I've only been hunting bears last year and this. I didn't get drawn for Spring either year. Last year I scouted all Spring and Summer. I spotted a half dozen prior to August and as soon as the season opened I didn't see anything.
Same this year - scouting wise. Again, I saw a half dozen or so all Spring/Summer. In August of this year I did see one Bear. It was mile an a half away and probably 1500 feet vertical of bushwacking. Needless to say we didn't go after that Bear, nor even come close to a shot.
Today, I hiked up to a place called Kangaroo Ridge - South of Washington Pass in the North Cascades. Not my honey hole by any means and if anyone hiked up there they probably wouldn't see anything. Anyway, the lowbush blueberries were still happening in the meadows, so I had some hope. I never did seen any sign (droppings). After the last bit of climbing up to the pass, I started getting discouraged and figured I was just out for a hike now.
I finally made my way up to the pass and I was having a snack, taking pictures and glassing the peregrine falcons soaring overhead when I hear woof, woof, woof. It was just below and behind some trees on the other side of the pass. WTF? I see movement to my right and below a bit and I look over and it's a yearling cub black bear. It was only about 50 feet away. He's (She's?) looking over it's shoulder and back down the way it had come. I look back at my rifle about 20 feet away on a flat rock, then at my camera. I look back at the bear only to see it do a U-turn and then it was gone.
I surmise the momma got wind of me and woofed.
It was cool encounter for me. No shot, no bear down, but still a cool encounter for me.
Overall I thought a pretty cool day.
Pictures:
Coming up on Kangaroo Pass:
Looking over at the pass from the other side.
South of the Pass (Momma Bear was just below the Trees):
South and East of the Pass:
Looking back down at the Washington Pass Hairpin Turn:
Came across some Plane Wreckage:
http://www.ntsb.gov/aviationquery/brief.aspx?ev_id=20001214X42101&key=1
