I'm sure we'll do it again! Welcome to the site. Be sure to join the Women's board too. 
It was fun, and one or both of us will write about it soon.
Ahem...I believe there have been several discussions on the forum regarding the definition of "...will write about it soon", especially when it pertains to a hunting story...I'll assume you are too busy hunting to tell us about the bear hunt, Jennabug 
Haha, yes, I've been a bit busy this month, and I believe hirshey is still finishing up her fire season. Thanks for the nudge.
When hirshey posted this up on the women's board, I had already had a bunch of commitments directly before and after the hunt dates. But my inner self kept saying "but I WANNA GO!" so I said yes. We swapped numbers and she gave me a packing list for the trip, including a reminder to bring an epipen if I had bee allergies (which I do).
I left work early on Thursday the 14th and met hirshey at her parents house, we would be driving to the hunt the next morning. We went over our gear first, then went to dinner. hishey and her family were so warm and welcoming, I didn't have any problems sleeping that night. The next morning we set out, driving in the dark to "Bear Mountain".
When we parked, I looked at the landscape in front of us and wondered to myself if I'd make it the whole way up, or how far we would go. I work a desk job and don't do much for maintaining fitness besides yard work and horse care.
We set on down the trail, which was dry and noisy. Nearly every step sounded out with a crack, or at least it seemed that way in the quiet morning hours. The terrain was often unstable and very rocky, which reminded me that my hiking boots need to be replaced... and that I really need to work on conditioning. After we got through the timber area, we spent the day glassing what we could see, then hiking to the next spot to glass. She kept assuring me that we were just 100 yards from our next destination. She's pretty sneaky. "chuckle" We took a lot of breaks to breathe, glass, and replenish. The yellow jackets literally hung out with me all day... there was always one within arms reach. They didn't seem to care about hirshey. By the end of the day we had nearly topped "Bear Mountain" and I had legs of jello.
We did see older bear sign in some of the lower areas, but the berry patches that were around seem to have been dried up, or never fully developing a supply of berries. The bears must have moved to another food source. We did see a beautiful pair of golden eagles, several marmots that sounded their alarms when they spotted us, and chipmunks that were curious enough to get close. It was beautiful up there, and wonderful to be away from the busyness of everyday life. By early afternoon we decided to head back down the mountain. I was a bit relieved that we weren't packing a bear out after all, because I was pretty tired. I'm sure adrenaline would have helped if we had found "the one", but overall I was happy with just the hike, the views, the conversations and the company.
When we finally got back to the vehicle I was totally relieved. We stopped for a meal on the way back to town, and I stayed one more night. I would have to leave before dawn to get back to my weekend commitments the next day, but I was too fatigued to safely drive back that night. It's funny how good company can keep you awake despite the fatigue; I visited with hirshey and her family for a few hours more and time flew by. The drive back home the next day felt great, my heart was full from the new experiences and my body felt happy to have worked hard. I look forward to the next one @hirshey!
