Night of the Living

Cottage in the woods. Sounds nice. A water source near by, shelter, cozy nights, hot chocolate, laughing with loved ones. That could be all the things the image of a cottage in the woods might evoke. 

But what if you missed your connection. 

What if you never made it, and were exposed to the elements? How would you make it through the harsh nights? What if you were alone? Luckily, I was with Bird-Dog, but we were not alone. 

Cowboy camping is always a treat. You get a view of the stars, the breeze, and the first light of day. In a tent you get less, but the illusion of safety can be settling.

I had just woke up at 6:25am, a late start. Bird-Dog was already up and stirring about by 5:30. A crashing sound broke the morning. My eyes directed me south about 30 feet away. Again the booming noise came through the trees but this time, a piece of timber went flying through the air. A low, deep, growl and a blur of brown with two black dots in the front confirmed the brown bear in front of us. Time stood still, but I wanted out of there ASAP. I threw gear into my bag all in a state of chaos. I checked the bear's way again. It was eating insects from the shredded tree. If it could destroy a tree so easily, it could tear my fleshy body with one swipe. 

This bear had no interest in us. It clearly knew we were there. If it could sense insects inside a tree, our smelly selves were probably unappealing. We walked out of that sight with a wild glow in our eyes. 

"We saw a bear this morning"! We told everyone we passed. "Oh yea, we saw four last night" replied a hiker named Sagitar. I asked if any of them were tearing trees to shreds, but he declined. 

Two nights later, this time in my tent, I had my flashlight ready, as well as some jitters. Bird-Dog and I hiked 26 that day and camped next to Duck Soup Pond. As we drifted into sleep, i heard loud noises around 2am.  I was sure that Bird-Dog was asleep and I was to face whatever was crawling around our tents. A flash of light from his tent signaled his awareness and he called out my name. The sound was right next to my tent...there were at least a few of the creatures. I flashed my lights. Deer.  It was just a few deer. I fell back asleep. 

Two hours later, another stampede woke us up. We were on some deer trail. It sucked. Not a lot of sleep that night...

I cannot end on a sour note however. Life has ups and downs, so does the trail. One day you can hike all day feeling on top of the world and the next morning you can't wake up. Balance my friends. 

Sometimes I have to remind myself: 

"today I intend to be more optimistic. When I think of the future, I let go of pessimism"