No lions or tigers, but bears...oh my!
Posted by simplisticthoughts , Friday, July 23, 2010 4:27 PM
So I realized in my boredom at the office, that I never documented my treacherous encounter with a mighty grizzly bear, barely escaping death. Okay, so it wasn't that extreme, but it is still pen worthy.
About a month or so ago, several of my raft cohorts and I ventured off into the great Denali National Park in search of adventure, excitement and to mess with tourists. When I say mess with tourists, I mean, pulling off to the side of the road, getting out of the car and pointing out into the tundra as if an animal was in sight. We would do this as oncoming cars would come near and watch as they too would pull over to investigate what it was we were so excited about. We greeted these people with bursts of laughter because our plan had worked, people are so gullible, lol. I laugh because I know that I would fall for the same prank, I may be a seasonal employee but I really am just as much of a tourist as anyone else is, I mean, I too carry around a fanny pack up here. In the park, you can drive your own vehicle in as far as 15 miles to a turn out at Savage River- anything after that point you have to take a shuttle tour that the park offers. We parked at the turn out and took some of the hiking trails along the river. It was so gorgeous! So many colors- bright greens, lavenders, yellows... It was a great place to explore! Some went off on their own rogue adventure, while a few still stuck together.
Sara Mae, K.Lo and I walked along the river and we noticed a lone grizzly bear coming over the hill about 30 yards of where we were standing. A bit of panic sets in and all the training we had went out the window! lol Actually, mine and Sara's concern was the fact that her and I were both experiencing the female curse and all I could think about was that scene in Anchor Man where Brick says that females periods attract the bears...maybe he was right! haha! As soon as we sighted the bear, our coworker Flood pops his head up from a rock, waving at us completely unaware that a grizzly bear is literally standing right behind him. We motion for him to look behind him, and what does he do? Looks around, sees the bear and runs! Pretty much everything your NOT supposed to do. Sara Mae and I take the speed walkers position and tried to move as quickly as we could but without running. Picture the people you see in the morning, speed walking around the Boise Towne Square Mall...yeah, that was us. Sara Mae is yelling at K.Lo to get moving because he is more concerned about getting photos of the mighty beast than he is about his own personal safety...it's always the tourist taking the photos that gets mauled. This isn't a petting zoo people! The bear starts getting closer, but wasn't showing any signs of aggression yet more of a curiosity. Aggressive or not, I didn't want to give him the opportunity to show it if he so decided.
We got a safe distance away and pretty much left our other coworkers for dead, they were no where in sight. Apparently, Anthony and Noah hid behind a large boulder and Dylan, who was perched high above us, watched all of us scatter like a bunch of scared school girls...not knowing we encountered a bear though. We found Flood, he had practically ran all the way back to the car. Eventually, we all reconvened back at the car, everyone intact and with a great story to share. Here is one of the photos K.Lo was able to retrieve!
