Going on a Bear Hunt

Even hiking up Baker's Knob, I knew in my heart that I expected to just happen upon a bear.  I pictured myself coming around a bend quietly enough to see one sitting on its rump, tearing into a log, stuffing its happy face with crawling things.  If it was that easy, I'd have seen hundreds of bears by this point in my life.  I knew what to look for, but not where to look for it.  The best way to make discoveries is to explore.

No, this story does not end with me happening upon a bear, but wouldn't that be some pleasant irony?  Birds and insects are everywhere, so we see them all the time; we feel mammals should be the same.  Mammals, however, are secretive.  To track an animal is to become that animal--imagine its footfalls, dream its intentions, see what it saw.  "Tracking" misleads beginners, I think, since it seems to imply exactly what you should be looking for: tracks.  However, oftentimes tracks are impossible to see because of leaf litter, moss, or just dry soil.  It isn't always muddy or snowy.  Some other things you can look for include scat (poop), markings on trees, burrows, trails, and a variety of other things depending on species.  You'll find that once you really become mindful of nature's details, you begin to see signs everywhere.  Literally, everywhere, to the point that you may need to reel yourself in because you imagine signs that aren't really there.  I didn't give up looking for bears, but I saw no definite signs today.  Here are some photos (captions included) of what I did find.

(Note: all of these photos were taken within a three-quarter mile area on preserve property.)

Owl pellet, complete with thigh bone of a small rodent.

I suspect that there are two different types of scat in this photo.  The white scat is older, the dark scat newer. However, based on size (length and diameter), I'm inclined to say the white scat is coyote and the dark is fox.  Notice the amount of fur in this scat--these doggies are eating well!

Torn log.  I found some that were from woodpeckers (thus misleading, because they can appear similar until closer inspection), but because of the claw marks, I say mammal.  I'm afraid to say bear because of the thinness of the claw marks, but if you have an idea, please let me know.  Sometimes raccoons will tear, too, but not as often.

The sun going down across the valley (and my awesome binoculars).