After Showdown With Bear, Woodinville Woman Warns 'Be Vigilant'
REDMOND, WA — Renee Lee's horse was trying to tell her something. He was snorting and acting strange, even though he was familiar with the network of trails in the Union Hill area east of the Redmond city limits.
Lee and her horse, Aries, had just left the San Sebastian Equestrian Center along Northeast 100th Street on Monday. They were trotting along the Chickadee Trail when Lee rounded a blind corner, and there she was. A large, brown-colored black bear standing in the middle of the trail with two cubs. The mother bear was facing Lee, and they locked eyes as the cubs ran into the bushes.
The bear stood her ground, making deep grunting noises. Aries stood his ground, snorting at the bear.
"I think I snuck up on her as much as she snuck up me," Lee recalled on Tuesday. "The only thing I could think about was getting out of there."
Lee told her story hoping to remind hikers, bikers, and anyone else enjoying the outdoors: this is bear country, and you have to remain vigilant. Spring is a particularly sensitive time for bears, who are emerging from their winter stupor, some with cubs in tow.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/after-showdown-with-bear-woodinville-woman-warns-be-vigilant/ar-AABn8FB
Union Hill is rural but so close to Redmond that you wouldn't expect to see bears.
