Bear Butt Canyon - October 2020

Ok so why Bear Butt Canyon? One of the most exciting aspects of this area is that it is full of bears. Last time I was here (2007) we saw several including one ornery and unusually large male. Luckily on this trip, all bears were skittish. Our count on this trip was just shy of 10 (depends who you ask!) and two of these were healthy cubs. At one point, as we did some cross-country stuff along the river bed, David climbed up over a rise and found himself looking at a bear's behind hence the title of this entry. Here's some bear footage to for your listening and dining pleasure ...

Sculpted by nature ...

Sculpted by humans? bears? This trail was far from anything.

The grind out of the canyon ...

For those extra curious, this trip log (not mine) summarizes much of what our trip was. Link HERE. The difference is that we took a short-cut cross-country to the river about 1/4 mile from the bottom of the trail to hit the river and explore. I do not recommend this move because of terrain unless you are not carrying a heavy backpack. We also had to keep a close eye on what the National Park Service would decide as far as trail access due to nearby fires. See image below.

Last but not least, this was after all a "Black Diamond Trout" expedition so a few of these came to hand and were all safely released.