Looking for a bear

So today, I went into the mountain with the sole purpose of seeking out and photographing a bear.  I used my newfound bravery and took the Ranger all the way up to the cabin.  Dad told me to be careful as the road was rough due to the recent flash flood… well, dad was wrong…. the road wasn’t rough as there wasn’t a road… multiple ditches with huge rocks bursting through the ground… it was an arduous and dangerous trip, but I took it slow and tried to maneuver it the way I thought Dad would.  I was really surprised when I saw the cabin.  It has a covered porch which fronts the cabin on the east side.  Inside, there is a wood stove, couch, bunk-beds, two recliners, a table and chairs and a full-size gas stove that will run on propane.  It is quite a little getaway… So, after photographing the marks on the apple tree that were obviously claw marks and judging from the size, it’s a very safe bet that it’s a bear, I made my way around the outside of the cabin.  The place was quiet and very, very secluded.  Since there was no bear at or around the cabin, I went behind and started down the road at the northwest corner of the “yard”.  As I started down, i took note of the steepness of it and though it was quite steep, I side-stepped a lot and thought only fleetingly of walking back up (BIG mistake), and made it to a place that opened up to something you read about in story books… i expected, instead of a hundred years old apple orchard, to see a castle…  I can’t explain it but I felt like I was anywhere and everywhere… like I was going a thousand places just by standing in that perfect place… it was amazing, it was beautiful…  and I want very badly to go back…  but I want to hike to the orchard from the barn because that hill back to the cabin, the one I said was steep…?   Well, that hill is a killer.  I had to stop four times just to keep myself from falling from sheer muscle fatigue.  I knew, without a doubt, that if the bear decided at that moment that this hard-breathing, sweating humanesque creature looked tasty, I was toast… as I was just barely making it.  I remember saying, when the cabin came into view, “Praise Mary and all the Saints”.  It was the first time in a long time that I was so near exhaustion, I wanted to cry… gonna walk on that hill (in moderation, mind you) till I can do it in one sweep.  I thought of Dad while I was huffing and puffing my way up that incline…  I thought, Dad will say “what, that hill?  Why I’ve walked that hill dozens of times”.  Guess what he said when I got home..?  yep lol.  I love good surprises, but at the same time, i find comfort in predictability…