A bear on thin ice

John Haas
Posted 8/21/12

WURTSBORO, NY — The morning of New Year’s Day, I went to the Bashakill to try to spot some New Year birds. I hiked to a couple of spots before heading to the Birch Trail, heading east from the …

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A bear on thin ice

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WURTSBORO, NY — The morning of New Year’s Day, I went to the Bashakill to try to spot some New Year birds. I hiked to a couple of spots before heading to the Birch Trail, heading east from the main boat launch. I spoke with a couple of women at the launch, and then headed out on the trail.

As I reached the woods again, just before the Birch Trail Tower, a big bear charged out of the barberries and across the trail in front of me. It scared me half to death. Then it disappeared into the barberries near the tower.

I decided to wait on the trail, as the bear certainly had to cross it again, hopefully farther down the trail this time. That didn’t happen. I suddenly heard ice crashing. I thought the bear couldn’t be trying to cross the Bashakill—temperatures had only been freezing for a couple of days, and the ice was only two inches thick.

But when I ran to a partial opening in the trees, I was able to see that the bear was trying to cross the Bashakill. It broke through the ice periodically, but made quick progress across. When it reached the channel everything changed. As I watched, the bear crashed through the ice at the channel. It flailed around, trying to get a grip on the ice. This seemed to go on forever, when the bear suddenly disappeared under the water and ice. It seemed like an eternity, and I was sure the bear had drowned.

Suddenly the bear burst up through the ice. Again it tried repeatedly to get a grip, but the ice was too slippery. The whole scene played out several times over the next 10 minutes. I felt so helpless, holding my breath for the bear. Just when I thought the writing was on the wall, the bear got a grip on the ice and managed to pull itself out of the water. It shook, and water flew 20 feet in every direction.

The bear pulled itself together for a moment and then began to walk toward the shore, still 100 feet or more away. I held my breath, taking pictures every few seconds until the bear made it to shore and lumbered off into the woods. What an experience! I have only seen a bear in January once before. This is my first January bear in Sullivan County. Hopefully he warmed up and settled down for a long winter nap.

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