My Wild Close Encounter With A Grizzly Bear

One of the most wildest experiences of my life

The following episode took place at Peter Lougheed Provincial Park, Alberta, Canada on June 3rd, 2023. I was provided with an opportunity to talk about the episode in front of 15 people and the following speech was drafted.

Please check out my video in the caption of the below image or directly visit the link here: Vimeo

Close your eyes and imagine you’re in a wild park in Canada. There’s dense forest all around you, and just beyond the forest, there are huge series of snow-clad mountain ranges. In the foreground, there’s a turquoise-colored lake, crystal clear enough to see the pebbles and rocks beneath its surface. The entire scene is wrapped in tranquility, with hardly a sound for miles. Occasionally, you can hear the splashing of water as fish surface.

Now, take a deep breath and imagine the fresh air from the Canadian mountains slowly entering your body. Now, open your eyes! During my visit to Peter Lougheed National Park in Alberta, Canada, I had the opportunity to inhale some of the freshest air. It felt as if my lungs were screaming, “What are you doing to us? We’re not used to such fresh air. Just go to a city, get stuck in traffic with an open window, or smoke a pack or two.”

I was in Calgary, Canada to attend my cousin’s graduation ceremony and explore the national parks. On the last day of my visit, I wanted to go to a place where I could relax without having to hike much, as I had already hiked a lot the day before.

I made my way to Northern Lakes in the park, which offered one of the most scenic drives. Passing through mountains and dense forest, I encountered a big billboard that read, “No cellular services for the next 150 kms.” The adventure became even more exciting.

Upon reaching the parking lot, I noticed a few cars parked around. As I stepped out of my car, I was greeted by a magnificent view of the forest, mountains, and the turquoise lake. The lake was at a lower ground, while a dense forest covered the higher ground. I observed some hikers slowly disappearing into the dense forest, as well as two couples who had brought their kayaks and started rowing in the vast lake.

Since I was still tired from my previous day’s hike, I decided to stay closer to the water. I walked past the people fishing along the shore, as I desired to be alone with nature. After walking a bit further, I came across some teenagers playing loud music with their speakers. I moved past them and found a spot where I could sit by the lake. The path was a bit challenging due to the terrain filled with small pebbles and rocks, making it shifty to walk on.

I sat there for some time, admiring Mother Nature and absorbing every moment of it. It was simply breathtaking. It’s not an exaggeration to say that my stress melted away, and I experienced a sense of lightness in my head and throughout my body. It was a relaxing, refreshing, and absolutely rejuvenating experience.

Soon, I glanced at my watch and grumbled at myself for looking at it. After frustratingly questioning the concept of time, I finally decided to head back. As I walked back to the parking lot, something unusual caught my eye. Amongst the rocks and pebbles, I noticed a darker rock that appeared to be moving. I observed it more carefully and realized that the moving dark object was an adult Grizzly bear, less than 0.3 miles away from me.

Panic ensued, and for a moment, I couldn’t think straight. But the first thought that crossed my mind was to create more distance between the bear and myself before it noticed me. I ran in the opposite direction, but the loose and shifty terrain made it difficult. I ran for half a mile without looking back, realizing that if I kept running, the bear would soon catch up to me. At that point, I considered two options: 1) jumping into the lake and swimming to the shore, but considering the cold Canadian water and the bear’s excellent swimming abilities, I decided to avoid that; 2) running into the forest, but then I realized the bigger question, “What if I encountered more than one bear in my attempt to flee from the current one?” That wouldn’t be a good situation.

For a split second, I was unsure of what to do. Suddenly, I spotted two guys on a motorboat fishing across the shore. I whistled loudly and waved my hands high, shouting, “HELP! There’s a bear over there!” The two guys responded, saying, “Okay, hang in there, we’ll be there.” When they were sailing to my shore, I thought, “What if these guys aren’t able to make it in time? And when they do, what if the bear gets closer to all of us, putting not only my life but also theirs in danger?”

Just as they reached the shore and I boarded the boat, the Grizzly slowly made its way to the exact spot where I had been sitting just a few minutes earlier. I took out my phone and documented the entire episode. It was one of the most surreal experiences I’ve ever had.

In hindsight, I would recommend carrying bear spray. Although I had talked to people at the visitor’s center beforehand about carrying the spray, I still decided to keep it optional since I would be around people and not going hiking. Additionally, I was quite close to the parking lot and never imagined bears loitering around there. However, considering it was cubbing season, I could have been more prepared.

Globetrotters is an amazing publication that features collection of travel stories written by many talented writers. If you liked this story, don’t forget to check out other fun stories in the publication. You can start from these stories by Jillian Amatt & Aarti Tailor:

We’ve all experienced plane delays. But when JoAnn encountered such a situation, she decided to turn into a unique experience. Check out how JoAnn channeled that time into artistic endeavors.