What Does a Bear Do in the Woods?

A canyon rim hike along the Kenai River with six kids and six adults is quite a procession. We made enough noise to alert anyone and everything to our approach. Luke still brought the bear gun.

So no kidding, there we are—we look down and see bear claw scratch marks on the rocks. All along the trail.

Then we come upon bear poo. Fresh. And a half-eaten salmon, complete with gouged-out flesh, well away from the river.

Luke caught two fish using nothing but junk his kids found along the trail, and the rest of us thought, “if it’s a good place for YOU to catch fish, it’s also a good place for other critters to catch fish…”

Chris heard a growl and murmur just beneath the rocks under our feet. Thankfully, it was only a boat of rafters on the river below.

So—anticlimactically—we saw no grizzly, but at least we know now what exactly a bear does in the woods!