Black Bear!

My wife and I camp at Sharbot Lake Provincial Park, about 1 1/2 hours west of Ottawa, on Highway #7. It's a lovely campsite: not too big, with nice beaches on Black Lake. One of the reasons we like this campsite (and its "sister" campsite, Silver Lake, about 10 minutes down the highway) is the absence of bears and raccoons. Though we have to tolerate some "highway noise" from #7, we're told that the traffic keeps bears and raccoons away, because they won't tolerate the noise! It makes keeping food and kitchen stuff in the campsite easy: we are tenters.

For the first time in decades, however, a bear entered Sharbot Lake Campsite this year. And yes! while we were there: and you guessed it -- into our campsite! We were camped up on "The Ridge", in a "walk-in-site" some 150 meters or so from the parking, with our site backing on to the bush on two sides. Suddenly, (what was apparently) a yearling bear came up the hill through the bush and confronted my wife, two daughters-in-law, and three grandchildren. (My two sons and I were just down the path, a ways).

The bear ran off after they made a commotion of banging pots and pans. Later the camp wardens found foot prints down at a portage between the two lakes which showed that the bear was moving off along the park boundary and south.

Just a little excitement for the day!