Central cagers to be tested early

Wildcat men will be well paid for exhibitions against UW, BYU//

Tough economic times can make for tough competitive times for sports like Central Washington men’s basketball.

The Wildcats, part of an athletic department in need of money in the wake of substantial budget cuts, will open their season against defending Pacific-10 Conference champion Washington in Seattle on Nov. 4. On Nov. 10, coach Greg Sparling’s squad will travel to Provo, Utah to meet Brigham Young.

“It’s definitely an economic issue,” Sparling said Tuesday. “We’re fortunate that the University of Washington wants to play us, and also BYU gave us a very good guarantee. There’s no second guessing yourself. You just jump in and walk away with a lot of money.”

Sparling declined to specify how much money Central will get from either game. Both will be exhibitions, and will not count on either team’s season record.

Obviously, the Division II Wildcats will be prohibitive underdogs in both games.

“You have kids who maybe didn’t make it at the D-I level and see these guys on TV, now they get a chance to play against them,” Sparling said. “I’ve seen where Washington’s picked 15th in one of the polls and BYU’s going to be solid.

“As with any game, you want to come out healthy. So the whole thing for us will be to gear up for our final exhibition. The biggest thing when you play back-to-back against that caliber of team is you don’t want to get your confidence shaken.”

Central is waiting to finalize one more home game, Sparling said, and will release its entire schedule within the next few days.

He said UW assistant coach Jim Shaw approached him about the Husky game, and that CWU athletic director Jack Bishop had a contact at BYU that helped facilitate that game.

Central and Washington last met in 2002, in head coach Lorenzo Romar’s first game as the Huskies’ coach. The Wildcats played at Washington State in 2006, during then-head coach Tony Bennett’s first season as WSU’s head man. CWU lost both games.

A couple of bright spots for Bears

PASCO — Though the Bears’ fortunes continued to wane Tuesday night, a couple of their players added to some already impressive credentials.

A night after being math-ematically eliminated from Northwest League playoff contention, Yakima’s Ryan Wheeler took over the NWL batting leadership by belting two doubles and a single in the Bears’ 6-2 loss to Tri-City before an announced 1,379 at Gesa Stadium.

Wheeler’s 3-for-4 night improved his batting average to .353. Boise’s Logan Watkins finished the evening second at .349 while Salem-Keizer’s Drew Biery slipped to .345.

Versatile leadoff man Dan Kaczrowski, meanwhile, had two hits to improve his average to .273.

Highlights were otherwise few and far between for a Yakima team (23-41) that has lost four straight entering tonight’s home game with the Dust Devils — the first of three with East Division-leading Tri-City (38-26), after which Spokane will come to Yakima County Stadium for a home schedule-ending three-game set.

The Devils scored three times in the second inning off Bears starter Chris Odegaard (1-7), with Joe Sanders’ two-run double the key blow.

Errors by shortstop Brent Greer and third baseman Matt Davidson in the fifth preceded Bo Bowman’s two-run triple. Bowman, who finished 3-for-4, drove in Tri-City’s final run with a seventh-inning single.

Yakima scored in the fourth when Wheeler doubled, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Tyson Van Winkle’s groundout. The Bears’ other run came in the seventh on a wild pitch.

Yakima Bears update

Next game

Opponent: Tri-City Dust Devils.

When, where: 7:05 p.m., today, Yakima County Stadium.

Radio: KUTI (1460).

Probable pitchers: TBA.

Notes

JESUIT VOLUNTEERS AMONG FANS: Eight new Jesuit volunteers in Yakima will be on hand for tonight’s game at Yakima County Stadium.

The group will be seated in a reserved section of general admission seats above first base, and those wishing to meet the volunteers are encouraged to do so.

