I was hiking solo (as I usually do) on this busy trail in the Olympic N/P and only 3 miles in (Tom Creek area) I rounded a corner and there on my left on the side of the trail less than 10 feet away was a 250-300 pound black bear.
I froze and couldn't really believe what I was seeing and he looked back at me and continued walking over to a stump he was intent on exploring. Thankfully, he gave zero shits about me. I was finally able to move and I backed away to a tree. I made some noise and threw a stick near him and he moved on down the trail back the way I had come. I yelled bear a few times because I knew he was going to surprise people at the falls a 1/4 of mile back and soon I heard other hikers shooing him away and he sauntered off up into the woods.
I reported the encounter to the Ranger who said they knew of this bear.
I managed to get a picture about 10 minutes after my first encounter. I wish I would have gotten a better picture because it was a pretty amazing experience but I was also happy that taking a picture was not my first instinct.
So yeah, seeing a bear that close on a busy trail was not at all what I was expecting that day! It was probably the only time I've gone hiking where I didn't even think about seeing wildlife!
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