Bears and Apples

Fresh-grown apples hung thick in the branches over Gregory Canyon Wednesday night, as Steve and Dave traversed a trail littered with new-fallen, half-eaten fruit. Red, blue, and purple berries filled the bushes on either side of the trail, all the way down to the shallow creek, where poison ivy guarded the trunks of the apple trees. A couple sat under one tree next to the trail, chatting obnoxiously and eating anything that fell in their laps. Steve and Dave pressed on, determined to reach the Ranger Cabin and descend via the Boy Scout trail before nightfall.

Glancing left, Steve noticed a dark shape up the valley about 75 yards away. "There's a bear over there," he said.

"Where?" said Dave. Then he saw it too. "First time in 20 years. Should we tell those people?"

"Yeah." Steve went back to warn the couple under the apple tree. The bear had probably come for apples too.

"Oh he's so beautiful," the couple gushed.

The bear turned away and lumbered up the valley. Too many people. After the people went home, the apples would still be there.