Yes, black bears pass through Massanutten.

While relaxing on a deck with my two westies, I saw an adult black bear's head appear behind the base of a nearby oak tree. The bear was climbing up a small steep hill toward our back yard perhaps 20 to 30 feet from us. Meg and Ari did not notice him so I quietly told them "let's go inside." It was a relief that the dogs went in the house without delay or barking. When the bear heard my voice, he stopped in mid climb with one paw held up. His head tilted as he listened for more sounds. I remained quiet and looked back at the bear as he began climbing back down the small hill, and into the woods.

Other black bear sightings I had—always very brief and often from the safety of my upstairs windows—include:

• Seeing an adult bear crossing Highway 211 in the middle of a deep curve, climb over a guard rail, and disappear down a steep incline onto our four wooded acres below the house.
• Watching a young bear scamper up the back lawn and into the woods.
• Taking the dogs on their morning walk around 6:30 am and looking at the highway to see a grown bear strolling quickly up the slow lane past us. His bear paws looked long and flexible. He was perhaps 30 yards away. A red van came up around the curve. The driver saw the bear, honked their horn, and the bear ran off the highway and into the woods along the side of the driveway.

Early one evening, I came home and saw a white pickup truck sitting just above the driveway entry in the slow lane. There were people standing in the slow lane waiting for the Deputy Sheriff or Highway Patrol to arrive. Later, I was on the back deck in the dark. A nice lady came toward me and asked "Can your husband help my husband?" I replied "I don't have a husband, but I can help."

The pickup was now sitting in my parking area with a man standing in the truck bed with the tailgate down. The lady stood on the far side of the tailgate and I was at the near side. She asked her husband, "Honey, how can we help you?" He explained he could not get the bear's shoulders above the tailgate to pull him into the truck. That is when I realized I was standing right beside the dead bear.

The lady and I each took one of the bear's front arms and lifted them above the tailgate so her husband could then slide the bear completely into the truck bed. After that, we chatted for about 20 minutes about bears. The man explained how the Deputy Sheriff gave them a certificate so they could take the bear away for processing. People around here hunt for black bear in season and eat bear meat. A gun shop owner across the mountain sold bear meat and she told me that if I ever take a bear (pronounced bar) that I should skin him quick to improve the meat's taste.

On this night, I learned first-hand that black bears do not stink and their fur is soft. The man also taught me that this bear weighed only about 135 pounds because it was spring. By fall, he would weigh a lot more. He further explained that black bears do not have good eyesight, which is partly why they get hit on the highways. He taught me that bears around here have no interest in people unless someone has fed them or left trash out to cause a bear to associate people with food. They are typically scavengers, not predators. I was thankful that since the bear was dead, at least something good came from it. This black bear would feed a family.

Finally, my down-mountain neighbors, Boyd and Brenda, told me they had a young bear that stayed on their front porch for a couple of days. It was eating the berries off their Mulberry tree and didn't want to leave. Brenda said she did not take her small dog outside until after the bear went away.

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