[Embraer]

i've seen more wildlife that could potentially kill me, then in the previous 20 years.

i'm renting a place out on 460 acres of desert land east of Lancaster. i see rattlesnakes and black widows all of the time. the coyotes don't concern me...they're just mangy dogs.

today, i went hiking in Devil's Punchbowl. I had my backpack, rambo-style survival knife, boots, etc. as i turned around one of the mountain trail corners, i look up and see about a 400 lb Black bear (he was actually light brown) walking on the trail about 20 feet ahead of me. i was downwind (probably 30 mph gusts up there) and he didnt hear or smell me. i stopped, and slowly walked backwards while it registered what i was looking at.

at that point, i was already 3 miles into the trail and didn't want to go back quite yet. about that time, he turned around saw me, and took off sprinting away. i couldn't believe how fast that boy made it up one of the trees. he sat up there watching me while i walked by.

from then, until the rest of the hike, i was all eyes/ears for bears.