Stories from the Mountains – Day 2

Well the night got a little chilly.  The temps dropped into the low 30s and the breeze made the night even cooler.  I got up a little after 6 am and got into my camo.  Stepping out of the tent was actually colder than I thought.  Putting a log on the fire and then got in the truck to go back up the mountain.  Daylight was breaking over the trees when I headed into the woods. Somehow it felt warmer at the top of the mountain.  I moved down the same trail as the night before.  I took my time and moved carefully.  About a 1/2 mile down the trail, I found some very fresh scat.  Knowing that there was a bear in this area the night before, I proceeded cautiously.  I spent the next hour picking my way over the trail looking for more sign.  Finding nothing, I decided it was time for breakfast and headed down the mountain.  We fixed breakfast and decided to go look for fish.  Driving the gravel roads, we found some turkeys in the road.  They moved quickly to avoid the truck.  We parked in several different spots and moved up and down the creek looking for fish.  We found a few, but they showed no interest.  Crossing the creek several times with the truck, we found a better campsite.  Casey and I decided to move camp.  We drove back and broke down camp, loaded up, and reset in an hour.  For Casey, driving his Dodge through the creek was a highlight of the trip.  Casey was impressed with the speed we had used to set camp.  I told him that experience pays off in the woods.  We headed back down into the creek.  A small pool was holding about a dozen small mouth bass and trout.  Changing lures several times proved unsuccessful.  We decided to explore the creek.  We began moving up-stream jumping from rock to rock.  About 500 yards up the stream we found a waterfall that came down into a large pool.  This area quickly became a photo shoot and we got some great pictures of a hidden treasure in the foothills of the Appalachians.   We managed to work our way back down stream without falling in the creek or dropping our cameras.  At this point it was time to get ready to head back up the mountain.  With our new campsite there was a big washed out hill to the one side.  We set up a make shift archery range and took several practice shots.  Proving ready, we headed back to the spot I had already been to twice.  After parking and grabbing our gear, we headed down the logging road.  This was my third trip down the road in two days.  We crossed under the closed gate and headed up hill.  I had the lead and was moving slowly.  Not more than a 1/4 mile down the road, I noticed something out of place.  Stepping to the side, Casey whispered, “What?”  I pulled up my binoculars and scanned the bushes.  I knew I was seeing a dark shape, but was struggling to figure it out.  Then the shape had a head and the head was moving around.  I quickly whispered, “BEAR!”  Casey could see him over my shoulder and I quietly but excitedly asked if it was over 75 lbs.  When the bear stepped into the road, that doubt was quickly erased.  This was a big bear.  Very big in fact.  The bear slowly moved to the left and then quartered towards us from about 45 yards away.  I had a large tree lined up with the bear so I was able to get the bow ready.  Trying to stay still was difficult with the adrenaline that was running for both of us.  After about two minutes Casey could see the bear about 75 yards below us and crossing the gravel road.  Once there, I told Casey that we would not stalk.  The other side of that gravel road, the world drops off.  It is almost vertical and I declared the bear the victor.  We walked the remainder of the road and then headed back.  Casey threw a few casts towards dark as I prepared dinner.  Once again, the fish won.  The evening was beautiful.  We continued to pile wood on the campfire and tell stories.  Shortly after midnight we decided to call it a night.  The temps were dropping but not like the night before.  We knew that we only had a half day left, but what a great Day 2.