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Scree - September 7, 2010

descending to Buggy Bottoms

Sunday, we went to Percy Warner Park to hike the 2.5 mile Warner Woods (white blazes) Trail. So did everyone else in Nashville. There was no way that I could have expected less. By the by, the trail was in great shape.

There were a lot of dogs on the trail, including our dog, Jake. Our only problem with dogs is the owners. On a really crowded day, the owners were letting their dogs run off of the leash or were trying to use one of those retractable leashes. Owners using a retractable leash have no control over their dog. We would almost rather see a dog running free than on a retractable, at least the leash doesn't get tangled around trees.

It's official, Big South Fork is bear country. The park is equipping the campground with food boxes and taking other measures to help keep the bears wild. From a Knox News article,

More sightings are being reported in Big South Fork by staff as well as visitors. Park officials say there so far have been no incidents of bear aggression, though some visitors who have encountered bears have registered their alarm with the park.

"We have not had to deal with what the Smokies has had in terms of aggressive behavior at this point," Blount said. "The comfort level varies from group to group. Some people see a bear in the wild and think it's the greatest thing ever. Others panic and swear they're never coming back."

Maybe the key to bears is keeping them in the "wild." If the bears were tame, roaming through the campgrounds scavenging food, the campers would undoubtedly try to pet them.

Aaah, something else you can do with guns, other than carry them in bars and shoot sandhill cranes...