Baby's First Bear Encounter

After apple-picking on a fine fall day, we pushed the limits of Giovanni's car-ride tolerance by driving out to the Mohawk Trail State Forest which straddles both Franklin & Berkshire Counties in the towns of Charlemont, Hawley, and Savoy. The Forest is reputed in our state for its relatively large stands of true old growth white pine (and others), and it is also notorious for having the highest density of black bears in Massachusetts. Of course I knew this, but I wasn't about to tell Shannon and scare her out of a hike through groves of towering pine and slopes of northern hardwoods. So along the trail we went, skirting the Deerfield River and finally ascending into the beech, birch, and maple that makes me feel so delightfully far from home. The trail was gradual, then steep, then fairly steep for a good quarter mile. I jaunted 150 yards ahead and could just barely see some blue sky peeking over the ridge - almost there! Shannon powered up the rocky trail like a trooper, this being her first hike in a very very long time. Then Giovanni awoke and decided he was hungry. We stopped while Shannon sat on a rock to breastfeed him, and we ate some cinnamon raisin bread to boost our energy. I'm always wary of eating sweet-smelling foods while in bear territory, but I figured we would be moving on shortly so it didn't matter. While we rested and the baby ate, a barrage of severe gusts blew between the sharp peaks making the trees around us shake and groan. I was worried about falling branches, so I scanned the canopy for dead wood and then scanned the hillside for any uninvited guests - I saw neither. We were at ease, nearly rejuvenated for the last leg of the hike, when suddenly Shannon "heard something that wasn't the wind," and upon looking towards the sound immediately locked eyes with a burly bear looking down on us from about 100 yards up-slope. I too looked and saw the unmistakable shape of bearness. My immediate (and entirely appropriate) reaction was to shout at it and wave my arms. Shannon was frantically scooping up the baby and declaring "this hike is over!" while I waved and shouted, so she didn't see the bear hastily run off, nor did she see the two fuzzy round cubs that followed in their mother's stead. I was awed and relieved to see the cubs, since I knew then that the bears were most certainly fleeing from us and it wasn't a lone bear coming to investigate our foodstuffs. I assured Shannon that we weren't in danger, but I certainly didn't expect her to go any further into the unknown, so we backtracked the 2-3 miles for peace of mind. Giovanni was unfazed by the incident, soon after falling asleep against my chest.

This was Shannon's first time seeing a bear, and in my opinion it couldn't have been more perfect. Two mothers met in the rugged wilderness - each threatened, each frightened, each seeking only the safety of their offspring, each fleeing in mutual fear. In the moment it was fear, but then it blended into respect, and both parties are better for the encounter.