a nice day on Mt. Washington

Hiked the Tuckerman Ravine Trail to summit of Mt. Washington on a steamy July day.

A black blob caught my eye as I glanced down one of the ski trails that cross the trail. Upon further inspection I found this young bear. She saw me but didn't run too far and stopped to check me out. She went up a tree, but only about 10' and stayed there watching me and just hung out for a long time.











After a while she came down and hung out with me. I stayed seated, trying to present a peaceful presence and she just watched me. At one point she layed down and rolled onto her back for a while. It was awesome...




As I sat with the bear I kept hearing a critter off to the north. As the bear finally walked off I wished her well because she hasn't been without her mama for long. I went to see the other critter...it was a baby raccoon...close cousin of the bear...very cool...so cute...




Tuckerman Ravine was beautiful...lots of flowers in bloom...

fireweed...





yellow avens...




painted cups ( or as I call them, alpine roses )...




violets...





robin's sandwort (right?)




mountain avens...





the summit had a nice breeze but the flowers in the ravine are awesome right now...

I was even treated to a nice cow moose in the notch on the ride home...




happy trails

Wow, what an epic photo day! Love the expressive first shot of the bear, and the raccoon is beyond cute. Great shots and patience!

Amazing. After my first up close experience with a black bear, the thing I remembered most, was how light their snouts are as compared to the rest of them. Thanks for sharing your ramblings with us!

This is great ! I love your posts. Do visit us more often, please

This captures such a cool experience for all of us! You are a master at your craft!

Thanks!

love it!

looks like you made a friend or 2, thanx for sharing these excellent pix!

Nice shots there, Patrick. Love the bear shots. Envious.

Excellent pics. All I ever seem to get is a shot of the south end of the animal while it heads north.

Moose whisperer masquerading as a Bear whisperer ITT!

You have a great knack for this. I'm surprised you haven't found work as a nature photographer (or have you??). I mean honestly, most people can't get animal shots like this. Amazing stuff.

Wonderful shots, Patrick. Good to see you back. You have the "knack" with wildlife.

Donna

I agree, amazing photo's thanks for sharing and keep them coming

Great pictures and descriptions of them. Thanks

Patrick, be patient and don't get discouraged. Just keep practicing and eventually you'll get the hang of this photography thing.

Once again, amazing photos! I love the shot of the bear with its tongue out.

Thanks!

Great pics!

w7xman said:

This captures such a cool experience for all of us! You are a master at your craft!

Click to expand...

Jim's comment pretty well says it all!

Thanks Patrick for photographically capturing what we all know is out there, but rarely get to see in-person.