Maroon Bells - The most photographed mountains in the US

Maroon Bells are the most photographed mountains in the US - and it is easy to see why. We spent the day hiking, first around Maroon Lake and then up (and I mean UP) to Crater Lake.

Maroon Bells with Maroon Lake in the foreground

Maroon Bells with Crater Lake in the foreground

Now I can't move a muscle, everything hurts - but it was worth every ache and pain. Not only did we see some of the most beautiful scenery in the world but most exciting of all - we saw a bear.

Our bear

Actually we saw two bears, or maybe it was the same bear twice, it was hard to tell. The first time we only caught a glimpse of him through the trees but an hour or so later we saw him again. He was about 30 metres (yards) off the track, eating some vegetation.

We stood and watched him for ten minutes or so until we decided we had pushed our luck long enough and headed back down the trail. We have read and heard so many warnings about not getting too close to bears that it made the whole encounter fairly nerve wracking. D was convinced we could outrun him if we had to. For an astute, intelligent person, D can be amazingly naive at times. It turns out that black bears can reach speeds of 35 mph.


                                         
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For the next post is this series click - here

For all my posts on this road trip click - here


9 June 2013