Hike # 20 is one that will stay with me for a long time. Gina, Karya and I headed out with hopes of reaching Triple Punchbowl Falls, a small feature point off of the Coral Creek Canyon trail. We started on the south side of the Cline River and made our way along the well marked trail. Once reaching the lookout point, we followed our guidebooks instructions and took the trail off the ridge to the banks of Coral Creek.
We knew the falls had to be somewhere up ahead but the guide book didn’t give very thorough instructions. We stayed on the main trail and finally made the decision to walk ten more minutes and if we couldn’t find the falls we would turn around. Hot, tired and a little frustrated we trekked on. This is where things took a turn. All of the sudden we heard an unfamiliar noise coming from behind us. It’s hard to explain exactly how it sounded, but it was loud and even thinking about it now makes my spine crawl. For the first few moments we were all confused, wondering what the noise could be. And that’s when it set in. We turned around and about fifteen meters from us a grizzly bear was charging us through the bushes. The next twenty seconds is a blur for me. We had our bear spray out within seconds and all stood side by side. I was honestly preparing myself for the worst. Thankfully, the bear abruptly stopped charging and we were able to slowly back out of the trees and hop down onto the riverbank. Getting out into the open was our main priority. I was fully expecting the bear to follow us but it remained in the trees and out of sight. From here, we checked in with each other and kept our hands gripped around our bear spray. I can honestly say that I have never been more scared in my life. From here, we followed the riverbank and made a quick dash to the trail which took us back up to higher ground. At the top we all agreed that we had been too quiet. So focused on making it to the falls that we let our guard down. The trail we had been on was wedged between the river bank and a mountain so the woods in between were only about 20 meters deep. This means that all three of us walked directly past the grizzly without being aware of its presence. I am sure he was bluff charging us because we startled him and he wanted to make his presence known. I am so thankful that we all had bear spray and stuck together. After this encounter I cannot stress how important it is to continually check the trail for signs and continually make noise. I am humbled by the experience and have a renewed respect/fear of nature and the creatures that call it home.
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Of all the paths you take in life make sure a few of them are dirt. John Muir Archives
September 2017
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