Where the wild things are! (non-yak)

Me and the kids headed back up to Humboldt Redwoods State Park again this afternoon.  No salmon sightings today, but we did see a bear who also seemed to be looking for fish.  He just hung out even after I raised my arms and shouted, and the creek was somewhat deep between it and us, so we weren't in danger - had Collin (4) and two cousins, Gareth (10) and Kait (12) with me, so my first instinct was "oh crap, I can't let someone else's kids be in danger!"  Seeing a bear was totally cool and a first for me in 11 years on that creek (seen lots of tracks).  We cruised the creek and enjoyed a great forest hike through the old growth.  Today's focus became "leave no trace", and the kids did a good job.  We headed back out to the main river and took some casts for a while before sunset.  No hookups or fish rolling, but the river is looking just gorgeous.  We saw an otter before we left.  Wildlife sightings are pretty rare in the old growth - we appreciated it.

Coooool.  My kids would be so stoked to see a bear.

Thanks for the report and fun pics AK.  Seeing your bear reminds me of a bear story here.  A large black bear wandered right behind our home very near Mendocino.  We called animal control just so they would know.   "Oh", they replied, "We don't do bears."     The bear wandered up towards Fort Bragg and ended up in a tree at the Botanical Gardens.   Visitors thought it was a pet and stood under the tree taking pictures.   They were politely asked to "Step away from the bear, please, sir."  The bear eventually tired of civilization and went back into the woods, presumably to do some important business 

Then there are the lions.  Again, one wandered behind our house.  Our neighbor saw it too.  I asked where.  "Oh; it was on our front porch."  "Doing what?!" I asked.  "Oh, just sitting on our favorite comfy-chair quietly licking itself".     "So what did you do?"   "Oh...we went back inside."      We don't do lions either.

Needless to say we don't walk in the woods alone here, and never go jogging in the forest.  It's neat that these animals are here tho.   I wish the lions would eat more of those pesky deer that are so crafty about negotiating our garden fencing.   Maybe we need some tigers.   

What a great adventure! Thanks a bunch for sharing such a cool outing with young people, too. They make the outdoors an even more wonderous place.

Janice aka "Big J"

Is this guy the model dad/angler or what. Glad to have you on this blue palnet Eric.

Is this guy the model dad/angler or what. Glad to have you on this blue palnet Eric.

Thanks, Hawk!  and all for kind words about my posts.  I really cherish creating the posts (and of course the real life stuff behind them!).    

Thanks for the sharing the adventure. Ive got permagrin now.

No Fish?!...no prob!....like always,great report w/sweet pics Eric!  why no wildlife in the old growth?

Great report! Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed it. Always fun to spot wildlife, particularly when the kids are along!
John

Thank for the story and pictures Eric.  Shouldn't the bear be in bed/den by now?  Maybe it can't sleep (o:

why no wildlife in the old growth?

It's there, Adam, it's just hard to see because you can only see so far before your view is obscured by huge trees.  I think the critters know we're there long before we usually see them and they bail.  Luckily the spawners don't see us coming - we find them and sit and watch them do their thing and get pics and videos.

Sonny - I don't know how much bears hibernate around here...  Maybe one of our resident-biologists can chime in on that one.

Sonny-Where have you been bro? people want o see pics of your tricked out Mini-X

That looks like a great spot to go fishing at.  Thanks for sharing those pics.

Can you imagine the changes in this world that tree has lived through? Man they are amazing trees! River looks great, now if we can get those conditions in January... Adam. As for no critters in the old growth, it all comes down to availble food. In the old growth, there isn' t much new growth with the huge trees and so that means no new shoots and plants to feed on. That's why the natives used to burn out areas to draw game to their lands. The new growth has all the nutrients. Most deer hunters know the next few years after a big burn, produce some of the biggest bucks. Also, redwood is high in tanic acid and is resistant to bugs. No bugs, means no birds, and so on and so on...

Beautiful part of the country you have there! The only wild animals I see around here are racoons (and plenty of 'em).....we need more bears in this area to keep the balance in check