Standing Bear meets Black Bear

After a long day of driving my legs upward while sweat dripped profusely from my brow, I slept soundly in a quiet, primitive campground in the White Mountains.

But I woke suddenly to the sounds of our second tent (used to store gear) being ripped apart.

Michael McLaughlin, aka “Standing Bear”,  is climbing all 4000-foot peaks in New Hampshire this summer to raise awareness for several organizations dedicated to improving the lives of abused and neglected children. This is third blog post from Mike on his 2013 Hike4Kids.

Half asleep, I woke my wife up and told her that raccoons might be ransacking our tent.  As I fumbled for my glasses, my wife peeked outside the tent to see what was making all the commotion.  As she did so, I heard a violent crash and the send of a tent pole being snapped like a twig.  Brooke quickly recoiled into the tent.  “It’s a bear!  It’s a bear!” she said, quite startled.

“How big is it?” I asked, having found my glasses and put my headlamp on.

“Big enough that you don’t want to go outside,” she replied.

But I knew I had to go outside.  If I didn’t, the bear might soon turn its attention to our tent, which was just three to four feet away from the other tent.  I unzipped the tent and stepped outside.  I quickly moved to the front of the two tents and saw the bear for the first time.

It was the largest black bear I had ever seen.

Fear descended upon me.  With one fell swoop of its paw, the bear inflicted considerable damage on the tent.  Then it turned to look at me.

Startled, at both the bear’s size and at the fact that it now stood face to face with me less than five feet away, I backed up, jumping on top of the car to make myself appear larger.  I yelled at the bear and began flashing my headlamp, and I began to regain my confidence.

But then the bear disregarded the tent and began to come quickly toward me.

My heart quaked with fear.  I knew I was no match for the bear but I dared not run.  I held my ground and stared directly at the bear.  As it neared me I braced for impact and got ready for a fight, but the bear suddenly turned and retreated into the woods.

I told my wife to take the car keys and lock herself inside the car, and then I packed up our belongings as I listened intently for the bear’s return.  It never came back.

We lost a nice tent but gained a newfound respect for black bears.

Blog post and photo submitted by MBA student Mike McLaughlin

 

 

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