Bear encounters leave a lasting memory, if not more
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
The bear gave him a bloody nose.
That’s getting off lightly, for sure, but Sam McClure’s predawn encounter with a black bear while hiking the Tahoe Rim Trail two years ago was a frightening experience.
McClure, then 16 and an experienced backpacker, had set up camp near the trail south of Tahoe Meadows on a Monday night in July. He was awakened shortly after 4 a.m. by a heavy animal “falling” across his tent.
Its silhouette in the moonlight made clear what the animal was — a bear. Not a big bear, but big enough.