Site Title

Trying to get close to deer is one thing. There were some animals in that forest that it was wiser not to get close to, and others who thought it might be good to get close to us. Bears were in the first category – we were afraid of them – and luckily not in the second category.

 One camper went off by himself, and just about bumped into a bear. Terrified, he ran away. Terrified, the bear ran the other way. When the kid stopped running he was seriously lost. When the camp noticed he was gone, there was a huge search. There was even a helicopter. He was located and rescued the next day. (How this played out for the bear we never knew. But definitely no helicopter.)

 I didn't see bears there myself, but sometimes we saw bear signs. Once when we went on an overnight hike, a bear dropped by, removed a locked cabinet from a tree where it had been hung, tore it open, and ate our cornflakes. I was astonished, since I had a low opinion of cornflakes. Why bother?

Other animals were more willing to get close to campers. A certain chipmunk commandeered a camper's sleeping bag, probably because the camper was storing quasi-illicit candy and snacks in there. The stuffing also pulled out well and quickly made up into a splendid chipmunk bed.

 When the camper got in her bag and discovered the chipmunk, the chipmunk did not flee. It was willing to share. But when the camper attempted to evict the chipmunk, the chipmunk was annoyed, and bit, and we all found out about the whole sordid story, and rabies shots were insisted on. 

Have I mentioned what a great camp this was? There were wild animals, and there was drama.