10th Day - Tracking Mike's Bear (The bad news.)

Mike Ditschler's Bear
Tracking Fred's bear was easy, but Mike's was another matter all together. Fred and Don started at the bait and followed the drops of blood. I went over to where the bear had stopped and walked in the direction it had gone. 

Buzzzzz. Yikes, I forgot about those hornets, one popped me on the left shoulder, I swatted at it and took a direct hit in the right underarm. Ouch! I scooted out of there, swatting as I went. When I stooped scooting a hornet stung me right smack on the end of my nose. Double ouch! (See, this bear hunting really is dangerous!)

One thing I am lucky about is that bee stings don't normally bother me much, other than the initial sting and a little short term discomfort.

Fred was on the bear's blood trail. It had turned and gone into it's back trail. A hundred yards further the blood trail turned into bad news, it totally dried up.

I circled wide and came up with nothing. 

I heard Fred call us all over. He told us all to stay behind him and we did. He held a single leaf in his hand, he thought it had been knocked from a branch (as the bear passed?). Fred knelt down and slowly and meticulously followed breaks in alder branches, smashed down ferns, upturned leaves, and slight indention's made in the mossy ground by parts of a bear's paw.

Eighty slow yards further that trail ended. Mike and I stood looking at each other, both of us suddenly fearing the worst.

Don saw some pressed down grass and leaves. Twenty yards beyond them the bear was laying in the tag alders. I have to take my hat off to Fred on this one, we witnessed a tracking job that was one the best I've ever seen.

Mike Ditschler was beaming. He had his first bear and first bow harvest. Too cool.

Both of these bears were near 300 pounds and they were tough to drag out of the woods.

This puts the cap on a truly successful bear hunt. Fifteen hunters took 14 bears on this hunt. That's a successful hunt by any standard.

NEXT ... The Wrap-up Of The Hunt.