A Defining Moment

Some things don't fit the "Twitter Paradigm."  You can't sum them up in 140 characters or less.  You can't even HINT at them in 140 characters.  LBRs will recognize right away this post has a huge backstory.

And so it was that we were parked in the Taggart Lake Trailhead parking lot fiddling with stuff and getting ready to walk to Taggart Lake.  And Susun says, "Just a minute, they saw a bear."  I couldn't hear what they said.  Heck, I can't hear most anything these days.  So Susun walks over to these two guys who had just walked down from Taggart Lake and they told her about The Bear.  They said it was big.  It was within less then 30 feet from them. It crossed the trail right in front of them.  They did not see cubs.  They did not have bear spray.  They did say they "backed up," whatever that means for them.

As Susun talked with the men, I watched they eyes.  I could tell they were telling a tale of some importance by the size of their eyes and their facial expressions.  Susun came back to the truck and said, "Those guys saw a bear."  I asked for the pertinent details.  After I heard the details, I said, "I don't feel like hiking here today."

And thus the Defining Moment took place.  Susun said, "I don't think we should let bears dictate our schedule."  Just like that.  Well, I had to ponder that statement for awhile.  It was really more than a statement.  It was a Defining Moment.  Was I going to pack it up and drive away because there was clearly a bear there?  Or was I to hark to Susun's throw down--Are you going to let a bear rule your life?

So, I said, "Heck yeah, let's go hiking."  I did, however, require that she wore her own holster of bear spray.  And off we went to Taggart Lake like there was nary a bear anywhere to be seen.  And, no, we saw no bear.

For me, it was my first time facing my "Bearanoia" with a new attitude.  We had the best bear spray--two canisters, no less, the world's finest bear spray holsters, bear spray training, PLUS a summer of practice of actually drawing a pistol from a holster under pressure and duress.  So, heck, how good is that?  Very good.

As I walked along that trail knowing that a bear had been sighted within the last hour there, I felt a new confidence unknown to me before.  Susun and I discussed it at length.  We both felt good and I am so glad she uttered those words that defined the moment: " "I don't think we should let bears dictate our schedule."

Way to go, Sweetie!  That was SO COOL!  The photo above, of course, is of Susun in Her Bear Spray Awesomeness on the shore of Taggart Lake --just another one of the crown jewels of Grand Teton National Park.