Box score

Dust Devils 6, Bears 2

YAKIMA                    TRI-CITY

ab    r    h    bi        ab    r    h    bi

Kczrwski ss    3    1    2    0    Sandovl cf-rf    4    1    0    0

Sherlock rf    4    0    0    0    Sammy 2b    3    1    1    0

Greer ss    4    1    1    0    Clark dh    2    1    0    0

RWheeler 1b    4    1    3    0    Bowman 1b    4    1    3    3

Davidson 3b    4    0    0    0    Matthes rf    1    1    1    0

Van Winkle c    3    0    0    1    TWhelr ph-cf    3    0    1    0

Montilla 2b    3    0    0    0    Sanders 3b    4    1    2    2

Inciarte ph    1    0    0    0    Reyes lf    4    0    1    1

Helm dh    4    0    1    0    Gonzalez c    4    0    0    0

RRodriguez cf    2    0    0    0    Wong ss    3    0    0    0

Canelo ph    1    0    0    0

Totals    33    2    7    1    Totals    32    6    9    6

Yakima    000    101    000    —    2

Tri-City    030    002    10x    —    6

E—Greer, Davidson, Sammy. DP—Yakima 1, Tri-City 2. Team LOB—Yakima 7, Tri-City 6. 2b—R. Wheeler 2, Kaczrowski, Bowman, Sanders, Reyes. 3b—Bowman. SB—Kaczrowski, Sandoval. CS—Clark. Outfield assist—Sandoval.

IP    H    R    ER    BB    SO

Yakima

Odegaard L, 1-7    5    5    5    3    3    4

Thieroff    1    1    0    0    1    3

Albert    1    3    1    1    0    0

Quezada    1    0    0    0    0    1

Tri-City

Perkins    6    7    2    2    0    3

Stavert     1    0    0    0    1    3

Weatherford    2    0    0    0    0    2

WP—Perkins 2. HBP—Van Winkle (by Perkins), Kazrowski (by Stavert). Umpires—Javier Cantu, Ryan Goodman. T—2:22. A—1,379.

Standings

East Division

W    L    Pct.    GB

Tri-City (Rockies)    38    26    .594    —

Spokane (Rangers)    31    33    .484    7

Boise (Cubs)    30    34    .469    8

Yakima (D-backs)    23    41    .359    15

West Division

W    L    Pct.    GB

Salem-Keizer (Giants)    40    24    .625    —

Everett (Mariners)    34    30    .531    6

Eugene (Padres)    30    34    .469    10

Vancouver (Athltics)    30    34    .469    10

Tuesday’s games

Spokane 6, Boise 4

Salem-Keizer 13, Vancouver 1

Eugene 4, Everett 3

Tri-City 6, Yakima 2

Today’s games

Boise at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.

Everett at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.

Vancouver at Eugene, 7:05 p.m.

Tri-City at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.

Thursday’s Games

Boise at Spokane, 6:30 p.m.

Everett at Salem-Keizer, 6:35 p.m.

Vancouver at Eugene, 7:05 p.m.

Tri-City at Yakima, 7:05 p.m.

Central football favored to win GNAC again

ELLENSBURG — Central Washington has been picked to successufully defend its GNAC football championship according to a poll of the conference coaches.

The Wildcats were a unanimous choice to finish first in the four-team league, with Western Oregon second, Dixie State third and Humboldt State fourth.

Central, which returns preseason All-Americans Johnny Spevak at wide receiver and Courtney Smith cornerback and kick returner, was ranked 14th nationally by D2football.com.

In their second season under coach Blaine Bennett, the Wildcats open their season Saturday at Mesa State in Grand Junction, Colo. Central’s home opener is scheduled for Sept. 12 against West Texas A&M.

No Rotary Bowl this year

ST. GEORGE, Utah — The Dixie Rotary Bowl has been put on hold for at least a year because of the recession.

The Division II bowl game, featuring teams from the GNAC and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, will not be held in 2009. The Rotary Club of St. George decided Monday that it would cost too much to stage this season’s event.

The game was first sanctioned in 1986 as a junior college bowl.

Western Washington, which has since dropped football, beat Colorado School of Mines in last year’s game.

First football poll

OK, here we go with the first set of preseason state football rankings. These come from a new site, CoachesAid.com, which promises plenty of content for fall sports and is edited by former Olympian sports editor Ron Newberry.
Here are the teams from our leagues that made his first top 10s:
4A: 4, Southridge.
2A: 2, Prosser; 4, Ellensburg; 7, Othello.
1A: 1, Royal; 4, Connell; 7, Zillah.
2B: 4, La Salle.
For the complete list and other news, see CoachesAid.

