[pct-l] your experiences with fear on the trail

[treerings at gmail.com]

So funny, Karen. Made me laugh out loud. Great story! Not knowing is the
scariest thing of all.

On Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 1:55 PM, Karen Keller <karen.kellerford at gmail.com>wrote:

> >From Campo until that frightful night a few miles from Big Bear, my
> practice had been to sleep with my food in my pack, and my pack under my
> feet. Since I am slower than the average hiker I usually end up sleeping
> alone and cowboy camping. On this particular night though it was snowing
> and cold and I not only decided to sleep inside my tent, I also happen to
> camp with two couples who had chosen the same spot. Friendly folks, one of
> the hikers made a joke about being visited by bears during the time we were
> setting up. He made me laugh. Late that night, however, I woke up to a
> sound that caused me to be instantly on high alert. I could not identify
> the sound and lay there barely breathing and waiting for something to give
> me a clue. Inside my tent I felt blind and vulnerable. I remembered the
> hiker's comment and began to imagine what would happen if a bear decided to
> investigate our camp.With a sense of growing dread, I imagined a mangled
> tent, torn pack and a wet sleeping bag. My heart pounding, I heard the
> sound again. Surely it was closer than before! Indeed, it sounded like a
> low rumbling growl. Oh why didn't I hang my food or at least leave it
> somewhere other than in my tent???  I lay awake on high alert for what
> seemed like hours before I finally realized that what I was hearing was a
> little too rhythmic and predictable to be a prowling animal, and that what
> I was really hearing was the harmless snoring of a fellow camper,
> completely oblivious to the terror he or she had caused.
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