We have a policy in my hiking club — never hike alone! This past summer, on the Teton Crest Trail, Randy, Russ and I took a break at the Cascade fork. We had about a mile and a half to hike to our campsite. Three friends were in front of us and three behind us. Since I struggled up Hurricane Pass in the morning, a climb of more than 1,000 ft. in less than a mile, I told Randy and Russ I would take off early to start the climb. The last mile and a half to the campsite was all uphill.
I found I actually had more energy than when climbing Hurricane Pass and was making good time. As I rounded the bend, I saw, in the middle of the trail about 50 ft. in front of me, a very large black bear. My heart began racing a mile a minute. I immediately grabbed my bear spray and started to slowly back up, keeping my eyes on the bear. Then, off to my left, I noticed a bear cub eating just off the trail. The problem was that I was closer to the bear cub than mama bear. In other words, I was in big trouble if mama bear noticed me.