A year after North Central’s boys cross country team finished the season ranked No. 1 in the nation, Spokane is back on top again. Ferris’ boys top the preseason Super 25 rankings compiled by Harrier Magazine. Jackson is 13th and North Central is 14th.
The full list is posted on DyeStat.

Wennerberg sets track record, wins street stocks

Winners at ASA Sanctioned Yakima Speedway Saturday night were Kim Wennerberg in the Lone Pine Trucking Northwest Outlaw Street Stocks, Aaron Haley in the Limited Late Model Racing Series, Mel Patnode in the Burger Ranch Sportsman, Ryan Kallenberger in the CWI Security/EZ Credit Auto Sales Hornets and Donnie Stevens in the Bump to Pass division.

Since midseason when Wennerberg brought the car out and started running Street Stock events, he has been a force. Winning the Yakima Speedway July 4th Street Stock Challenge event and now the NWOSS event at Yakima Speedway, Wennerberg is setting the stage for a wild Fall Classic in October.

Facing a stout field that included local racers Mike VanAmburg, Chet Beaman Sr., Andy Beaman, Zach Beaman, Dusty John, Barry Mueller and Ken Mullins, Wennerberg was the man to beat. He set a new track record for NWOSS of 21.277. That time also beat the local Super Street track record held by Chet Beaman, Sr.

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YAKIMA SPEEDWAY

Saturday’s results

Street Stocks

Fast time: Kim Wennerberg 21.277 (new track record). B Dash:  Mike Van Amburg, Brian Tischler, Zack Beaman. A Dash: Dave Lund, Chet Beaman, Kim Wennerberg, Mike Easley. B Heat: Van Amburg, Andy Beaman, Dusty John, Eric Hector, Z. Beaman. A Heat: Mike Press, C. Beaman, Mitch Kleyn, Gary Homad, Wennerberg. Main: Kim Wennerberg, Kevin Carver, Chet Beaman, Press, Barry Mueller, Bill Rutherford, Brad Morrison, Ken Mullins, John, Lund, A. Beaman, Easley, Jason Ogle, Tischler, Z. Beaman, Hector, Van Amburg, Homad, Kleyn. Lap Leaders: A. Beaman 1-22, Carver 23-26, Wennerberg 27-50.

Late Models

Fast time: Aaron Haley 20.797. B Dash: Jeff Mullins, Ken Mullins, Jeremy Mullins, Jason Ogle. A Dash: Darrell Tidrick, Randy Marshall, Jr., Aaron Haley, Chris Walters. Heat: Marshall, Jeff Mullins, Haley, Walters, Jeremy Mullins. Main: Aaron Haley, Marshall, Walters, Jeremy Mullins, Ogle, Ken Mullins, Jeff Mullins, Darrell Tidrick. Lap Leaders: Jeremy Mullins 1-5, Tidrick 6-8, Haley 9-30.

Sportsman

Fast time: Mel Patnode 23.399. B Dash: Bobby Stewart Jr., Larry Norman, Dan Wilson. A Dash: Thomas Benscoter Sr., Buck Noel Jr., Don Klang, Patnode. Heat: Patnode, Benscoter, Noel, Klang, Wilson, Stewart, Norman. Main: Mel Patnode, Benscoter, Noel, Klang, Norman, Stewart, Wilson. Lap Leaders: Noel 1-14, Patnode 15-30.

Hornets

B Dash: Josh Washington, Chris Morrison, Greg Gargett, Ryan Kallenberger. A Dash: Keith Erickson, Julie Melville, Eric Coble, Michael Beck. B Heat: Josh Parmentier, Chris Marang, Erickson, Eric Appleby, Beck. A Heat: Kallenberger, Gargett, Washington, Appleby, Morrison. Main: Ryan Kallenberger, Erickson, Morrison, Marang, Jessica Tidrick, Ryan Scott, Tim Breashears, Daniel Morfin, Appleby, Tyler Breshears, Coble, Cord Jackman, Parmentier, Melville, Beck, Christian Hall, Gargett, Washington. Lap Leaders: Parmentier 1-18, Kallenberger 19-20.

