At around 11:30 a.m., I needed a break from research.
Sadie is always happy to be my break buddy, so I ate a Clif bar to ward off lunchtime hunger and drove out to the nearby hiking trails to cover two miles with her.
Sadie’s Christmas gift to me was an annual pass to all Florida state parks (yes, she gives gifts) and it was nice not to have to shell out $4 just to hike for 40 minutes.
On our last solo hike together we saw a snake, so I started to think about what I would do if I ran into a legitimate predator in the woods. There are signs cautioning hikers about bears in the park and though I carry mace with me, I highly doubt that would do much good against a bear if it was in attack-mode.
I questioned whether or not my standard little pepper spray would work against a bear on Twitter before our hike and a few of you told me about bear pepper spray.
I immediately placed an order for Mace Brand bear pepper spray when I got home after reading that it could spray up to 35 feet, is considered “humane” and is the strongest approved animal repellent by the EPA.
And if the bear pepper spray doesn’t work to scare off bears, I apparently have a demonic dog that might do the trick.
Freak!
We didn’t see any bears on our hike, but we did see a white-tailed deer!
I think we spooked the deer a bit when we came around the corner because it made a grunting noise before taking off. Sadie tried to catch it with no luck.
Lunch
We made it home with an hour and I threw together a simple lunch.
I made myself a toasted cheese wafflewich with two slices of sharp cheddar cheese and ate it along with a clementine, cherry tomatoes and a cup of Greek yogurt topped with a handful of almonds.
Another Christmas truffle served as dessert.
I wonder if I could ever get sick of truffles.
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in love with the concept of a savory wafflewich. creativity ignite!
yeah! i will have to try that wafflewich one of these days! it looks yummy!
I would never get sick of truffles, especially Lindt ones! I came pretty close to a bear up in Whistler when I was on holidays, it was mere meters away before it headed in to someones garden!
mmm white chocolate macademia Clif bars (and Luna bars!) are my favorite!! they taste like a cookie!
i know i certainly could never get sick of Lindor truffles – i love ’em! have you ever tried their peanut butter one? they’re to die for!
Sick of Lindor truffles?!! Julie..I think you are working wayyy too much!! there’s not such a thing! ja,ja
I have no idea what I would do if I saw a bear. Prolly fall over and promptly die.
Mmm, I’ll have to try a waffle sandwich. I think bear spray is a great idea, I have some pepper spray for some mean people;)
If you get sick of truffles please go to the nearest ER. Something is obviously very wrong.
i love love love white chocolate macadamia nut clif bars. they taste so buttery to me. i try to limit myself becasue of how much sugar is in them, but they are too good!
I am not sure I will ever get sick of Lindor truffles, love the new peppermint flavor this year 🙂
Yum… Wafflewich…
Thankfully I’ve never seen a bear during a hike here in Colorado. Apparently you should curl into the fetal position, but I would probably forget and run. Hopefully you don’t have to use the mace!
it IS possible to get sick of truffles – shocking, i know. haha, for one of my internships I spent weeks and weeks boxing truffles for a hotel promotion and got to eat the leftovers…at the end of the internship I never wanted to see a truffle again! (yeah..that only lasted about a month though) but it IS possible.
Bears?!?! I thought I only had to worry about them here in Alaska!!
I know people in Alaska carry “bear bells” with them all the time when they hike in the mountains. Although, I have also heard they aren’t that effective either–your voice, or people’s voices are the most effective.
I’m pretty sure it’s impossible to get sick of lindt’s truffles. I wish they had dark chocolate and peanut butter SO bad. Did you ever have the special pistachio truffle things they have in the store? Those things are SO good.
That is so strange that your post today is on bear spray. I’m planning a Glacier Nat’l Park backcountry backpacking/camping trip with my bf this summer and we need to get some of that (the grizzlies out West are crazy!)
Lunch looks lovely – I’m loving clementines lately.
I once heard somewhere that if you attacked by a bear that you should punch it in the nose. I forget the reasoning behind it, so I’m not that helpful. At least you have some bear spray!
Haha, your comment reminded me of this: http://juneauempire.com/local/2011-08-30/woman-punches-bear-save-her-dog
^That happened on a road in my town that I run on all the time. I saw 20+ black bears total on my runs this spring and summer. I never carry bear spray, but on trails I’m often with a handful of other runners and our voices are enough to scare the bears off. When I’m on my own, I just clap my hands every few minutes to create some noise.
I still get a moment where my heart rate goes up whenever I see a black bear, but all in all I’d say the fear against them is wildly overstated… Brown bears are another story, but we don’t have as many around here so I don’t worry about them. Moose and mountain lions concern me far more than bears.
Yup – that’s the story I read. I couldn’t remember where I heard about it. Thanks!
I couldn’t imagine seeing a bear when I was out running!
that is CRAZY!
@HeatherRunEatPlay, I’ve heard of punching a shark in the nose if you’re being attacked, and for bears, whacking two rocks together to scare it off!
I am obsessed with the Lindt Chocolate Reindeer. Too bad they’re ~550 calories each. Because I know no moderation when it comes to Lindt Reindeer.
I would be so scared to even lift a finger against a shark!
