Grizzly encounters

I couldn’t resist that curiosity of beholding something taller than Mount Everest. Native Athabascan Indians call Mount...

I couldn’t resist that curiosity of beholding something taller than Mount Everest. Native Athabascan Indians call Mount McKinley ‘Denali’ or ‘The Great One’. Geologists claim that at 20,320 feet, this mountain has a vertical rise 6,000 feet more than Mount Everest. Apparently the Himalayan colossus sits atop the Tibetan plateau, which itself is located at a height of 17,000 feet — unlike Denali’s lower 2000-foot table.

This massive mountain is located within the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska, 120 miles south of the city of Fairbanks. Within the park’s six million acres are impregnable lands that haven’t endured the tread of human feet. Hiking through snowfields and pristine sub-arctic landscape, Man is but another mammal in Nature’s infinite playground. This serenity was deceptive — as if on cue, stillness suddenly gave way to a distant growl.

A safe 200 feet ahead of me atop a knoll, a pair of huge grizzlies ravenously chomped away at a soapberry patch. “Make yourself be heard. Just don’t surprise the bears!” had been the ranger’s warning. If threatened by a grizzly, I would simply need to play dead — if confronted by a black bear, I would need to try shouting senselessly. If this didn’t work, I would need to fight back. Bolting would be a blunder.

A stir in the bushes or a crackle of twigs didn’t really bother me — it could be that lone alpha wolf looking for lunch. Along lush thickets of willow and black spruce, I once spotted an oversized moose with her calf. At 1,500 pounds, a confrontation with a cow defending her young was an incident best avoided. It meant certain casualty to the hapless intruder. I needed to just vanish without startling Mother Moose.

After this wilderness vacation, I returned to a different ecosystem back in the big city. Resuming a routine almost after a month’s reprieve, I set out for my usual morning walk. Autumn had shrouded the 5:00 am skies in inky darkness. Not a soul stirred in this early morning quiet. After a few hesitant steps, I turned, jogging quickly back to the safety of my house.

If there is one predator I can’t handle, it’s a city mugger lurking in this darkness!