The closest sites were taken so we looked for a crossing of the unnamed tributary creek that comes in from the North. Fording was possible for adults but not safe for the youngest in our party (7 and 10 years old) so we found a big tree that had fallen across the creek just upstream from the ford. We found a beautiful campsite just uphill to the left of the trail. The kids discovered evidence that this campsite had been used for hundreds of years before our arrival. There were several pounding holes for grinding acorns and other foods.
We had our share of wildlife sightings in addition to the bear. We shared our campsite with a young buck who kept strolling around the area and a marmot. We also saw a Western Tanager. But the biggest surprise was discovering that the Sierra I'd been hiking in for about 30 years was home to scorpions. When I moved a rock I found something unusual moving beneath it. It was a very young scorpion with the tell-tale curved tail and pinchers.
The wildlife we were glad NOT to see was mosquitos. There were very few throughout the trip.
Would highly recommend during cool weather as it gets hotter here than many of the alternatives.
