That would really be something if it was a grizzly, because it's only about 10 miles from town, and grizzly are pretty rare here in Washington.
Lots of black bears though. Hey, I'll take your word for it - darned if I know - I'm pretty sure it was a bear track though! Not much of a bear hunter if you can believe it... I keep running into them while fly-fishing mountain streams and small lakes in the Cascades every summer. One year I was backpacking with a bunch of Boy Scouts, and in a week we ran into five black bears, including one cinnamon and one blond phase bears. Pretty cool. It was bear season too, late summer, but I didn't think it would be cool to load the Boy Scouts down with a hide, skull and a bunch of fresh bear meat halfway through the backpacking trip. Fun perhaps, for me anyway... I did have a big handgun with me.
Thanks for the info - I'll file it away and see if I can get a photo of a grizzly here in Washington. Not many around, and no tags available for them. If it's a black bear, well... He may meet a bullet next summer - ya never know.
Thanks for all the input you seasoned bear hunters! Regards, Guy