Bear Bait

I drove an hour up the north fork of the Coeur d’Alene River and then another hour up a dirt road to a little ATV track that would lead to my survey site, two kilometers away.

Around six, a truck pulled up with two guys in their twenties. The driver hung his arm out the window and almost ripped the door off on accident with all his muscles. He smiled and asked if it was okay if they backed in next to me. “I’ve got a bear bait up this ATV track.” 

Bread in a barrel about a mile up. They had walked in the night before around ten and there was a bear on the bait, but it ran off before they could shoot it. 

I told them I planned on walking up that ATV track at five the next morning to count birds. They wanted to know how far two kilometers was. Then they shrugged and started talking about birds.  

The driver wanted to know if I’d ever seen those little orange and yellow parakeets. Western Tanagers.

I told him I had. He seemed disappointed and said, “Oh, I thought I was going to help you win a competition or something by telling you about those birds.” 

As they sped off on their ATV, I thought, that’s so loud it will scare the bear off, and I don’t have to worry about it. But then I saw the big duffle bag they had -  they were planning on hiding out by the bait and waiting for dusk so they could shoot it when it came to feed.

All evening, I waited for the sound of gun shots. I was so anxious and depressed I couldn’t go to sleep. I opened and closed all five of my doors several times for several hours, played my audiobook loud, talked to myself, made as much noise as I could. If bears were in the area, maybe they would hear all my noise and go away. At ten thirty I heard the guys come back in their ATV and then drive off in their truck. Never heard a gun shot. 

Imagine walking up this ATV track at five AM knowing there's a barrel full of bread somewhere in the bushes. 

And then the track turns into this. 

This must have fallen off the back of their ATV. When I saw it in the track, I realized I wasn't to the barrel yet. 

At one point on the trail, I started to feel spider webs on my face and thought maybe that meant I had passed the barrel. Not sure. But I never saw anything, barrel or bear. 

On the drive out, I found this mess and blamed the bear bait guys - unfair, but c'mon, people.