of scenting ability.
Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Years ago while involved in Search and Rescue I was introduced to tracking by a man named Jim Marshall. He cultivated in me an appreciation for awareness and personal space and the second nature to be always looking for indicators.
Today, one of my greatest joys is to find signs of animals passing through the wilderness and letting my imagination run wild with the back stories.
The discovery pictured above, along with a huge pile of hair laden scat, was heart rate elevating!
I searched for the perfect track to photograph and my mind raced with thoughts.
As a former bloodhound handler and instructor of scent theory, I’m well versed in the abilities of certain animals because of physiological makeup to be scenting machines.
Here I was in close proximity to one of the animals at the apex of this description…the grizzly bear. An animal purported to be able to scent 300 times more than a bloodhound.
This is the beauty of photography. Each time I look at this photograph I will remember the cold, the heightened awareness, the silence, and the joy that we felt when we saw it.
I had hoped to see elusive bear number TEN of the year but I’m okay with it not being this particular bear.
Was he watching? Very likely.
Was I? Always.
it's (almost always) about the water... 