Look at this tree.

See the scratches in the bark, upper left and lower right? Those were made by a black bear. If you will recall from last summer, this place is home to many black bears. They’re sleeping in snow-covered dens just now, but we still see signs of them.

Scratching trees is one way bears communicate their presence in an area. All the bark is scratched off this tree.

If you look closely, you will see bear hair caught in the bark and sap of these bear-scratched trees.

When you visit, make sure you look for these trees. They’re not hard to find.

Of course, keep an eye out for the bears, too.