from black bears in the last 100 years.   A majority are in the last 20 years.    But seriously... only 45.   They're not big meat eaters!

Elmer has inspired me to: 1. Purchase a can of pepper spray to carry with me hiking and camping and 2. Stop at the Forest Service office on the way to go camping and ask if there are any problem bears in the area.  If so, I'll get a "critter can" to hold any food during the night (and place the can about 50 yards from camp).  Because "a fed bear is a dead bear."  Sad, but true.  Once a bear becomes a problem bear, foraging for human garbage, the Department of Fish and Wildlife doesn't give them too many chances before they're put down.

I learned so much more about black bears - everything from mating to gestation to eating habits (they love cat/dog food and even more, they love birdseed!), to weight to torpor (what some think of as hibernation is really torpor - heart rate down to 10 beats per minute) to length of their claws.    It was fascinating.

Then there was the cougar.  There are currently about 3,000 in Washington state.   They can leap 30 feet, their whiskers are amazing (in addition to many other uses, they use their whiskers to sense when their prey is dead and not fighting anymore so they can let go and commence to eating), they can eat 20 lbs of meat at one time, they eat about 40 deer per year (they eat the stomach/heart/liver/intestine first - then they usually cover it with some twigs/grass and come back to finish it later - often times guarding it nearby), and they're scarce.  After 50 + years hiking in the area, Elmer has only seen four in the wild.   And he has the best story ever of how he shot this one.  It gave me chills every time he told it.

Between the presentations, Elmer and I talked and talked - about hiking, hunting, wild animals, skiing, the Vietnam War, Girl Scouts, clear cut logging, finding childhood friends, and raising children (not necessarily in that order!).  What a gift it was to get to know this amazing man.

After only two days, I feel like we've known eachother much longer.  We parted with a hug and a promise to "See you on the trails."