Bear the Waiting

When Adam was a young boy, he and his father Keith were heavily into black bear hunting. Throughout the summer, Adam and Keith would drive 2 hours north of their home every weekend with barrels full of bait for the bear. Adam has been helping his father with the bear baiting for years, and he’s finally old enough to go on the hunt. This summer was Adam’s first chance at a Maine black bear.

He and his father woke up early Saturday morning as the sun crested the trees, with this day being the last day of baiting before the big hunt. Adam couldn’t contain his excitement. Adam, Keith and their good friend Cody packed their supplies in the truck and they headed north for their 2 hour drive. As the three traversed north, Adam could do nothing but think about this hunt. He has been hunting many times before, but he has never seen a black bear in the wild. The group pulled into the small village store to fuel up before heading up the fifteen mile dirt road to the camp. Upon arriving to camp, the boys get to work delivering bait to the already set barrels in the woods, while also grabbing the game camera’s memory cards. On the way back home, to map out their hunt, the group decides to loom through their pictures to determine where they will hunt. The pictures looked promising, and the bear were coming out at a hunt-able time of day. Adam knew this hunt would be perfect.

After Adam’s last week of summer vacation, He and his father start packing for their big hunt. They pack all the essentials; Rifles and Ammo, lanterns, food and water, and camping gear. They plan to hunt Saturday, as this is the only day Adam can hunt because school starts the Monday after. Adam, Keith and Cody start their drive up to camp Friday night. They once again stop at the village store to get last minute supplies. Once at camp, the three get everything set up and get for bed. Adam can hardly sleep, He’s excited for this hunt like a dog is excited to play outside.

Early the next morning, Adam wakes up well before sunrise, and starts getting dressed. Keith and Cody wake up as well, and start cooking breakfast before preparing for the big hunt. After breakfast, the group sets out to their tree stands just before sunrise to start their morning hunt. Adam sits in his own tree stand for the first time in his life. He can’t help but notice how tranquil the woods are. As Adam sits and waits, he remembers something his father had told him from his days of hunting black bear. Black bear don’t make noise in the woods, their feet act like snowshoes to leave less of a “footprint” on the ground. Two hours go by, and Adam has heard nothing but red squirrels and birds, and he begins getting frustrated. He starts to pay less attention, and starts being a little louder and more sudden with his movements. While Adam wasn’t paying attention, a black bear had started sneaking up towards the bait barrel. Adam being impatient and bored, didn’t notice the bear, and continued to pay little attention. Just then, the bear noticed Adam before Adam noticed the bear. Adam heard a crash, and quickly looked up to see the bear running away like a cheetah. Adam couldn’t believe his eyes, He had just blown his only chance of shooting a bear.

Adam sat there, in silence. He couldn’t believe he blew it. Adam had no idea what he was going to tell his father, does he even tell his father? Adam decides he needs to own up to and learn from his mistakes. An hour later with seeing nothing more than just squirrels, Adam climbs down and meets his father, and tells him the story of the bear that got away. His father giggles at him, which Adam isn’t expecting. Keith tells Adam that hunting isn’t all about gathering. Hunting is about patience and luck. Dispite being surprised at what his father said, Adam just nods his head and heads back to the truck. Adam has one more chance at a bear at dusk.

After a nice lunch, the boys head out for their final hunt. Upon arriving to his tree stand, Adam is making sure he is prepared for every possible situation. While in the stand, Adam sat and waited patiently; just as his father had told him. Adam listened vigorously, and kept his sudden movements to a minimum, and make sure he was laser focused while in the woods. Another forty five minutes go by and Adam is still sitting, and still waiting. The sun starts to dive over the trees and the woods start to glow with a warm shade of gold. Adam knows his time in the woods is coming to a close, so something needs to happen soon. Just then, Adam notices some movement in the bushes in front of him, and out steps the most perfect example of a Maine black bear. Adam is speechless, but knows he needs to finish the job. With the bear meandering at around 80 yards, Adam needs to take his time and land a decent shot. Luckily, Adam had done a good job at keeping quiet, so the bear in front of him is not aware of his presence . Adam took all the time he could to make the perfect shot, and Boom. Adam looks around confused, waiting for the smoke to clear. Had he hit it? Did he completely miss? Adam climbs his way down the tree stand, praying to God that he can find any sign of a wounded bear, He picks his head up and Bam! The bear a laying dead twenty five yards from where the initial shot was taken. Adam had done it, with twenty minutes of sunlight left, he did it. He instantly trots back towards where his father was sitting, smiling ear to ear. Adam couldn’t wait to tell his father every detail. Keith was beyond excited for him, and reminds him that his patience and determination was the reason for this lifelong memory.

“October 2006 bear hunting” by Cowgirl Jules is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.