Face-to-Face with a Bear Family, The Wildest Encounter I Never Expected!
I thought I’d share one of my most unbelievable bear encounters. While hiking in Glacier National Park, I came face-to-face with a mama bear and her two cubs. I decided to snap a quick photo first, then think about what I was doing (probably should’ve thought first!). The wind was blowing 15-20 mph right in my face. I stayed calm, talked to the bear, and held my hands up, but they kept coming closer. I said, “Go away, ma’am! I’m a human!” calmly and firmly, but they didn’t stop.
The slope was steep, and I didn’t want to look small or run, so I stepped up the hill about 10 feet, still talking and pointing my bear spray at the ground, hoping I wouldn’t have to use it (because I knew it would blow right back in my face). The bear stared at me like, “Move, human!” while the cubs were nervous and hiding behind her. Finally, they passed by, and I was relieved! I dropped my bear spray and got a picture of their backs as they walked away, showing how close they really were — about 12 feet.
Then, I noticed something: one of the cubs had my hat! The other cub was trying to take it from him! I started snapping pictures, then decided everything was okay. The cubs calmed down, and the mama bear was eating berries a little further down. The cubs joined her, and I stepped down the trail for a better camera angle.
Just then, a third cub came out of the woods, a full 2 minutes behind the others. She ran right past me, squealing in fear. I thought she might charge, so I got ready to use my bear spray, but she stopped when she saw her sibling with my hat. They started tugging it back and forth! After a moment, they gave up, and I managed to snap a final shot as they posed before walking off with their mom.
I couldn’t believe it had really happened. A few minutes later, another hiker passed by. He said he hadn’t seen any bears, but mentioned he saw a hat on the trail and wondered whose it was. I figured I’d call it a day since he would scare off any wildlife. Sure enough, about 100 yards down the trail, there was my hat!