DO BEARS REALLY LIKE HONEY?

There is a lot to be said about setting the right level of expectation, it really can make or break an experience.

The feeling of disappointment, when you resign yourself to the fact that the event you had placed so many high hopes on, simply did not live up to your expectations.
But Hey!! Let us not forget the sheer exhilaration when one’s expectations are thoroughly surpassed.

Now a couple of weeks ago I expressed my prediction that I would hopefully relive our trip to Yosemite (yo-sem-it-tee) in the same girly giggly voice that Darren used to recap his ride on the Top Thrill Dragster, well I can thankfully report that although our trip did not offer the same sweat dripping, adrenalin filled, fear of death that Darren enjoyed so much, we were blown away with the jaw dropping scenery and pure magical atmosphere of Yosemite National Park.

My expectations were definitely exceeded but I will leave the girly giggly voice for Darren… it’s his thing.


We had packed our Zipcar Honda Element with our pushbikes and drove 4 hours leaving the sunset behind on our trip to Yosemite National Park.


On our early arrival into the park the next morning, we wandered alone into the wilderness to check out the Giant Sequoias, the main attraction being the Grizzly Giant, proudly standing tall for some 2,700 years.

The park crowds were yet to arrive and Darren was really nervous about a bear encounter.

REASON: I had informed him that there were between 17,000 – 24,000 bears in the park, that's a lot of bears.

CORRECTION: Woops! There are actually only 300 – 500 bears in Yosemite National Park, there are 17,000 – 24000 in the whole of California.

With only a relatively small number of bears in a 761,226-acre park, what would be the chances of a bear encounter?

We were lucky enough to come across a bear, near the roadside at Crane Flat. I was so grateful to see a bear and for it not to be in a predicament where Darren would have to protect us with his 'special' bear stick.

We decided that our cute little bear appeared quite young, so we departed before Mummy Bear came looking.

Off we continued to enjoy all the popular breathtaking views and spectacular photo opportunities.

Glacier Point - viewing the valley floor from 3200ft above.

A healthy climb for some great photo opportunities at Sentinel Dome and Taft Point.

Mesmerizing waterfalls from the flow of the winter snow runoff, and a leisurely drive through the high country, reaching 9945ft on our trip to Tuolumne Meadows.

We checked out the accommodation for where the rich, royal and famous snooze away on their trip to Yosemite at the Ahwahnee Hotel, a rustic mountain retreat that dates back to 1927.

We had followed our guide on seeing the best of Yosemite in 2 days, we rose to the challenge of early mornings so we could follow the guide, and also complete recommended climbs and small treks.

One climb that I suggested we completed was mentioned in our guide as:

“an easy climb even the 4 or 5 years olds can do with no problem”

The guide wasn’t very specific about which sloping granite face it was we were to climb, so we made our selection.

PROBLEM: It was “bloody” steep and definitely not the authors suggested climb.

We came to this conclusion through our own struggles to reach the top and even more so, to get back down. Oh plus the fact that the climbers we discovered at the top all had helmets and climbing gear. “Wimps”


As you can see from our collection of photos (click here) the squirrels are a lot more friendlier and the weather a fair bit warmer than what we are used to in San Francisco.

Confirmation, it was an awesome weekend (girly giggle).We departed late Sunday afternoon, Happy as a Bear with his paw in a honey pot.

Q. Does a bear really like honey…..

According to the americanbear.org yes they do….

A. Bears eat honey, but what they like best about finding a beehive is the bees and larvae inside! They eat the bees and larvae, and the honey is an extra treat.

Anyone coming to California should definitely make the time for a 2-day trip to Yosemite…
But please don't forget to allocate some WoodWoods time.

XX

Mel