The one that got away
I have mention Scare Canyon before, that is a fun place that I like to go, things are wild there, and the fishing is was good. I have had many a good times in the canyon. This is about a somewhat wild fishing trip up the canyon.
I had hike back in about a mile or so, to a place where there are beaver dams and the remains of an old mine, log cabin, and a peach tree; I call the place peach tree meadow. It was a warm summer day and about 9 am in the morning. I was working my fly rod up the beaver pond to where the stream of scare creek came in. I look up the stream I could see something was moving in the tall grass.
All I could see was some black hump moving. So I move to get a better look see. I was down wind, and I move slowly and quietly up to a big rock, about three feet tall, and climbed up on it. There he was an old black bear! I watch as he swatted a fish up on the bank and pound it into a mush. He was so funny bouncing up and down like a pile driver. Then I watch as he lick up the now trout mush. I could see that he had very few teeth, but I was not going to give him a dental exam.
Well! The moment got the best of me and I had to laugh out loud. Well! That got the attention of the bear! I looked around for a safer place to be the mine shaft look like a bad idea, the peach tree was not any better, there was a cottonwood with a limb about six foot off the ground, so I made a run for it, jump and caught it on the first try. I made my way up another three feet, when the bear hit the tree. The tree shook but held its ground. There I was up that tree, a 300 pound black bear, no gun, just a creel of fish and somehow my fly rod.
I tried to calm down and think; this is not a good place to be. A black bear can climb better than me; but lucky for me that old bear was too old and fat to climb. Then I remember I had a hunting knife, it only had a four and a half inch blade. I had dreamed of being like Davey Crockett or Daniel Boone but then I look at the bear he had six inch blade five on each paw, to me I think I was a bit out gun. He made a lung at me and those blades made fringe on my pant leg, and almost hook off my boot.
Then it hit me I had a creel of fish, so I got one out and threw it, it landed about twenty feet away. That bear was on it like a rattlers strike, and that fish was gone. Well! I had a plan now I got in my creel a grab another fish and throw it as far as I could, made it about thirty feet, and the bear was all over it. And back at the tree that quick.
New plan, I would move down the tree so I could jump to the ground and run, I took another fish and threw it and started to jump but he the bear was just too quick. Back up to my perch like a scared rabbit I was. Look in my creel and only three fish left; I remember how the lord feed the multitude with that, I ought to be able to feed one hunger bear with as many. So I threw him the fish and he was back at the tree. He milled around that tree like a bee on the peach blossoms. He would lung at me and I would hit with my fly rod, didn’t detour him a bit. So I just hug the tree and waited and hope he would lose interest soon. About an hour had passed and he started back to the stream where I first saw him. I waited till he was busy swatting fish, and started to climb down, but before I could get down he was back. Another hour passed and he wondered off I got half down and saw him coming back this time there was two of them. They would be on me before I could get down so up I went. They pushed and bump the tree. The tree and I were shaking so bad I trough that this was the end. And then they left.
I sat there in the tree for a good fifteen minutes and got my nerve up and started back down, I look back up the trail and saw them coming back this time they had a beaver with them. I never made that mile back to the truck, that fast ever again. This story is based on fact but like food left in the fridge to long it grows.
Thank you for your time and presents, God bless
