Camping with bears.

Years ago, my wife and 7 year old son, Bobby, and 5 year old niece went on a camping, hiking and fishing trip to Yosemit, which was my wife’s favorite place to visit and hike/camp in. Not in the tourist valley, but way back in the very center of the park at the base of Mt. Hoffman, by May Lake. The trail from the parking lot is easy, hardly anyone goes there, it’s quiet, peaceful, unspoilt. I had been there many times, but this time I had to work, so they all went without me. A few times that I went up the trail to May Lake with Jme we were tracked by a bear. We could hear it breathing and wheezing as it shadowed us all the way, but we never saw it, but we could hear it brushing against tree branches and bushes. We never felt in danger.

‘My son is now 48, and he is now Rob not Bobby. So this event happened 40 years ago, and we still talk about it with found memories.

‘When they got to the lake and picked out the camping spot, they put up the tent, and while Jme ticketed around arranging the sleeping bags, cooking utensils, etc.. Bobby ran down to the lakeshore with his fishing rod and bag of marshmallows for bait to catch dinner. A few minutes later Bobby heard a noise of his bag of marshmallows rustling, thought it was his cOisin stealing his bait to eat, and yelled at her to leave his marshmallows alone. Jme heard him, and looked over to the large rock he was sitting on, and in horror saw a bear cub holding the bag of marshmallows and eating them. She yelled at Bobby to get away NOW! Bobby turned around and saw the cub. He immediately grabbed the bag and yelled at the bear cub “ give those back. They’re mine. Not yours” the cub grabbed the bag back, and Bobby tugged at the bag, until a tug of war was happening. Jme Was getting hysterical screaming at Bobby to leave the bag, and come back the campsite now. Bobby stubbornly refused to do that and was focused on getting his marshmallows back from the cute little cub. His mom yelled to him that the cub’s mommy will be there soon, and she will not be cute and cuddly, she will be angry and defend her baby. That got Bobby’s attention, and he abandoned his tug of war with the cub, and retreated. Sure enough, the mother bear showed up, and Jme stepped in front of the 2 kids and raised her arms in a threatening manner and roared. The mother bear and the cub fled to a tall tree and climbed it to the top, and stayed there all night. Oh, I forgot to say that my niece screamed the whole time and banged the crap out of a pot and blew a whistle until they were at the top of the tree.

Then she calmed down, although she cried the whole time. Jme made sure no one had food, Candy, bubblegum, toothpaste in their pockets and in the tent, in case the bear came down from the tree in the middle of the night, attracted by the scent. In the morning they were gone.

‘Now we just laugh about it, but at the time it was scary.