He came bounding out of the woods in front of me. He didn't stroll out, I've had that happen a few times. This one was bounding at a slow run and stopped short maybe 12 feet in front of me, as surprised by me as I was by him (her?)
When I say slow run I mean by bear standards. I had one run across the road in front of me once. They're like a freight train when they really move.
I followed the protocol. Backed up slowly, left the trail to to him to make an easy escape and made noise. I always carry one of these in bear country
Bears are repelled by loud noise and this is the loudest noise that fits comfortably in my backpack.
He moved off up the trail, in the direction I came from.
Bear encounters for me are always a dual experience: I'm more than aware he could rip my face off in a second if he wanted to. But having an up close encounter with something so beautiful and majestic in the wild touches me to the soul.
Ngl this time was kind of scary, the closeness and how he came running toward me. My legs were a little shaky for a few minutes after.