Bump to Pass
B Dash: Mark Mager, Tim Stockwell, Allen Reid. A Dash: Donnie Stevens, Fat Albert, Joe Stevens, Jake Breshears. Heat: J. Stevens, Albert, Breshears, Reid, D. Stevens. Main: Donnie Stevens, Breshears, Albert, Reid, Stockwell, Mager, J. Stevens. Lap Leaders: D. Stevens 1, Reid 2-3, D. Stevens 4-20.

‘Berried’ in the hills

Huckleberries taste nothing like morel mushrooms, but they share a common bond:  the cloak-and-dagger secrecy with which people guard their favorite picking spots. So let me make this clear right up front.

I’m not going to give away anybody’s secret places.

I will tell you this, though: Huckleberry season is here. Those berries are ripe right now.

Not everywhere, of course. Berries growing under different conditions — the direction the slope faces, altitude, weather patterns — won’t necessarily ripen at the same time. Or they might. It’s a crapshoot. You can find, on the same branch, dark-blue, perfectly ripe huckleberries right next to pink berries nowhere near readiness. A bush full of ready-to-munch morsels might be 3 feet from another bush that didn’t even get pollinated.

That’s why, although the picking season is usually at its highest over the final two weeks of August (and perhaps a week or two into September), many huckleberry lovers do a lot of scouting missions to see what’s growing where.

“I have a friend who would go out every week starting the week after the Fourth of July, to check on the status of the berries,” says longtime picker Grace Anderson of Yakima.

That’s kind of what Don Cooper of Gleed does. He’s already been up four or five times this summer to his usual picking haunts, including last week when he was kind enough to bring along a couple of newsdroids. He was still convinced this year’s crop still had some ripening to do.

“This was our hot spot last year,” he said, following a narrow trail through the sloping field of young fir trees, mock orange shoots and huckleberry bushes. “Doesn’t look like it’s going to be a hot spot this year.”

As he worked his way higher up the slope, though, he was beginning to change his tune. “There’s some OK numbers, I guess,” he said. “There’s just not the size.”

That doesn’t matter. If they’re out there at all, the pickers will find them.

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Why the popularity?

According to University of Idaho horticulture professor Danny Barney, huckleberries grow between the elevations of 1,900 and 6,600 feet in subalpine coniferous forest and alpine meadows. And because they grow best in areas that have been clear-cut or burned in recent years, in that Cascade foothills that means just about anywhere.

In 2005, the Gifford Pinchot National Forest issued about 180 commercial permits, which are required by anyone picking more than three gallons of huckleberries in any season. Those permits went up to 300 in 2006 and to 500 in 2007; in 2008, the first year the Forest Service began requiring merchants to purchase berries only from permitted commercial pickers, the number of permits shot up to 800.

That there’s enough of a demand to create a commercial market isn’t surprising.

• Attempts to cultivate huckleberries domestically have reportedly been spotty at best, and can take years.

• Enthusiasts love the flavor. “Any recipe that calls for blueberries, you can replace with huckleberries and it makes it way better,” declared Maurine Peck of Yakima.

• The berries grow in remote areas that require lots of travel time, and the use of huckleberry “rakes” is illegal in Washington. (Longtime recreational pickers, though, swear they’ve seen teams of commercial pickers sweeping through entire fields with those hand-held rakes.)

That means the berries have to be picked off the branches one or two at a time, a time-consuming process, which bumps up the going price for huckleberries— which these days is running at $34 to $40 a gallon at fruit stands.

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Where are the berries?

So where are people picking? Wherever they see other people looking.

Pickers tend to congregate, following the often-mistaken assumption that where there are other pickers, there must be something to pick. The Sawtooth berry fields along Forest Road 24 northwest of Trout Lake hosts a veritable zoo of pickers every year, including hordes of commercial pickers who can all but denude a field of berries ina single afternoon.

Other popular areas for pickers are Burley Mountain, southeast of Randle; the slopes west of Skate Creek Road (Forest Road 52) out of Packwood in which the 47, 84 and 63 roads intersect; and the upper regions of the Little Naches drainage, notably around Pyramid Peak.

