It seems on a non pouring rain day that one can meet half the town on our main trail named the "cross trail" . This trail winds across the face of the mountain and spans our entire town.
You can hike from the base of Harbor Mountain all the way to the salmon infested stream named Indian River.
I cannot help but compare living in Sitka to living in some city in the lower 48 states.
Each morning the early crowd of work-out people rise and greet the coming day. The women in the lower 48 states shower and put on a good layer of hair spray.
The women of Sitka also greet the morning with a wake up shower and also grab a can of spray. Herein lies the difference. The women of Sitka reach for a can of Bear Spray.
Bear spray is simply a can of high powered propellant loaded with red pepper. It is the same spray that the police and military use in crowd control or to stop charging criminals, but in a much heavier volume.
Lower 48 women may turn on the T.V. to learn about the trouble places in the city to avoid. I can hear the news anchor blurting out, "Be warned that there is a mugger in the park on the east side of the city."
The women, and men, of Sitka can turn to a different source for their reports. It is a Facebook page called, "Sitka Bear Report."
This year was a bad year for the big Brown Bears to roam our little town's streets. Low salmon numbers in the streams coupled with a very thin berry crop on the mountains lead the hungry bears to the logical food source. The town garbage cans.
A normal year may see one or two bears scamper into town to forage on left over pizza crust, but this year it seemed nightly we would find bears tipping trash cans in search of treasure.
I open the bear report page and scan for sightings. Here is a bear report read for the morning.
I will leave out the names of the posters for their privacy.
"My co-worker said someone saw a bear cross Sawmill Creek road." Nov. 7
"My dog went on high alert on Wolf Drive." Nov 8
"Bear spotted out Sawmill Creek Road around 2500 block. We literally just saw this Huuuuuge bear cross the main road right in front of my tiny Subaru. My dogs were freaking out inside the car. Oct. 31
"Bear just tipped over our trash cans and ran off towards Toivo. Area around Shuler Dr. Watch out." Nov 1.
"Bear early this morning on top of Lance Dr." Nov 1
"Yesterday at about 8 a.m. there was an encounter with an angry bear on Thimbleberry trail near the lake. Good thing the dog was there as she alerted my husband. The bear made false charges at least twice with jaws popping and growling." Oct. 30
"Bear behind our house right now. End of Indian River. He is hiding in the brush." Oct 30
"Bear in the woods behind 1821 Sawmill creek rd. sounded like it was tearing the bark off some poor innocent tree. Fired a shot into the air. I think it headed towards Anna Dr." Oct 29
" Bear up at Thimble Berry today. Was in brush. Huffed and snapped but didn't charge." Oct. 29
" Bear just went down a hill behind my mother in law's house on Andrew Hope St. Be Bear aware people. Came out and didn't even see him just heard him. His shadow was Big!!" Oct. 28
"About a half hour ago there was a bear at the end of Cascade Creek Rd. Was scared away but keep your eyes open people." (this is near the cross trail) Oct. 27
"Bear out Granite Creek. Just knocked over trash can and ran off when a vehicle came up roan. Be cautious, she has cubs with her!!" Oct. 20
" Bear on Indian River Rd right now. Walking towards the bus stop. We were outside and it started walking up towards us." Oct. 26
"Bear on the corner of Charles and Verstovia between 6:30 and 7:30 this morning as evidenced by someones trash strewn through my yard. "Oct. 26
" Bear at Shaffers Trailer court by Sandy Beach. Be careful." Oct 24
" Just saw a bear on Herb Didrickson St. at the end of the street it was a big one. Was taking my dog outside". Oct. 24
"Big Bear on Knutson..." Oct. 25
" Bear on the end of Dodge Circle 12:15 a.m." Oct 26
The bear report goes on and on. You can check it out on Facebook on Sitka Bear Report. It makes interesting reading for out of town people, but it is like a life line to those of us who roam the streets and woods behind town .
I have to smile when I get back into civilization and hear the warnings booming over the loudspeakers, "If you see anything suspicious please call the emergency number."
Sitka Bear Report will do just fine, thank you.
Not an animal you take lightly
No comments:
Post a Comment