Bearish on Bishop Creek Canyon

The curious young bear in the photo has been popping up frequently in recent weeks throughout the South Fork of Bishop Creek Canyon above its namesake Eastern Sierra town.

Notice the wildflowers. Jared Smith, who runs Parchers Resort and took this photo just behind his cabins, says wildflowers abound throughout the canyon, which in a few weeks will be ablaze with fall colors "if the wind behaves."

September is my favorite time of year in the Eastern Sierra, and I hope to visit soon. Temperatures creep downward, and there's a crispness to the air at high elevation. There are no crowds. Fishing generally picks up -- the Department of Fish and Game stocked 400 pounds of trout in canyon waters on Tuesday -- and the colors, when the leaves turn, are brilliant.

As for this bear, "He shares his time with us,
Bishop Creek Lodge and Creekside RV Park," Smith says.

Soon, though, the bear will sense the onset of winter and begin looking for a place to bed down. Its favorite time of year, presumably, is the spring thaw.

--Pete Thomas

Photo: A young black bear in the South Fork area of Bishop Creek Canyon. Credit: Jared Smith

Comments

[Jon K.]

Have you seen any of the streams coming out of the White Mountains?