Oohh I read if you punch a shark in the nose it’s reflex is to open it’s mouth!
Might wanna avoid the mouth haha!
I could never get sick of truffles! So glad you had such a good hike!
Me and truffles. BAD idea. i have never heard of self control, obvi, cuz my mama raised me right 🙂 Also in the back of our house we have a forest (3 acres) and we see deer but not a bear. When we moved here, we heard that there are bears nearby though. So now we have 2 guns. Forget the bear spray! For a “humane” way to scare it off, one innovative woman has the perfect answer. She was in the mountains for a weight loss camp or something. Well she heard a bear outside her cabin. SO she put on a white and black striped (horizontally) jumpsuit and went outside. The bear was scared of her seemingly huge self and ran away! TRUE STORY.
Have you ever run with mace? I’ve recently gotten into trail running. I would love to go more often but I don’t feel its smart to do alone especially as a female. I’ve pondered getting some. I wish I had a dog at least! I do have bear mace which I’ve considered running with, but its very big and bulky. I only hike with it.
they make mace in small sizes especially for runners! http://safetygirl.com/jogger-pepper-mace.html i think that might be more comfortable!
If Sadie could attack a bear like she does to all the sticks she finds then you would be safe! I would be terrified if I saw a bear!!! With all the snakes and other animals you find on your hikes are you not scared Sadie is going to chase them or get curious?
White Chocolate truffles + Me = a bad idea!!! I have no power against those little balls of goodies (that’s what she said…)
Good you are feeling better Julie.
As with the other readers …… ohhmygosh ….. I sincerely hope you will never-ever have to use bear spray. Whatever they call it. Do be careful. I would be petrified. The only bears we have around here are “stuffed Teddies.”
Does Sadie actually munch on twigs? Oh. Our Gidget loves em. Ha.
Listen Julie …. you and Ryan must-must travel to ITALY! Definitely the place for memories, great food and romance!
PARIS and LONDON too. But, first ….. I-T-A-L-Y!! A winner every-single-trip.
HNY!
P.S. You are my top 10 fav blogs Julie!
Does anyone know how Max is doing? I sure hope his Christmas wish(es) came true. Did my best to help out.
I love the white chocolate truffles!
OMG! Waffle sandwiches w/ cheddar = best. meal. ever!!
sorry for freaking out, but it made me sooo happy to see someone else enjoying it! haha made me feel less weird for eating it too.
Also- random – the pepper spray goes 35 feet?! Wow.
I love waffle sammies! So good 🙂
Wafflewiches are awesome! I was on a wafflewich kick a few months ago and would have one for bfast and lunch- waffle crazed? Nah, never! Love the sweet and savory combo…
I love that you bought bearspray. I took a trip to Montana earlier in the year where the person checking my suitcase at the airport asked if I had any “bearspray” in my bag…. I totally thought she said hairspray, and responded “Wait. You can’t travel with HAIRspray anymore?” Totally got a good laugh when I heard that bearspray excited. I had no idea….
Be careful out there, Julie!
You can never get sick of truffles! The white chocolate ones are my favorite 🙂 Cute idea to have sadie gives gifts! I’m going to remember that for when I get a dog!
Do you let Sadie hike with you off-leash?
a lot of the time we do b/c she never goes too far from us. we’ll keep her on leash if we’re near water (b/c of gators, etc.).
Ah hopefully Sadie gets scared of the bear and runs by your side before it gets close enough!
I don’t think you can get sick of truffles!
May be time to invest in some bear spray? I was right there with you thinking it’d be useless. Not so much anymore! Sign me up. I’ve already got pepper spray/mase with me on my keys at all times. Maybe a girl can never have too many protective sprays? 😉
Loving the lunch cheese-waffle combo. I love your combos … jelly & cheese & eggs … always so innovative!
I used to see bears quite a bit when I lived in Montana. They would run away as soon as they saw me every time. As long as you make some noise while walking you should be fine. I’d be much more scared of a gator if I lived in Florida! They’re practically dinosaurs. haha
those truffles are dangerous! did you ever try the PEANUT BUTTER ones?? so delicious
Just a reminder that if there is a legitiment fear of bears, it may be a good idea to keep Sadie on a leash. I grew up in the sticks near Ocala and one time, I was walking our family cocker spaniel when she darted into the woods and was attacked by a black bear that was hiding in the brush. Thankfully our dog escaped with just a few superficial injuries. She had always been responsive when called before then, but my family learned our lesson and kept her on a leash after that.
And I agree with the other commentors that mentioned making loud noises, talking, singing, or clapping your hands. I’ve found that the bears are usually more afraid of us than we are of them. (Although I’ve heard people say the same things about sharks but that doesn’t help with my fear of them!)
Impossible! Lindor is my favourite.
That’s so cool about the bear mace. I’ve always carried regular mace on my runs, but when I joined the army a few months back they made us go in the gas chamber with CS gas. It supposedly has the same effects as mace and, to be honest, I don’t think it would really stop anything. So I guess I’m upgrading to bear mace…or a tazer!
Didn’t u see the label on the box: “No side effects of addiction”
Sadie really has some freaky eyes going on! And, that waffle cheese toastie looks so good!