That’s as specific as I’ll get, and that’s not giving any state secrets. The Sawtooth, Burley and Skate Creek areas are referenced on the Gifford Pinchot National Forest’s official huckleberry map; and Pyramid Peak is a widespread area, one to which staffers at the Naches Ranger District often direct huckleberry-seeking visitors.

And, of course, by the time one place is discovered and the pickings become slim, many pickers decide it’s time to find a new “secret” place.

“Last year the Sawtooth fields were spotty. Commercial pickers went in and stripped it,” said Cooper, the picker from Gleed. “If anything, Pyramid Peak is getting to be too popular. Green Pass has been lousy for years; that’s where we went when we were kids.”

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What about the picking itself?

If you’ve found a place that has some berries growing, here are some suggestions:

• Bring along a can you can, with either with a string or long shoelace, hang over your neck or loop onto your belt. That way you can use both hands for picking without dropping the can.

“A can or a milk carton — any kind of a container will do,” said Ben Hayward of Yakima. “But make it big enough that you’re not having to take it back to the car just because you’ve picked a couple of pints.”

• Bring along an ice chest to keep the berries cool on the way back. Wherever you’ve found the berries, you’ve still got a long, hot drive back to town.

• Wear long pants, even if it’s hot; your best picking success will be away from the pickers’ trailers and out in the bushes themselves. A lot of pickers never leave the trails because they simply don’t want to get all scratched up. (Or eaten alive by the biting flies and mosquitoes.)

• Because the huckleberry bushes rarely grow more than 21/2 feet high, you can save yourself a sore back by facing upslope and picking from the bushes above you. The big, juicy berries can often be hiding lower in the bush, and you’ll never reach them if you’re facing downslope.

• Be very careful not to fall. “Some of these places are full of marmot holes,” Ben Hayward said, “and you can’t always see them. You stumble once in a while.” (And scatter those hard-earned huckleberries.)

“I have tripped and spilled them,” Grace Anderson said. “You just about want to cry, because you spent so much energy getting them.”

“I was with a gal who spilled her huckleberries — her whole bucket. She tripped. And she did cry,” Maurine Peck added. “That’s a sad thing.”

Almost as sad as not finding them in the first place.
• Outdoors editor Scott Sandsberry can be reached at  509-577-7689 or ssandsberry@yakimaherald.com.

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Here are a few choice recipes for you to try:

Huckleberry Marshmallow Delight

3 cups huckleberries

4 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

10 1/2-ounce package of miniature marshmallows

1/2 cup milk

15 whole graham crackers

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup chopped nuts

1 cup whipping cream
Mix the huckleberries, cornstarch, sugar and lemon juice together in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until bubbly, at which point it’s thick, and remove. Cool.

Melt the marshmallows in milk in a double boiler (water in the bottom pan, marshmallows and milk in the top pan); stir until the marshmallows are melted, then remove and cool. Add the whipping cream.

Roll the graham crackers, while adding the melted butter to the crumbs. Use half of this at the bottom of a 9-by-13 pan, saving the other half. Add one layer of marshmallow mixture. Add one layer of berry mixture.

Mix the remaining graham cracker crumbs with the nuts and use this mixture for the top layer.

Chill overnight.

— Maurine Peck

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Huckleberry Pie

9-inch baked pie shell

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup water

3 cups fresh or frozen huckleberries

1 tablespoon butter

11/2 tablespoons lemon juice

Whipped cream

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in saucepan. Blend in water and 1 cup berries; bring to boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until thick. Stir in butter and lemon juice. Fold in remaining berries. Pour into baked pie shell and serve with whipped cream.

— Grace Anderson

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Montana Huckleberry Bread

(2 loaves)

Cream well:

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup shortening

Add and beat well:

2 eggs

Add:

1 cup buttermilk

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 cups flour

Fold in:

2 cups huckleberries
If using frozen berries, let thaw only enough to separate with fork and gently fold into batter.

Pour batter into two well-greased loaf pans. Sprinkle gerously with sugar on top of batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Let stand in pans a little while before turning out on rack.

