Walking with Bears

Did that title get your attention? Don't get too excited. I try hard to avoid walking with bears. Larry will tell you I'm not much fun on a trail. I sing, cough loudly, chatter away and clap my hands, all to make sure any bear in a quarter of a mile knows I am coming. Bears and Alligators have one thing in common. Generally they stay away from people if possible. I aim to make it possible! However, in Anchorage bear siteings are a pretty easy thing to do. Anchorage has the dubious distinction of being the only city with a resident bear population. About 60 black bears call it home and can be seen walking through back yards, just as the moose can stop traffic crossing the roads. On this trip, though, we haven't actually seen any bear and only a couple of moose across a wetland. Last year we saw several moose and one bear.

Today I went out to visit the Anchorage Botanical Gardens. It is a beautiful place in one of those areas that bears like to travel through. The picture on the left is of the Herb Garden. On the left is a mix of Forget-Me-Nots, the Alaskan state flower, and Columbine.

There is a nice wire fence around the entire park. Even so, the first sign you see when you walk through the gate is the one that warns "You ARE in Bear and Moose Territory! Watch for signs. Make noise as you walk."

OK. That is always the kind of encouragement I need when preparing to walk woodland trails by myself. I was assured that moose would probably not be inside the park, "unless someone left the gate open and they walked through, but bear will climb over the fence or dig under it, so they could be in here." With all of those assurances (?) I enjoyed the morning in the botanical garden, and I got a very nice picture of a tree with bear markings on it, clearly pointed out on the Gardens map! I decided to forego the wilderness path to the river where I could maybe see salmon spawning. Hmm...salmon.... Bear food???

The days have been fairly consistent; gray, cloudy and cool in the morning and clearing to sunshine in the evening. I haven't been in short sleeves yet. Most days I wear a sweater and/or windbreaker. Sprinkles are common, but very light and short lived. Of course, it can reach high 70's or maybe 80's, or so they say. Haven't seen it yet!

Even so, these cabbage plants for sale at the botanical garden are great examples of Alaskan summers. Because the days are so long here the growing season is accelerated. These plants already have cabbages growing in them. After they are planted in a garden they will continue to grow. By the time they are harvested they could be as big as 65 pounds!

It was a morning well spent. Best of all, when a Garden visitor passed me on the path asked "See any bear?", I could cheerfully answer "Not today!"