May 25, 2015 – A Bear at Campsite 38

Memorial Day

I always figured that Sunday was the busiest day here in Big Creek with family and church groups arriving for picnics. But Memorial Day beat any Sunday we have seen. Cars were already filling the picnic area as we walked to the campground for our morning walk-around. We met Baby Arya hiking down the campground road. Each time her dad took a step, her little legs kicked straight out.

Just a few steps further along, the nurse in Site 8 met us to tell us what happened in the campground last night. The groups in Site 10 and 11 were both drinking and partying into the night. There was also a visitor in Site 10. About 0200, an argument broke out and a young woman stormed out and spun gravel all the way out of the parking lot and part way down the campground road before she hit one of the boulders lining the side of the road. The nurse checked on her. She had hit her head and her vehicle was atop a boulder with both rear wheels off the ground. The nurse told us that the woman was very drunk so she took her keys to prevent her from driving any more. Of course, from the picture she showed us, I’m sure she was not going anywhere. Apparently the trash truck pulled her off the rock this morning. The young men in Site 11 were gone and the group in Site 10 were packing up. I took a picture of the tire tracks leading off the edge of the road, but it did not show up well. The big casualty in the incident was the no-parking sign, the Post was broken and the sign was laying in the woods.

 

I was in the parking lot about 1000 when a parade of 15 or 20 cars drove up Big Creek Road and into the parking lot. I was directing them, one at a time, to park in the horse camp day-use lot. One vehicle stopped to off-load coolers and the woman asked me if there were any camp sites available. She saw that all the picnic tables were taken. We have not had much rain here in a few weeks and all those cars and trucks were stirring up dust. They reloaded the coolers and someone was sent to the horse camp to get the ones who had already gone there. There was still a steady stream of cars arriving. Andy and Spence stationed themselves near the entrance to our site and told people to go to the horse camp.

One of them apparently thought he saw an empty spot and entered the one-way loop the wrong way. He got around to where I was standing and made a quick stop and a three-point turn to go the correct way.

Andy and Spence continued directing traffic while I walked down to the horse camp to assess the situation there. There were three spaces left, which filled up as I counted them. Boss Larry came by and said I could tell people to park in the band of grass on the perimeter of the lot. Spence was not too happy to hear that; he takes care of that grass.

I noticed a horse trailer in the midst of the cars. They had all parked to close to it that the horse owners would not be able to open the doors to load their horses. Even if they could load them, they could not drive out.

  

A couple drove in with a large dog. Andy told them they could not take it on the trail and offered my services as a dog sitter. His name is Butch and he is a brute; a mix of boxer and English Bulldog. He is also a very well behaved sweetie.

I took my book, a mug of iced tea, and a park radio with me and sat with Butch under a tree. He fell in love with me right away, after I fed him bits of a cheese stick. Andy returned about 1430 and quickly fell asleep. Butch did the same.

Spence arrived about 1500 for a cold drink and a break. He said he had cleaned all the toilet buildings twice today. We saw two horses come down the trail and Spence jumped up to tell him that he might still be blocked in at the parking lot.

They went on to the parking area and were still blocked in. They rode back to our site and the man was furious. What kind of idiot would block a horse trailer like that? Or, words to that effect. Andy got on the Gator with Spence and they all went back to the horse camp to wait for the idiot. Andy told me later that Spence had the couple laughing with his antics in short order. They were calm when the very nice people arrived and apologized to Spence who said, “Don’t apologize to me; apologize to them”. They just were not thinking. They moved their car and the horseman was able to back his trailer out to load the horses.

Spence had parked his Gator near the toilet building he was cleaning as we walked up to the campground in the afternoon.

We walked out onto the bridge after our campground walk in the evening. A family was washing their dog in the creek. He was covered in lather. They were with a big Spanish-speaking group. We were too tired to deal with it. I don’t think they spoke English anyway.

Finally, in the evening the madness calmed down. Spence went home and we went to the motorhome. It was just about dark when I invited Andy on a walk to the dumpster in the parking lot. It was such a beautiful evening so I suggested that we walk out on the bridge after I tossed the trash bag in. We saw a light across the creek. My first thought was that we had illegal campers over there, but the bobbing light came across the bridge toward us.

Two young women had been on a backcountry hike for a few days and had arrived at Campsite 38 on Mount Sterling today. They were eating when a medium sized bear rushed in and snatched Rachel’s pack. It carried it into the woods and then came back for more. Apparently the bear was not afraid of people and reared up on its hind legs and roared at them. Rachel assured us that she probably screamed much louder. The bear did leave, probably with a headache. Rachel and Jessica were terrified as well as all the other campers there. Everyone decided to leave. Rachel and Jessica ran down the steep, six-mile Baxter Creek Trail until it was too dark to go fast. They were still excited and exhausted when they crossed the bridge and ran into us.

I called dispatch to report the incident and we brought the women back to Sao. It was a bit too much excitement for all of us. I offered them something to drink while they told the story. Here they are a bit more relaxed, Jessica on the left and Rachel on the right.

 

We told them that we have heard rangers or wildlife people on the radio who escorted campers back to the scene of bear incidents. Rachel was anxious to get the top part of her pack, which had her cell phone, camera and wallet in it. She had managed to pick up some clothing and her sleeping bag and stuffed them into a mesh sack. It was very difficult to carry it slung over her shoulder while running down a mountain.

 

They wanted to stay to get her valuables, but were not anxious to sleep outside in bear country and more. We offered them our hide-a-bed and they readily accepted. They were especially happy to take hot showers. They hopped on the hide-a-bed and Rachel sighed, “bear proof”. 

On the radio

A Ranger called dispatch for a car on the side of the road that had run out of gas. Butler’s Towing was called to bring her some. Later the ranger called in again to say that the woman who was delivered the gas took off without paying for it. She did not have the cash to pay the man so she supposedly following the tow truck to Townsend, Tennessee to pay with a credit card. She dropped back and the truck driver lost sight of her in his rear view mirror on the curves. He pulled over in a pull-off to wait for her to catch up. Then he turned around to look for her and she was nowhere to be found. There are only so many places to hide in the park. About half an hour later, another ranger called in to say he was following the car in the back loop of a campground; then he pulled her over.  They arrested the woman and called the tow truck company to come impound the car.

An 83-year-old woman fell at Newfound Gap. She hit her head on the left side and had abrasions on left knee. She was coherent.