Day Ten: Sand spit camping 7/28/2004
Although we had to deal with heavy winds this was another interesting day through minor rapids and then a long stretch of open river after the a switch in direction. We found a tremendous inviting sandy point with beach on two sides that screamed, "camp here!". We set up camp early and took the opportunity to hike around, swim, and fish. It was not a surprise to find fairly fresh bear sign, but the real surprise was an unmarked bear baiting pit and evidence of a tree stand between our camping spot and another excellent camping area about 500 meters down the shoreline. Later in the afternoon a large bear was sighted down the shore at the other beach. With the knowledge of the baiting pit, we made an assumption that the same bear would likely be interested in checking out our camp at some point. We took all the precautions we thought necessary, moved the tents together, tied up the barrels some distance away from the camp area, and kept a slow burning fire most of the night. As it turns out, we had no visitors. Some of us slept with one eye open and others didn't sleep at all.