— “Come & Git It” by Bonnie Beers and Denny Gellerman (Caxton Printers Ltd.)

Bears drop another one-run decision to Devils

PASCO — The offense wasn’t in short supply Monday for the Yakima Bears. Unfortunately, Tri-City didn’t have much trouble swinging the bats either.

The first-place Dust Devils racked up 11 hits to Yakima’s nine and handed the Bears a 7-6 Northwest League loss at Gesa Stadium.

Tri-City (37-26) grabbed a 1-0 lead in the second on a wild pitch by starter Ariel Brea, but Yakima scored twice in the top of the third on a two-RBI double by first baseman Ryan Wheeler.

The Dust Devils chased Brea with a four-run third inning and then scored a pair of insurance runs in the fifth and sixth to take a 7-4 advantage.

Yakima (23-40) got two runs back in the seventh — one on a fielder’s choice by Wheeler, the other on an error — and put runners on second and third in the ninth, but the Bears were unable to complete the comeback.

Wheeler finished the night 1-for-4 with four RBI (he had another fielder’s choice in the fifth), while shortstop Daniel Kaczrowski went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple and two runs scored. Right fielder Roberto Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with three runs, and second baseman Gerson Montilla added an RBI.

Hitting stars for Tri-City were Bo Bowman (3-for-3, three RBI, three runs), Kent Matthes (2-for-3) and Joey Wong (2-for-4).

Reliever Rod Scurry went 2 1/3 innings to earn the victory and improve to 5-1. Rhett Ballard recorded the save with a strikeout of Matt Davidson to end the game.

Brea gave up five runs and six hits in 2 1/3 innings to take the loss. Yakima pitchers combined to give up seven walks, compared with only three for Tri-City. However, the Bears played error-free defense, while the Devils committed a pair of miscues.

The teams will resume their series at 7:15 tonight.

Bird hunters gearing up for start of fall season

Even though it is still plenty warm and we are enjoying another beautiful Central Washington summer, a number of hunters in our area are now looking at their calendars with anticipation of the arrival of the first of the hunting seasons.

Next Tuesday, Sept. 1, dove and grouse hunting season opens, as does the early archery deer season.

While our local deer herds are still at lower than normal numbers, making the early archery season more challenging than ever, things are looking up for the early bird seasons.

Our region of the state is second only to the Columbia Basin in annual dove harvest. Some of the best dove hunting is in Yakima County’s mix of farmlands and waterways where weather conditions usually hold the birds longer than other parts of the state.

According to local wildlife biologists, dove hunters should again find plenty of the quick flying birds in the region this year.  Their recent surveys show the dove populations at near record highs.

There is also some dove hunting to be found in Kittitas County, but the majority of the birds are found in the lower Yakima Valley, both on and off of the Yakama reservation.

On Yakima Nation lands it is looking like hunters should find excellent hunting opportunities.

“Dove numbers keep increasing and are at an all-time high for the past 15 years,” said Nathan Burkepile, wildlife biologist for the Yakama Nation.

Off the reservation, around Zillah, Sunnyside, Grandview and Mabton, hunters should also find good numbers of birds.

Jeff Bernatowicz, wildlife biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, reports dove trapping efforts this year indicate numbers are up from 2008 and near 2006 and 2007 levels.

Even with good numbers of doves around now, local hunters always hope that a cold snap doesn’t blow in ahead of the season opener.  Doves migrations are affected by temperature and warm weather is needed to keep the birds in the area.

The long range weather forecast is looking good however, so another good dove season is anticipated as September nears.

Things are looking up a little for local grouse hunters too.

Yakima and Kittitas Counties both have populations of forest grouse, mostly ruffed and blue grouse.

In recent years the grouse populations in the region have been down, but Bernatowicz said that this year should be better than last for grouse hunters.  His initial reports indicate a much better year than 2008 for forest grouse populations, with the higher numbers in Kittitas County.

Ruffed grouse can be found in the lower elevations of the Cascades, mainly around creeks and drainages, while the bigger blue grouse are normally found at higher elevations, along ridgelines and near berry patches.

Some popular blue grouse hunting areas include Bethel Ridge, Bald Mountain and other higher areas near White and Chinook Pass.

