The Maine Women's Journal - Fall 2007

I was screaming at the top of my lungs standing in my t-shirt, underpants and moccasins. He wouldn't leave. My dog had never seen me acting so crazed.

I want to share with all of you my experience with a black bear August 2003 on Umbagog Lake.

It was a women's canoeing weekend with Mahoosuc Guide Service starting on a Friday afternoon and going through Sunday afternoon. There were 11 women on the trip with clients aging mid 50's to late 70's, myself and a 21 year old, very capable co-guide.

We met at Mahoosuc did final packing of gear into dry bags and loaded in the van and headed up the road 12 miles to the start of our adventure. There was a lot of chitchat on the way up as people were getting to know each other and there were many questions of anticipation and excitement. One of the woman asked me if I ever see bears and I said, "Very rarely and if you do it is a real gift!"

We had our paddling instruction, loaded canoes and paddled to the north end of Big Island and our campsite for the night. We had a delicious dinner of fried salmon fillets and many other goodies topped off with strawberry shortcake and whipped cream. The shortcake baked by the reflector oven set by the campfire. After dinner we all sat and visited and told stories and then went to bed with full bellies happy to be out on this beautiful lake lulled to sleep by calling loons.

Ashirah, my co-guide, Diane, my extra helper and I shared a tent set up close to the picnic table, food and fire ring. My chosen sled dog for the trip, Murphy, was tied close to the food and tent for extra protection to warn us of animals or scare away squirrels.

I was awaken at 1 a.m. by the sound of ripping canvas outside my tent. I shot upright from my sleeping bag and shone my headlamp out the door into the eyes of what at first I thought would be a raccoon. I soon realized it was too big and the eyes too far apart for a racoon. It was a big black bear staring straight back at me only 4 feet from my tent.

I quickly woke up my tent mates exclaiming, "You guys, it's a bear! Right outside our tent!" as I pulled on my moccasins and ran outside the tent yelling and running at the bear. He retreated behind a big pine tree only 25 feet away then would slowly peak his head around the tree and look at me. I quickly got some pots and pans from the picnic table and banged them together and charged towards the bear and tree again thinking he would run away. No luck! He did the same thing peeking out from behind the tree with very human like movements. It felt like a person wearing a bear suit. Then I thought I'll try running at him with Murphy, my dog, to see if he would scare him. So I had Murphy on a leash in one hand, banging pots with both hands and yelling at the top of my lungs. The bear came out from behind the tree but would retreat when I ran at him screaming. Murphy of course was scared to death of me never witnessing such behavior from me in his life and was trying to get away. When I found this wasn't working I thought I'd ask my co-guide if she had any ideas since she had been apprenticing with a well known Maine guide and hunter for 6 years. Ashirah stands about 4'11" has a very quiet, self assured and peaceful manner about her. When I asked her opinion of ideas of what to do she stood and thought for what seemed like 5 minutes but probably was 5 seconds and said, "No, I really don't know, that bear really isn't afraid." Meanwhile all the women are awake yelling, "What is going on out there?" I am yelling back, "Stay in your tents!" not wanting anyone to have any encounters with the bear.

Since Ashirah didn't have any ideas I thought I better continue my aggressive protest to the bear and try to get it to leave us and our food alone. So I once again chased the bear away to around the tree but this time he came back out at me standing up on his hind legs waving his head back and forth and growling at me. There I stood only 10 feet away yelling with a very primeval scream, banging pots with Murphy freaking out trying to get away, standing in my t-shirt, underpants and moccasins with my adrenalin running full speed, women yelling, "Bear! Oh my gosh! Help us!" After we stood there staring at each other, him growling and me screaming, I think we had the same thought at the same time: I was thinking he could get me in a split second with one swipe of his front paw, what am I, nuts? He was thinking this is a crazed woman who is going to attack me. So at the same second we both retreated.

Meanwhile Ashirah and Diane had loaded a canoe in the water and were putting our food in it to float it and get it away from camp. The bear had been watching this over my shoulder so decided to circle around the camp to go for the canoe, passing right by a couple of women's tents. I was still yelling for people to stay in their tents not wanting anyone to get hurt. He was obviously after our food. One woman was alone in her tent and feeling very nervous. She heard her water bottle bang on the tree outside her tent as the bear's back hit it as he walked by. She was beside herself, yelling, "Polly, help! Save me, bear, bear!" I'm yelling, "Stay in your tent!" and she climbs out just at the moment the bear is at her tent door. Luckily the bear was intent on getting to the food in the canoe. So she yells, "He is at my tent!" as she crawls by his huge jet black gleaming body which she could have touched. Luckily and thankfully the bear decided to head off on the island and leave us be.

Of course there was quite a commotion in camp so after the bear left I asked if anyone had food in their tents. A couple women with their tent set up farthest away exclaimed they had an apple but were afraid to come out because they could hear the bear walking in the woods close by so Ashirah went to get it.

My Mom (in her early 70's) was on the trip with a good friend and regular client of ours. Apparently before the bear had awaken me he had untied our pack basket liner and had pulled out the cookies and plums and taken them and eaten them right outside their tent. They had been laying in there awake and afraid and wondering what to do. My Mom had whispered to her friend, "I don't know about you but I'm putting my shoes on!" After the bear left some women moved their tents in closer to ours to feel more secure.

Now we had to figure out how to hang our food in case he decided to come back. I am looking and looking for big enough branches, but without any luck, and still shocked at what just happened. Then much to my surprise I see Ashirah shimmying up a tree in her bare feet, t-shirt and underpants. She is a good 30 feet up with a rope in her mouth and a small piece of rope around her feet gripping the outside of the tree with every step up. Ashirah and her husband have lived in various types of shelters for years without running water or electricity. I said, "Wow, Ashirah, how did you know how to do that?" She said, "I saw it on TV once about 7 years ago on Discovery Channel." That cracked me up hearing that from someone who would never think of watching TV and we are laughing away at 1 a.m.! She said, "Don't make me laugh, I might fall!" It was such a release and relief to laugh at such a moment.

We hung our food and went to bed and everyone else seemed to pass quickly to sleep but I stayed on alert all night with every little noise causing my ears to perk up. The bear didn't come back that night. The next morning it was amazing to see where he had been and the remnants of our cookie wrappers. Ashirah and I talked a lot about the night and decided if it happened again we would make a big campfire right away to scare it from our camp.

We moved on to our next campsite the next day as planned, hung our food before bed and had a lovely weekend.

On Sunday we met a game warden and told him of our encounter and he said, "Oh yes, we know that bear. He has been going to sites every night and stealing food, coolers, etc. for about a month. We are trying to live trap him to take him to central NH." So that is my bear story that totally bonded our group and will be in our memories forever. It was a very special experience. Although that bear was hungry for our food I feel he taught me a lot about courage and tenacity and I thank him or her for that.

Respectfully,

Polly Mahoney

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