Today, I encountered a bear in the wilderness. I use the term "encountered" intentionally. I've seen bears in the wild before, but it has generally been from the safety of an automobile. Or through the view of binoculars. Or I had a rifle and a bear tag. Today's bear was no less than 200 yards away, and all I had on me was a delicious peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sunscreen.
I was hiking today to Hidden Lakes in the N. Cascades. We had seen no sign of bears all day, and the trail was pretty busy. Luckily, my friend and I were being remarkably chatty. Otherwise, we probably would've walked right into him. He heard us coming, and scampered up the hill into the trees. By "scampered" I mean that he effortlessly ran through 5' tall brush and over some boulders the size of cars.
Scariest wilderness experience of my life.
Who were you with?? I bet you are going to have a whole new attitude about scaring people in the woods now....
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