Mammoth Lakes - I am the Bear Hunter...

I have now lost track of time, days of the week and sometimes have to think twice when I write what year this is? Surely this is a sign that I am truly relaxed and enjoying this trip.

When we arrived in Mammoth Lakes after a long drive we were stunned by how beautiful the Forestry Camp Ground was.

We were looking for a vacant site and were starting to worry that our good luck was starting to run out. So far we have been able to stay at our first choice without having made a single booking during peak season. Again good luck was on our side and we were offered a site for one night.

Relieved we started to set up camp and come to terms with what the Bear Locker was all about. It was clearly explained that all food, toiletries, ice boxes and anything with a scent needed to be secured in the Bear Locker each night - we were in bear country! Bears had been sighted, and were around the camp late at night and in the early hours of the morning.

We were excited at the prospect of sighting a Black Bear - from a distance. When we woke the first morning we were entertained with stories of a large bear sniffing our neighbors through their tent wall. The camp host also reported that he had chased, "Knuckle Head" the baby bear from a picnic table in camp early in the morning. We were all hoping for a sighting! I was going to be on the hunt!