I took this photo after the HUGE bear had departed. It was easily 600 lbs. Probably larger as it was September and had been fattening up for the winter.
When I get out of my tent before sunrise and went to toss some papers I saw the dumpsters had been raided. First I though it might have been raccoons, but then noticed the big pile of scat you can see on the left side of the photo. Walked back to the tent and noticed a smaller pile of scat about 15' from my site. Made coffee and ate my breakfast while keeping my head on a swivel. Packed up, walked the bike around to the front of the campground and leaned it up against a bench. As I was about to put on my helmet and turn on my lights, I heard the sound of bottles clinking. The bugger strolled out from between the dumpsters. We stared at each other from about 25' away. Not the way I wanted to start my morning. Fortunately, he realized what a badass I am and ambled off. This was in NW PA. The campground is very close to the Allegheny National Forest, which is a place know to have a bear or 100. Notice the mural in one of the dumpsters. It angers me when people don't take precautions in bear country. As a side note, the outside perimeter fence of FCI McKean is not far behind those dumpsters. That's the medium security prison where actor Wesley Snipes had served 3 year for tax evasion. Always bet on black (bears).
