hiking Baldy

As training for a (potential) goat hunt this fall, I’ve been hiking Mt. Baldy every couple/few days.

Some are sunny, warm hikes

And some are rainy, but still warm, hikes

But last night’s cloudy, but still warm, hike, was the best over the past couple weeks. While walking down the saddle from Baldy towards Blacktail Peaks, a trail runner coming down the trail stopped and asked if I was headed to Blacktail. I said yes, and hearing the tone of his question, I knew the two teenage bears were still in the area. I said I’d go til the bears turned me around. I continued onward towards Blacktail Peaks.

Walking about five minutes behind me was a 20-ish girl. With her on a leash was a tiny, lap dog named Piper. She said her Dad calls it bear-bait. So accurate. I prayed the dog’s nickname wasn’t an omen.

I crested a small hill another quarter-mile up the trail, and there the bears were in all their playful glory. The two bears were wrestling and rolling together. The girl caught up with me as I started photo’ing the bears.

Blacktail Peaks at top left. The specks at middle right are two bears.

The bears continued playing, while occasionally looking over at us. I continued taking pictures for about five minutes, until the bears started walking towards us. We let them walk towards us for a moment before deciding they were serious in their direction. And getting too close. So we skedaddled back down the trail.

A zoomed in crop of the above photo

I turned right and hiked down the valley trail to the old homesteads. And she hiked back up Baldy, then (I assume) walked down the face.

Bear Bait walking back (quickly) to Mt. Baldy

Another fun hike

Our squirrel chaser doesn’t do as well on warm hikes