Little Devil's Stairs Hike

     This past Sunday, PDub and I drove back to Shenandoah National Park for our second hike: Little Devil's Stairs (5.5 miles with a 1,480ft elevation change).  The parking lot was creepily tiny, surrounded by gated drives with "Keep Out" signs, and only contained two other vehicles.  This hike had a "next time" theme, starting off with "next time we should let our parents know where we are hiking before losing phone service," and ending with "next time we will be better prepared when stumbling upon a black bear."

Confession: This was after the hike.  I had found the walking (spirit.....bear-beating....whatever name you prefer) stick on the hike.  

     We began our trek with a fairly thick fog and one eye over our shoulder hoping we weren't the target for a serial killer or just some crazy with a gun.  PDub considered us as the beginning of a Rizzoli and Isles episode where we would be attacked, and I saw us as the beginning of a Bones episode where we stumble across a body.  However, as we went deeper in, our full attention turned to the steep stairs and searching for the blue trail markings (our visibility was about 30ft and the trail, covered in freshly fallen leaves, was hard to distinguish).  I found my stamina not withholding this hike compared to the last, stopping more often and disturbing the peace with my heavy breathing.  It could have been due to the free buffet for lunch and our first Thanksgiving dinner the previous day.  Or, it could have been just because it was more difficult.

We asked a squirrel to capture this moment, but the poor thing couldn't hold up the camera.  It turned into a selfie.

PDub always looks for the simplest crossing.....Me, I like a challenge.

     After 2 miles of stairs, crossing the stream in the gorge several times, and going up several switchbacks, we reached the final portion of our hike, 3 miles on a fire road, which returned us to our vehicle.  Thankfully it was all downhill from there.  My heart dropped when we approached the Bolen Cemetery.  Through the trees, I saw a person hanging spread out crucifix-style with a white sheet draped behind him (Bones episode?).  As we got closer, we saw that it was simply a man perched on a tree reading.  After we passed by, PDub told me he saw the same scene before getting closer....creepy!  Anyway, the trail was highly desolate, with this the only human we saw.
     The final mile had even steeper hills to go down, some even required jogging.  With PDub and I chit chatting about life, we rounded a bend where a decently sized black bear darted across our pathway about 100ft ahead.  By decently sized, I mean he wasn't the biggest bear I had seen (at the zoo), but he was small enough for us to fear for an extra-large, fists-beating-the-chest mamma bear nearby.  We backed up slowly, and I held my stick in baseball position while PDub picked up two big rocks.  As we heard the bear fade away in the distance, PDub suggested we head back.  We were so close to finishing, and I wasn't about to go back.....up hill!  I think I'd fight a bear over that suggestion any day!  We stood there for some time cautious of our surroundings, me making noise, and PDub throwing rocks.  We discussed how this shouldn't have happened and how we weren't prepared.  Why was he not hibernating?  Do you run or play territorial with black bears?  Why didn't we even at least bring a knife?  How about that bear spray?  Is it worth carrying a gun potentially to be caught and given a felony?  Do we team up or fastest man lives?  Needless to say, we escaped, made it back to our car, and headed for a nice juicy steak.....we definitely deserved it!

Lessons learned!

Food for thought:

American Black Bears enter winter dens in October and November; HOWEVER, some may continue to roam when the weather is mild.

Black Bears have non-retractable claws.

Male black bears weigh 100-300lbs while female black bears weigh 100-175lbs.  (We probably saw a female.)

Black Bears' diets vary and are often opportunistic, sometimes feeding on small mammals (would that be me?).

In the 1900's, Black Bear populations were basically eliminated; however, today they predict there are several hundred living in the park.