Where but in Alaska would the first trail grooming report from the local cross-country ski association note a problem with a trail user that just might maul someone? Yes, look out, another Mama Grizzly is on the prowl in the 49th state. And this one, according to reports, is a real bear:
"Groomer John reported 2 inches of snow up on the Hillside Trails. He’s rolling it down to a half-inch -- starting that all important base development. He also reported a “Big A**” bear wandering around up there. Last report this morning he (the bear) was walking down (a trail named) Double Bubble."
Later reports from numerous people who crossed the animal's tracks on the Hillside indicated this one might be traveling with a smaller companion, which would make the animal a "her" and not a "he." Adult male bears are solitary animals. Only sows travel with cubs, which they have to protect from other bears, especially males, that would like to kill them. The danger posed to cubs by other bears is thought to be part of the reason sow grizzlies are aggressively protective.
I posted this because I just let my daughter's dog out to relieve herself, and in a few minutes she started making this weird whining sound I have never heard her make before. I quickly got up to let her in, and she damn near knocked me down getting back into the house.
I have no idea if what was scaring her was bear related, but I will say that Hillside Park is just over a mile away, and that I have had a bear in my yard in the past. (My backyard is only few feet away from the wooded area behind my house.)
Sometimes people ask me if I am ever afraid to take on Sarah Palin while living in Alaska. The answer is "Of course not!" There are far more dangerous things wandering around out there than Sarah "freaking" Palin.
She can call herself a "Mama Grizzly" all she wants, but she will NEVER be as terrifying as the real thing.
The real thing, which just might be prowling my neighborhood as we speak.
Now if you will excuse me I have to go comfort a quivering canine.
