Sometimes a photo brings back a vivid personal memory completely disconnected from what you might see in an image. Such as the case with this early winter view from rocky viewpoint along the Gumjuwac Trail, on the west shoulder of Lookout Mountain and within the protected Badger Creek Wilderness.
Much of the climb to this viewpoint is through deep, old-growth forests of Douglas fir, Western hemlock and scattered Western red cedar. About a mile from the trailhead in late November 2023, I came upon fresh bear tracks along the trail, the only tracks other than mine on the fresh snow. They continued for some distance until I reached what had recently been a violent encounter at a wide switchback on the trail. There was no telling exactly what had unfolded, though two large animals had clearly faced off, leaving chaotic marks in the new snow.
The bear tracks ended here, but a clear path of broken brush and torn up snow led directly down the steep mountain slope from the trail in the wake of whatever chase had ensued. It was an awesome reminder that in wilderness, simple survival is the overriding constant for every living thing — except us.
The wild encounter happened just below the viewpoint where this photo was taken. As I set up a tripod to take this image, I couldn’t stop thinking about what had unfolded on the trail just a few hours just before I came, and the rare privilege of stumbling upon it.
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Image Description: the bright, white cone of Mount Hood stands high on the horizon, rising above lower, snow-covered peaks and ridges. The mountain is framed by snowy fir trees and two bleached snag leans in from the left to remind us of the harsh mountain conditions here. A pair of large boulders in the foreground complete the scene, freshly buried in a deep blanket of new snow.
Photo © WyEast Images (2026)
WyEast Images 
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