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So now it’s about 200 yards away. Its head was moving back and forth — I’m getting nervous even talking about this — and then it lifted its head and started sniffing the air. And then it turned around directly at me, and started running at full speed, like a frigging dart coming at me.

I knew that as soon as it started to run there was no way in hell I could outrun it. And I knew that they climbed trees, so I couldn’t climb a tree. I don’t have any of my tools. I have my hat and my gloves, and it’s now charging at me and that’s when I started to scream.

I took my hat off; I was waving my arms. I tried to make myself look big and it kept coming even faster. It wasn’t slowing down; it was low to the ground, and galloping. It wasn’t like my life flashed before my eyes. I was just scared shitless.

I don’t know what made me do it, but I took the gloves off, and I know how to whistle, with two fingers, that shrill whistle. I’m thinking, noise. What can I do? I’m already screaming. Then I thought, whistle. So I start making this loud, piercing whistle. And that’s when it stopped in its tracks.

It got up on its hind legs, and it took both its paws — and it’s huge, it’s towering over me — and it starts running its paws down the tree, looking right at me.

It dropped down on all fours and stood there, with his beady eyes, and I just kept whistling. I didn’t have time to say a prayer. I just kept whistling until I found the road, and then I just collapsed on the ground. I was never so scared in my life.

I don’t really believe in miracles. I’m very progressive in my religious thinking. I believe in God, but I don’t believe in an interventionist God. I just think God is love, and you can tap into this love. So it wasn’t like I thought, God intervened and made the bear not eat me. I just think, for whatever reason, the bear wasn’t going to eat me that day.

I did find one really good mineral, though.