Yes, it is still hot August, but September 1 is just a week away, and many local hunters have that date circled on their calendars, because it signals the opening of the first of the hunting seasons.

The archery deer hunters will be hitting the open areas in the region and around the state, and the dove and grouse hunters will be out enjoying what could very well be one of the best openers in the past few years.

• Rob Phillips is a freelance outdoor writer and partner in the advertising firm of Smith, Phillips & DiPietro. He can be reached at rwphillips@spdadvertising.com.

Close encounter of ‘bear kind’ livens up weekend

I was standing around a fly shop in Montana this spring, having a conversation with a couple of the locals, when the topic of bears came up.

This is not the first time I have been entertained with horror stories of big bad bears. It seems if you spend enough time in the woods, you will have an encounter of the bear kind. These stories always seem to end with the beast being dispatched with a large-caliber pistol at 10 paces, much like shooting at a charging dumpster. No mercy.

I like these tales of wilderness bear-whacking, although I wouldn’t bet the house on their validity. If I decide to share my bear experiences with macho, gun-toting, bear-slaying mountain men, I prefer to go last, as my stories are a little off the wall.

Although I have run into a few black bears in the lower 48, all of my serious bear encounters have been in Alaska with the coastal brown bears, affectionately known as Brownie. For years we would go to Alaska on the Fourth of July to fish for king and red salmon, stay in a Forest Service cabin or camp out in a tent. Great fishing, fabulous food, plenty of laugh therapy and, of course, Brownie. These are the bears you see on Alaska outdoor TV shows: huge, furry, fat and ready for a long nap.

In July, however, Brownie is a scruffy, thinner summer bear, like a big dog — a really big dog — in need of some big-time grooming.

As part of the gear, we always had a weapon in camp, either a .44 magnum or a sawed-off pump gun. The funny part is, none of us wanted to pack the extra weight and I, for one, didn’t want to be the one to make any shooting decisions. Seems stupid now, but you had to be there. Actually I found a big ol’ stinky cigar was the best big bad bear preventative; bears can’t see or hear all that well, but they have a world-class snout and they hate the stench of burning plant material.

My favorite bear-in-the-boonies story began early one wet, miserable morning when I decided I had to get some space between myself and my companions. On this particular trip, I didn’t know three of the others before we met up at the airport, when it was too late to change plans.

Two of these guys were California clowns; they had smuggled in a huge bag of Maui Wowie and they had enough ordnance to wage a small war. The first thing they did in camp was to set up a wire perimeter boundary and attach bells to it. I was stupid enough to ask, “What for?”

Their half-baked thinking — or, as it turned out, fully baked — was that whenever Brownie came into camp at night, they would hear the tinkling of the bells and get up in time to have a gun fight in the pitch dark with thae beast.

Luckily, these guys were so cooked every night they could hardly operate the zipper on the tent door. This was not the Alaskan fishing trip I had in mind. These guys were starting to get to me … and that is never good.

So on this nasty, wet morning, I decided to walk out the half-mile and treat myself to the Forest Service outhouse, anything to get some peace and quiet. With a heavy heart and my baby wipes I started down the trail, through the dark rain forest, talking to myself.

As I broke into the outhouse clearing with my homicidal thoughts, I looked over to my right and there, sitting on the trunk of a 1979 blue Monte Carlo, was old Brownie himself.

He turned and gave me a dopey bear grin; we made some serious eye contact. I stood in the rain with my baby wipes — no gun, no pepper spray and no bells. Finally I walked over to the outhouse and shut the door. When I opened it upon completion of my duties, Brownie had disappeared.

So, too, had my homicidal thoughts.

I lit a cigar and walked back to camp feeling pretty darn good. That old bear could have killed me easily, but on that particular morning  he decided to let me live. When your life is in the paws of someone or something else, it can make you stop and think about the concept of mercy.

• Trout Bums At Large, written by Randal Sumner, appears six times a year on the last Thursday of every other month. Sumner, a fly fisherman since 1972, is owner of Blue Skies Guide Service on the Yakima River. Trout Bums can be reached at randal@blueskiesfishing.com

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