I knew it would be an excellent day as I pedaled my Surly Long Haul Trucker bicycle through gravel, grass and sand along Canal Trail at Dismal Swamp State Park, North Carolina, on June 17, 2024.
The morning sun filtered through the green canopy above me. White-tailed Deer grazed beside the trail and leaped into the woods at my approach. Cotton-tailed Rabbits hopped from the path and Eastern Gray Squirrels scampered up trees. Flashes of red crossed my path as Northern Cardinals and a Pileated Woodpecker took flight. I hoped to spot an American Black Bear.
I encountered American Black Bears on almost 40% of my previous rides at Dismal Swamp State Park. Most I saw at a distance, a couple hundred feet, or more than a half a football field away. One I saw close-up as I turned a corner. There stood a bear. It ran into the brush as soon as it saw me.
Another time, a cub stepped from the brush and onto the trail just in front of me. It dashed back into the brush. I glanced up and saw a second cub on the trunk of an oak tree. On this ride, I scanned the woods beside me and the trail ahead of me for a bear.
As I pedaled east on Kim Saunders Trail, near the 4-mile marker, I spotted an American Black Bear a few hundred feet distant, sauntering along the trail, sniffing here and there. It moved away from me. I stopped riding so I could watch it. It was too far for a photograph. I started pedaling toward it to close the gap before it saw me.
I stopped, straddled my bike, slipped my camera from its case, pushed the power button, aimed at the bear, but by that time it was too far away again. It kept moving when I stopped. I returned my camera to its case and started pedaling again to close the gap. I’m trying to get closer to a bear, I thought. Should I be doing this?
I narrowed the gap, straddled my bike, got my camera ready, and aimed at the bear. It kept moving, but I took a few photographs, anyway. I put my camera away and started pedaling toward the bear. It still hadn’t seen me. It stepped off the trail. A canal parallels the trail. The bear stopped between the trail and the canal. I continued pedaling slowly. The sound of an animal crashing through the brush startled me and I raced forward. I didn’t see the bear, but it was right there beside the trail frightened by my approach.
An hour later, on the same trail but pedaling east near the 1-mile marker, I spotted a bear lumbering along the trail coming toward me. I stopped. It sniffed the ground, walked from one side of the trail to another and sampled leaves. I got my camera ready, focused on the bear and took some pictures.
The bear continued its slow lumber toward me. I thought it looked at me through its brown eyes, its mouth agape, but it kept coming. I snapped more photographs, but most were blurry because I trembled a bit.
Finally, I blew the whistle I always carry on rides. I thought the bear looked right at me. I started to focus on it again and suddenly it ran into the woods. It saw me or recognized me as something unsafe.
That encounter with a beautiful American Black Bear excited me and made my bicycle ride extra special. I had a premonition that it would be an excellent ride that day at Dismal Swamp State Park, always a great place to ride.
Love this photo!
Thank you, Dorie.