BEAR WITH ME

Have you ever had one of those days when you had everything lined up and all of the boxes checked, and then….

It was the perfect spring weekend, after a long hard winter. I was visiting a friend, who lived near a ski resort the Colorado Rockies. We packed up for a day of hiking. She loaned me a perfect winter jacket and vest to ward off the chill. I helped her trusty old dog into the car and we were off.

As we were winding up the road, the majestic mountains silently beckoned us to explore their hidden beauties and treasures. It was glorious day as we worked our way up the trail under the expanse of the Colorado blue sky.

The air was fresh as I anticipated what lie ahead. Would I see deer, elk, one of those mysterious mountain goats or simply a curious chipmunk? My friend and I walked and soaked it in as her very old dog lumbered along enjoying the fresh scents all around.

After 45 minutes on the path, we greeted two women, a mother and daughter heading down the trail. Pressing forward, minutes later the same mother and daughter came barreling back up the trail. They stopped bent over and out of breath.

The mother collected herself and said, “There’s a bear on the path!” That very morning before taking off, I had asked my friend if there were any bear reports in the vicinity. Her reply, “I have lived here for 17 years and never seen a bear.” With that piece of credible information I asked the mother, “Did you see it?” She responded, “No, my daughter did .” I breathed easy and chalked it up to youthful imagination. Suddenly the daughter stretched her arm, pointing just down our path and cried “There it is!!!” At that mother and daughter took off up the hill.

It is amazing the things that happen in your mind in an instant. I looked and about 15 yards down the trail there was a very large brown bear ambling upwards in our direction. As it drew near I saw it’s very large tongue hanging out and remember thinking ” Wow! that bear has a really long tongue to go along with it’s really sharp teeth!”

What happened next is proof that all of the knowledge, preparation and planning in the world does not translate into the logical course of action. Most of us are familiar with the term “Fight or Flight”, that is a physiological response to stressors. There is a third response that is less discussed, “Freeze”, but in any case any one of these 3 actions ( or inactions ) are wired within us for events such as this.In my life, I don’t recall ever expressing the “Fight” reaction, most of the time I “Freeze”.

As I looked at the approaching creature, my body literally took off. I was running up the steep mountain trail, jumping over large patches of still melting ice . As I was running up the mountain, I thought “Wow! I am running at breakneck speed! ”

I was literally cheering myself at how incredibly fast I was. I wasn’t even thinking about the big bear, I was just thinking about what a great athlete I would have been if I had tried out for the Olympics. Apparently, no one ever told me that one can become “delusional” when they are pumped up with adrenaline.

Then just like the sound of a glass window shattering,, I stopped dead on the trail. I left my friend and her 10 year old dog back on the trail with a big brown bear! Now I felt out of breath and was so glad I was heading downward, contemplating what to say to her. What would I find and what I would do? As I came upon them, I saw the big bear steering away from the trail and into the woods. Apparently he wasn’t hungry.

Experienced hikers know that when you have a bear encounter, you are supposed to stand still and tall, while casting the biggest shadow, making loud noises. I don’t know how often that works, but I do know that the one thing you are not supposed to do is run.

My friend and I never spoke about what she did or did not do to deter the creature. I was too embarrassed by my cowardice and pride. She was very kind and forgiving by not saying anything.

At the bottom of the very long hike down to the car, we saw a ranger. I spoke to him about the bear on the trail. In a very thick Crocodile Dundee accent, he said “Lotta bears around here lotta bears.” I could tell by the smirk on his face, he could tell I was literally not from this neck of the woods….

Getting into the car to leave, I took off the borrowed jacket and vest and within a zippered pocket I found a colorful object on a lanyard. I showed it to my friend and she looked at me and smiled, “That’s a bear whistle.”