Message from the Bear

Finally, here in the southwest of the US, we are starting our monsoon season, when typically we get showers in the afternoons.  Because of that, when I hike in the mountains, I like to get an early start to avoid getting wet!  Lightening can also be an issue at the higher elevations.

Today, I hiked a trail that I visit several times each summer.  It is very secluded, so much so that I have only encountered other hikers once.  It is a great trail for wildflowers and the occasional wildlife sighting. 

I had gotten down the trail about 2 miles when I looked down and saw what I thought was a human footprint.  My immediate reaction was “What is someone doing out here hiking in their bare feet!?”  Well, these were not human feet, they were bear feet!  I see them so rarely that they always take me by surprise.  When I lived in Colorado, I had a bear encounter every few years or so, seeing one on a trail.  Here in Utah, this was my first indicator that they were around.   

Below is the front foot print.

Here is the hind foot print. 

On this trail, there were many prints of several different sizes, all heading down the trail in the direction that I was going. I am assuming that they were of one or 2 adults and 1 or 2 cubs.  A family!  It had rained there the previous afternoon or evening, and those tracks were laid down after the rain, within the last 12 hours.  I stopped at that point, took several photos, and headed back to the trailhead.  Of course, I also made a lot of noise so that the bears would know that I was there if they were still in the area. 

When an animal, bird, lizard or fish appears to you in an unusual place or doing something unusual, they are trying to give you a message.  Bear is a very powerful totem.  When I got home, I looked up the meaning of bear medicine.  It is “awakening the power of the unconscious”.  It teaches you to go deep within so that you can make decisions from a place of power. 

Before I turned back on the trail, I stood on those foot prints and absorbed all of that bear energy.  It was very grounding, solid and powerful.  Thank you bear!!!