The Sorcerer's Apprentice

As I journeyed through the dark forest, I encountered more than one grizzly bear.

Through the dense pine forest, time froze as our eyes met across thirty yards of damp earth and fallen logs.

The massive grizzly’s shoulder hump rose like a mountain above its nine-foot frame as it lifted its head from foraging, lips curled slightly to reveal gleaming canines.

Muscles rippled beneath its cinnamon-brown fur as it rose to stand, dark eyes locked on mine with primal intelligence while my heart hammered against my ribs.

Those endless seconds stretched as we sized each other up, until the bear dropped to all fours with a low huff, turned its massive head, and ambled away through the undergrowth, leaving me trembling but awed by the raw power and surprising grace of North America’s apex predator.

When I met her I realized I’d found something far scarier than locking eyes with a nine foot tall pissed off grizzly bear.