Wild Black Bear

Black Bear, a photo by wild trees on Flickr.
I've met a lot of bears.  My first bear I met on the North Fork of the Skokomish, a scared kid of nineteen on his first backpack -- and first solo backpack at that.  Over the years I've met bears young and old; scared, curious and indifferent; on trails, up trees, on snow and in rivers.  I treasure every experience, every encounter.  I've followed bear tracks through snow-covered cirque after cirque, finding the trail by trusting Ursus americanus to lead the way.

This bear I met in the South Fork drainage of Kimta Creek.  An amazing place, wild with elk, with berries, steep and open in places, covered in ancient Tsuga mertensiana in others.  Walking along, thinking, feeling, smelling the wild Olympic air, and suddenly this guy, appearing out of the bushes.  I had time for a quick photo, no adjustments, and I think of all my bear photographs this one captures the essence of a wild bear the best.  I'm grateful to have experienced that moment, to have met this fellow and to have stood in his presence.