Dangerous Times

Greg and I were sitting against a big rock, the size of a small garage, waiting for a caribou or moose to wander past us. Greg was an archery hunter so he needed to be within thirty five yards for a shot. A cow moose appeared about one hundred yards away and we were hoping a bull was around. Two bulls soon showed up; unfortunately they were two small caribou bulls. The cow decided she didn't like them and charged the bulls and drove them off. A short time later the bulls came back and the old cow was waiting ; she drove them back down the trail . We never did figure what had put the girl in a bad mood but it may have been a bear in the area or maybe she just didn't intend to share her domain with any caribou.

Later in the morning we spotted a nice caribou bull about six hundred yards away on a rock outcrop. We plotted a way to sneak to him so off the two of us went in pursuit. Greg and I took advantage of the timber to reach the bottom of the huge rock. We found a game trail that would take us up where the bull should be feeding , so Greg went first slowly climbing to the top of the rock , but the bull had disappeared. There was a rock about four feet in diameter that we hid behind hoping the caribou would feed back into the open . Forty yards in front of us was a mix of blueberries and low brush, after that the thick timber and alder brush made it impossible to see anything. Suddenly a large brown bear appeared feeding toward us on the lush blueberries; it was joined by two small furballs . The cubs were having fun playing and running around. Mom kept her head down lapping up the big berries with her tongue and was walking directly toward Greg and I. The cubs ran ahead of her and were approaching us fast. I slowly put a shell into my .338 magnum hoping I wouldn't have to use it. One cub was only thirty feet away and the sow was now about sixty feet from us. I looked around and behind us the rock dropped about thirty feet straight down to a patch off green grass. I whispered to Greg to slowly back up and I would join him when he got to the drop off. Everything seemed to freeze in time. This was like a bad nightmare; I knew at this close distance the bear would instintly charge us to protect the cubs. One cub stood up on its hind legs to get a better look at us. I slowly joined Greg and told him to slide off the rock and hope for the best. He quickly slid from sight and reappeared in a few seconds smiling in the grass below. I took one last look at the bears and the sow was still busy feeding and had not seen the her cubs were intent on watching two funny looking creatures sliding backwards and dropping out of sight. We were elated that a disaster had been avoided.

Greg and I took off for another rock ridge a half mile to the south of us only to run into another brown bear eating berries but this young bear took off at the sight off us. When we reached the ridge lunch was eaten and we rested trying to plan the rest of the day. Later I stood up to glass the area to the west and saw something reflecting in the bright sunshine. It was the palm off a moose antler; a very big bull moose. Then I spotted another bull a few yards from the first one. Both bulls were in the sixty inch class but were over a mile away in a grass filled meadow. We took off after them hoping to find the meadow. The first thing we found was a small creek that would lead us to the bulls and help hide our movements. We soon found fresh moose tracks and areas where moose had recently fed on willows. I picked up a large stick and started rubbing on a spruce tree and grunting but there was no repsonse from the bulls as the rut had not started yet . Greg and I stayed there until late afternoon and being three miles from camp reluctantly left the area and started working our way through the heavy birch and spruce timber. We had made a semicircle around the spot where the sow and cubs were in the morning and were trying to stay to the right in the timber to avoid them. I found a game trail and thought we might as well follow that instead off fighting the brush. The trail finally ended and we were looking at a wall of alder brush,except for one that entered the brush field and there was a tunnel about four feet high that we could take instead of back tracking. I looked at my watch and it was getting late; I wanted to be back in camp before dark. So we bent over and went into the tunnel- a tunnel made by brown bears. I reloaded my rifle again. Soon we were finding very fresh bear scat and bear beds. There were beds made by a big bear and beds made by small bears; we had entered the bedroom of the old sow and her cubs. The hair stood up on my neck just thinking about our predictiment and I told Greg we needed to start talking to let her know she had company. Eventually we entered an open area filled with blueberries and spotted the rock we had hid behind that morning. We quickly took the trail off the rock and hurried on to camp . It was a relief to see the safety of the tents.

Life can be dangerous , especially for christians. We are looked down upon by many in the world, even in this country. In some countries, worshipping Jesus can mean death. The Apostle Paul faced beatings, ship wrecks, snake bites, and imprisonment for his beliefs but he never wavered. Paul had met Jesus face to face on the Damascus road and completely turned his life from a persecutor to being persecuted.

God will help us walk through the dangerous times. Psalm 91 is a great message for us when trials and tribulations come our way. Two people can also face danger better so make sure you have a brother or sister in Christ .