“The thicket exploded. This was not a grouse. A black bear erupted into the clearing at full speed. It was running right for me. Time stopped. This was the only real moment. The rush of the river, gone. The chipmunk, silenced. The unwelcome 1980s song repeating in my head, smothered. There was no breeze. The bear maintained its course….
No way. I followed the bear’s paws amid a rotary gallop: at one instant all four were together—the bear floating above the earth. Swaths of fat and fur heaved in rhythm. I heard a resounding thud with each stride. It seemed like a dream. But this was not a dream. The bear bolted closer…” from Aaron Denham’s “The Spirit of an Encounter”
Everybody loves a good bear story. To see how Aaron’s turns out, visit deepwildjournal/subscribe.com. Deep Wild: Writing from the Backcountry, providing a home for creative work inspired by journeys to places where there are no roads.
