Here is a better look at the claw mark. Bears mark trees to communicate with other bears. They also rub their bodies on trees to scratch and leave their scents. A bear's nose is two orders of magnitude better than a dogs. A dozen or more trees near our camp had claw marks showing regular bear traffic. This communicates to me, regular bear traffic. Dawg communicated to the bears, come around while we are here, and I'll bite your balls off. Nuff said.

Camp has been broken down and we're heading to our next base camp. Again we must cross the stream twice as it splits near our camp. Dawg always makes the process look so easy.

Yeah, now the two ton behemoth steps in and his feet sink 4 inches into the mud. You can see the mud swirls in the water each time I pull one of my feet out of the creek bed. Nothing like mud squishing between your toes to make you feel like a mountain man.