Animal sightings were pretty rare in the first few weeks of my sabbatical, but in Cascades National Park, there was a sudden abundance of encounters. I had never seen a Marmot before, but they seem a completely endearing little animal. I sat in a little glen with this one for about 15 minutes, as she grazed about five feet from me.
The Mountain Goat appeared along a ridge during the course of a morning hike, and drifted over a series of rock ledges as I walked along the trail below.
The Black Bear is one of a pair of siblings living in the valley adjacent to the campground at Pelton Basin. They spend much of the day grazing on the abundance of wild blueberries that thrive along the creek running down from the glaciers. This one was around for all three days, seemingly aware of the our presence and generally content to keep his distance. His brother or sister seemed a little more adventurous, wandering into the woods to look for food along the trails leading from the campground down to the creek. One morning, as I was coming up from the creek with water for breakfast, I came around a corner of the trail into a small glade to find her eating breakfast a few feet off the trail. It’s difficult to say for certain which of us was more startled; but she jumped quickly back into the woods and continued to graze (the last picture in the bear series).
Even armed with the knowledge that Black Bears are typically harmless unless threatened, coming so close to something this big was a fairly powerful reminder of how marginal our place is in wild places.
Out of the Wilderness 
You are certainly braver than I am, and what a wonderful experience you’re having because of it! I am rereading Thict Nhat Hang’s book “The Miracle of Mindfulness” and all his wonderful reminders of how there is no distinction between subject and object. While I’m reading about it, you are living it! Stay safe, breathe deeply and continue to connect. Miss you! Rosemarie