How to Survive a Bear Encounter in the Wild

This post isn’t about working remotely, marketing techniques, or conquering the social media revolution. It’s about How to Survive a Bear Attack & Conquering items on your Bucket List…

The Appalachian Trail is approximately 2,100 miles and runs from Maine to Georgia. When I was in high school and college, it was summer custom for dad and I to do a small Southern section.

This trip was a section of North Carolina. It’s a great experience for a father and son and I highly recommend it (or a similar activity) to families. Nature. Quiet. Talk Time without Distractions. Peace. Teamwork. All of these are benefits of the woods.

I honestly didn’t think one of them would be a Black Bear Sighting. I carry some pepper spray (yeah that’s right, pepper spray) just in case, but I often wonder how affective this truly would be if you were to come face to face with a real life bear. Very few people actually get to see bears while on the A.T. in correlation with the number of hikers.

Well, this was our day. We were making our way as a baby cub shot out along the the trail in front of us, ran a little way and then cut off to the left.

We were excited about how cool the experience was when we heard rustling up the hill to our right.

Where babies are, mothers follow closely. We picked up the pace and could hear rustling up above. We stopped to listen. The rustling stopped.

We walked quickly again. Heard rustling. We stopped. The sound stopped. Were we being hunted? Was I going to die that day? Should I have listened more closely in Boy Scouts about How to Survive a Bear Attack?

We walked quickly again. I kept peeking over my shoulder. Was I hearing it again? Was it just in my head? I glanced again. And then I saw it. Mom was about 35 yards up in the woods to the right. At that moment she decided to stand on her hind legs and look at me. I would like to say that I took in the beauty of the moment. But instead, I took to a powerwalking swish (like old folks in the mall) and almost trampled pops. All I remember saying was “Bear Bear Bear.” I didn’t have to outrun the bear, just my dad (sorry dad. in my more mature age, I would now stand between you and the bear – I think).

Seeing a bear in a zoo is one thing. Seeing a bear in a national park eating trash where there are other people around is yet another. But when there’s pavement around, something about that isn’t quite as terrifying. But seeing a bear in it’s natural element is both awe inspiring and terrifying.

Maybe I wasn’t in harm whatsoever, but it felt that way. That’s why I say that the scariest moments turn out to be the best memories.

Keep this in mind as you conquer your fears (heights, talking to strangers, snakes) as you mark off your bucket list items.

Have you created your bucket list yet?

Share yours with me – as you may have new items for me to add!

#adventureoflife #hiking #howtosurvive