I know there are bears and big kitties when I’m hiking in the mountains in the pre-dawn hours. I’ve seen poop, and tracks (fresh by minutes in the snow), scratching, and smelled fresh mt lion pee. I walk heavy, make a little noise so they know I’m there, leave them alone, and they leave me alone.
I’ve seen only one black bear 30 yards downhill from me as I was going up Twin Sisters. I’ve been near a big kitty twice. It’s not hard to know when a big cat is watching you. There is an unmistakable feeling, smell, and the small mammals go quiet. Pretty weird. I had a juvenile bobcat follow me 12 foot to my right in the undergrowth and bushes for 3 minutes until it got bored, loped about 20 yards to the front of me and crossed the trail. I just saw its prints in the snow. It was pretty cool: mostly dark except for the light on my hat; light snow swirling in the air; the soft footfalls in the brush. (If the kitty had wanted to hurt me, it would not have made itself so obvious. And bobcats rarely if ever attack people.)
You never know where they are, but they are there. And that is what is so wonderful about nature. It’s another world open for you to enter and enjoy. I like hiking and taking pictures. Others fish, camp, and hang out on the beach. I’ve seen whales breach, frigate birds ride the thermals, and things I couldn’t put into words that folks would believe.
And that’s the rub. I see something and the shot is bad or doesn’t happen. It’s just my word it was there. I saw it. But, I just didn’t get it recorded. And I’m wired that way. I want to get it. Others want proof that way.
In the end does any of this make sense? I can’t make a picture out of it. It is just an imprint in my brain. But maybe that is all it is meant to be.