Bear Down!

Spring time means bear hunting. This spring was no different. This is my third year trying to get a bear. Turns out it was my lucky year. The picture below is the country we were hunting. It is steep, rugged and very pretty. No fourwheelers, no pickups, just as far as your own two legs can take you.
This is a picture of my hunting buddy's father in law and myself. He used to own a hunting lodge near here and guided for steelhead and bears. He was gracious enough to take Casey and I out on this hunt. He is 72 years old and climbed the hills like he was 20 (I was going to say 30, but he outhiked my butt!) Just in case anyone is wondering, I'm the one on the right. We hiked for a couple of hours and finally got to the top of the mountain. We glassed for about a half hour and finally found a bear. Casey and I both shot once and both missed. The bear ran into the trees for a minute, but came out into another clearing. I fired my second shot at 458 yards and the bear dropped in its tracks. This is Casey and I admiring our bear.

When the bear went down it actually ended up rolling down the hill about 300 yards. This forced us to hike out using a different route than when we came in. We soon realized this new path would require us to cross a creek. That made for some interesting moments. I thought for sure someone was going to go for a swim. This picture doesn't really do the creek justice. It was running VERY fast.

We finally got back to the boat and called it a day. The bear is at the taxidermist right now. I'm going to do a rug mount and hang it in the living room. (Just kidding Athena) I had a great time. I was able to hunt with my brother for two days and really enjoyed his company. I got my bear the third day and saw even more beautiful country on the fourth day. Overall it was an excellent weekend.