The One Where I Think About Journey

"Journey?" You might be asking yourself. What does an 80's band have to do with hiking? Well sit back and let me show you...

I have a new adventure picked for this weekend. I'm not going to say where or when, because I'm kind of paranoid about strangers knowing my plans, but I'll be sure to tell you all about it when I get back. In the meantime, all I need to tell you are the following things:

1) This is the first time I'll be backpacking alone.

2) I am a *teensy* bit nervous.

3) There are supposedly a lot of bear sightings where I'm headed.

Now, whenever I get worried about something, I have the same MO. Instead of just becoming generally nervous about everything, I hyper-focus on one particular thing to be freaked out about. In this case, it's not strange people, it's not snakes or ticks or Wendigo, it's not any normal fears like pooping in the woods or having to use the stove. Nope. It's bears. I am terrified of seeing a bear.

I am well aware that there's a good chance I'll have a bear encounter. Heck, maybe several. And I'm even more aware that the chances that I'll be legitimately attacked by a bear are slim to none. I've done the research, I've read the articles, I've watched the videos on bear behavior. And it's helped to soothe my conscious mind, albeit only a little.

But my unconscious mind rages on. And it is a bitch. It's filled with images of an angry momma bear, roaring and swatting at my face, or a bear sneaking up and tackling me. Basically every image of a bear encounter in a movie, ever.

The way I normally deal with fear is to play the what if game, in an effort to be slightly prepared for even the vaguest threat. If I think about it in advance, maybe I won't freeze up when the time comes. Right? As I go about my day I have thoughts like "What if a car pulls out in front of me right now?" or "What if I'm in the grocery store and the zombie apocalypse starts?" Normal thoughts like that.

This bear thing is no different. I've studied what to do when you encounter a bear, so now I'm going through the following scenarios in my head: "What if I turn a bend and there's a bear there?". "What if a bear sneaks up behind me?" "What if a bear sniffs at my tent?". The number one thing that everyone recommends is to make noise as you move along the trail, either by talking or singing. And as I was reading this today, my plan-ahead mind realized that I should pick a song.

Cue "Don't Stop Believin'". It's one of the few songs I know all the words by heart, and I'm hoping that the bear will hear the sincerity in my voice when I belt out the chorus.

So if you read a story next week about a hiker getting eaten by a bear while belting out "HOLD ON TO THAT FEELING", know that I didn't go down without a fight.