re: Since bears have been in the news lately. Have you ever seen one

Last year we went to Yellowstone and hiked Slough Creek. A big black bear came out of the forest pretty close to the trail. It caught wind of us and bolted back into the forest before I could snap a good pic.

Same trip in the Tetons we took a boat across Jenny Lake to hike Cascade Canyon, and basically right as we got off the boat, we came across this one munching on some leaves:










Also last year, we went on the little hike by the GSMNP visitor center. We were the only ones on the trail, and came up on about 7 or 8 bears grazing the forest. 3 or 4 babies, 3 or 4 adults. They got pretty damn close to us but they didn't pay us too much attention. Was really cool.















Also on that same trip we were hiking the Abrams Falls trail, and came up on a big black bear munching on some leaves. Watched it for several minutes until it moved on. Was really cool. Got some pretty good shots: