My favorite moment with this bear, after stopping to eat huckleberries beside the trail (the picture in the previous post), it returned to the trail but soon turned aside again, stood up on its hind legs and began rubbing its back up and down on this tree. I guess it had an itch that needed scratching (or a scent that needed marking).


What a fantastic shot it is! You are so lucky to have seen this! Maybe this youngster is marking his territory in this way, according to the website below. My husband scratches his back with that style though π
http://www.bear.org/website/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56&Itemid=41
That sounds about right, the trail was the easiest way to get between two meadows so it would be a good tree to mark. The territory would be suitable for a younger bear, it was a little ways past Myrtle Falls on the Skyline Trail, I would think the older bears would claim areas further away from civilization.
Perhaps your husband is just marking his territory too π