Bear attack in Yellowstone...pay attention, John

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The hip seems better after taking a day off and so I decided an easy run was in order. It had been in the 90’s all day and was extremely humid. I went to Best Buy for my 5 p.m. appointment to have the CD player in the Honda fixed. A week earlier, it had decided not to eject my ‘Dances with Wolves’ CD and I was getting tired of it and thinking I didn’t want to listen to it for the 16 hours I would be on the road to and from the Adirondacks.

I arrived on time, but Bob announced that he was still trying to get to his 2 p.m. install…not a good sign. “How about I go for a run and come back around 6 p.m.?” I suggested. He thought that was a great idea.

I arrived at the park to a light rain…and massive humidity. I started the run feeling really good, but the sweat was pouring off and I figured it was only a matter of time before I was forced to slow. It finally happened around the 30-minute mark, but I didn’t care. My shoes were full of sweat at this point and I had to keep hiking up my shorts, which tend to want to run down below my hips once they’re totally saturated. I wanted to dunk myself in the creek, but was running short on time since I was supposed to return to Best Buy and repairman Bob.

Bob got the CD player fixed and I returned home to continue camping preparations. Picking the food to feed three people for four days is the toughest chore. I have to get everything into two bear canisters, which means not too much variety. I go for the things I like best and hope the others eat it, too. They will if they’re hungry enough. I had read another report of a bear attack in Yellowstone yesterday, with the resulting death of one camper and injuries to two others. The bear escaped and at this point officials are uncertain as to whether it was one or more or the type. I suspect once they do the DNA from the victims, they will find it was one bear and a grizzly. All three were attacked through their tents while sleeping and none stored food improperly or cooked it near their campsite (the lingering aroma often brings bears into a site to investigate. In grizzly country, you should prepare food 100 yards from your sleeping area and never wear the clothes you cooked or ate in into your sleeping area. Good advice for black bears as well, though I seldom follow it.

I’ve go some aggressive hiking planned for the trip and might just take another day off before leaving. After all, I ain’t getting any younger and I don’t want to run out of steam while there.

Run duration: 43 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 140.
Calories burned during workout: 730.