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It’s several weeks before the black bear rifle season opens up here. Jack, my grandson, and I went on a little scouting trip to see if we could locate Blackie the black burin I’ve been hunting the last three springs. My iron knee is now good enough to do some walking and ride the 4-wheeler. The other day my neighbor, Del, spotted the first sow grizzly and a year old cub behind my house digging up ground squirrels. So the bears have finally come out for the season.
Jack and I ran into a really big set of grizzly tracks and some wolf tracks. I was hoping to find some sign of Blackie, but no such luck. Del went along to video Jack and I doing this scouting trip. (I hope to put the video on my blog in a few days.) The trip gave my new knee a work out for sure. I have to realize it’s been only 18 days since the surgery. Jack, at the age of 5, can all ready tell the difference between grizzly and black bear tracks. And I was very impress when he told me how to tell which direction the bear was walking.
It was great fun and we both are looking forward to the season opening. Jack thinks we’ll run into the old boy this spring. I’ll keep you posted on the annual hunt for Blackie. Mike Eastman
