No subject

trek into and through the Sycamore Canyon Wilderness Area, well to the =
southwest of Flagstaff, Arizona.  That's my home town, now swollen by =
incoming population, and a vast far cry from the "small town" of 5,000 =
in which I grew up.

The Trek depends on my physical health.  And When -- not If -- I do that =
great journey again, there will be family members with me.

But my most special place on the planet -- the Sycamore Wilderness -- =
remains very well intact.  Far more than the welcome Federal  wilderness =
protection it received some decades ago, its security is maintained by =
its extraordinary geological/geographic ruggedness.  As it cuts down =
from the high elevations of the Colorado plateau into intermediate and =
scrub semi-desert, it encompasses almost thirty miles of cliffs and =
vasty side canyons with their own hidden worlds and a virtually infinite =
array of Wonders: a wide variety of "animal life," trees of many sorts, =
ancient Native ruins, enormous and far-reaching white-rock and red-rock =
vistas, here and there clear springs of mountain-origin water -- and its =
own Sycamore Creek, cutting ever deeper and deeper with fine artistry as =
the eons proceed.

I still know of no human being in relatively contemporary times who has =
traveled the length of the Canyon as did I, myself, as a 21 year old in =
the spring of 1955.  There has, of course, been some human penetration =
in several areas but even that has been pretty much on the far lower, =
more accessible, and less challenging end.  No one else, at least as far =
as I know, has made the great junket.

One of the Entities much on mind at this point involves Grizzly bears. =
[A long time ago, a Coconino National Forest service veteran, Bob Legg, =
originally from the Tennessee mountains, commented to me that, "If there =
are any dinosaurs left on earth, they're down in Sycamore Canyon."  He, =
himself, never went all the way In, but his wise words remain with me.]

My own "Coming of Age Bear," shot with my old 30/30 Winchester down in =
the Canyon when I was an older teen, was an extremely large male black =
bear.  Its estimated live weight, based on the huge chunks of meat which =
we packed out and later ate in total, was about 650 pounds.  Its skull, =
with feathers added I should add, looks down at me from my little office =
wall at this very moment -- as it always has [with the sole exception of =
my Army years] wherever I've been.

Like most humans, Grizzlies are fond of beef and mutton.

There aren't supposed to be any Grizzlies left in the Southwest. The =
"authorities" feel they've been gone from that region -- and even from =
the Sierra Madre in Mexico -- since shortly before I was born.  In =
Arizona, the "last Grizzly" was supposed to have been "taken" by the =
great lion and bear hunter, Benjamin Lilly, in the Blue River/Bear =
Mountain region [where I was very pleasantly isolated in a 'way up USFS =
fire lookout in the summer of 1960, [Significantly, Mr Lilly did not =
claim that his was "the last." ] Then the "last" was trapped by a =
government man on Escudilla Mountain, north of Alpine Arizona and not =
far from the Bear Mountain region to the south.

Finally, Jack Tooker [with whom my father had some contact when Mr =
Tooker was living in his older years down in Durango [Mexico], killed =
the "last Grizzly family" -- male and female and two cubs -- in the =
upper reaches of Sycamore Canyon.

So the last Southwestern Grizzlies are supposed to be gone, gone forever =
down the River of No Return, into misty legendry [sort of like Shane =
riding off into the Tetons -- and probably into Idaho and eventual =
oblivion -- to the music, "Call of the Far-Away Hills,"]

But I know different.

There has recently been widely recognized tangible evidence that =
Grizzlies are in the rugged mountains -- the San Juans and environs -- =
in southwestern Colorado in the general Four Corners region.  I have =
heard reliable reports of Grizzly sign in the Lukachuckai Mountains, =
just north of Tsaile [Say Lee] in the northeastern portion of Navajo =
Nation [not all that far from Four Corners.]  For religious reasons, the =
Navajo themselves do not kill any bears.

And I am quite sure there are Grizzlies in Sycamore.  I have never seen =
any down in there -- but this is what I have seen, and it is [to any =
experienced bear hunter ] quite relevant:  During my long, down-in trek =
in 1955, in one of the most "innard" and remote sections of the =
pervasively remote Great Canyon Wonder, with deep side canyons aplenty,  =
I saw extremely large and fairly fresh bear tracks in the mud along =
Sycamore Creek.  I looked at the Sycamore trees and noted fresh claw =
marks, at least eight feet up.  None of this fit black bears.  This-all =
is clear Grizzly sign.

Although I had my trusty 30/30 Winchester in hand, I knew I could never, =
save in the most critical self-defense situation, kill a Grizzly.

I spent a good while at that Grizzly-sign site.  I checked the mouths of =
a couple of the vastier side canyons coming down at that point. I think =
I know the one where the Grizzlies may still be.

And not very far down-canyon from all of that, I heard a crashing in the =
brush on the other side of Sycamore Creek.  I froze, waited.  It was a =
huge jet black big-horned Spanish bull -- possibly with a genealogy that =
went back into the late 1700s and the era of scattered [and now long =
"lost"] Spanish gold mines.  His right hind leg [as he came toward me] =
was very badly crippled and there were long claw-mark scars thereon.  He =
drank from the creek and, when he was finished, I asked "How are you =
doing, today?"  He looked directly at me for a long moment -- I am sure =
he'd never seen another human before -- and turned and plunged back into =
the brush, almost immediately out of sight.

What crippled and scarred this amazing Entity -- huge and tough in its =
own right? Something with tremendous strength and lusty meat-hunger. Not =
a black bear, in all likelihood.  Maybe a mountain lion -- but it would =
have to be a very large one.  The other possibility is obvious -- and, =
again, I wasn't all that far down the Canyon from the extremely large =
bear tracks and clawmarks and the large and deep-in-themselves and =
intriguing side canyons.

So I, at least, know They are down-in-there. Safe. As I've noted, there =
have been no reports of Grizzlies killed in Arizona since before I =
hatched. Up here, in Idaho and Montana and Wyoming with Federal =
protection, Grizzlies are coming back -- and fast.  Ranchers and those =
who would sacrifice Everything for their personal security, are upset.  =
But I and many others support the Grizzlies -- and the Timber Wolves as =
well.

Perhaps, back in the spring of 1955, a Great Grizzly watched the strange =
sight of a tall and husky kid,  Levi-clad with wide-brimmed hat and =
logger's boots, and with his pack and bedroll and a rifle, coming down =
the Canyon.

That was a very long time ago, but that kid -- now grown somewhat older =
-- just might, sooner or later and joined by some of his own kids and a =
few grandchildren -- might -- meet some of the comparable descendant =
family members of those Grizzlies of that spring-time, long ago.

In the mountains of Eastern Idaho

Hunter Bear


HUNTER GRAY  [HUNTER BEAR/JOHN R SALTER JR]   Mi'kmaq /St. Francis
Abenaki/St. Regis Mohawk
Protected by Na=B4shdo=B4i=B4ba=B4i=B4
 and Ohkwari'
=20
Check out our Hunterbear website Directory =
http://hunterbear.org/directory.htm
[The site is dedicated to our one-half Bobcat, Cloudy Gray:
http://hunterbear.org/cloudy_gray.htm
=20
See Sycamore Trek:   http://hunterbear.org/sycamore_trek.htm

And Coming of Age Memoir: =
http://hunterbear.org/coming%20of%20age%20[western%20memoir.%20htm.htm