trmichels

One of my scariest experiences was when I was guiding Alan Newcomb, one of the owners of Federal Cartridge Corporation, on an elk hunt in The Salmon River of No Return Wilderness Area of Idaho. I'd seen a grizzly bear scent post trree the day before. My hunters were tired, and slept in, so I thought I'd go out and do some early morning scouting. Realize that I am not allowed to hunt while I guide, so I do not carry a rifle, and I did not have a pistol. All I had was a 3 inch Buck knife.

Anyhow, I was walking through the woods when I heard branches breaking on the ground off to my left, but behind me. Knowing it could be a bear, the hair stood up on the back of my neck, and I got more than a little nervous. I never found out what it was (possibly a pine squirrel droping pine cones from the top of a tree), but I learned how "crowded" it can get when there is only you and a grizz in the same valley.

I've guided in Colorado and seen Mountain Lion tracks that were made the night before (I know because it rained the day before), and in New Mexcico when I was guiding Bud Gant, coach of the Minnesota Vikings, and my horse spooked at a Lion in the dark one evening, and never got scared.

I've hunted both New Mexico and Minnesota for bear, or hunted deer in wolf and bear teritory, and I do sometimes get jumpy as I walk in to a stand in the dark. You really should talk to yourself or whistle when you scout or walk to a stand in the dark when are predator hunting - so you don't accidentally run into an animal, but if you do it, you may spook the animal you want to hunt. So, it is up to you.

One other time, when I was instructing students at a guide school in Wyoming, I was leading a string of six pack horses along the side of a very steep mountain just south of Yellowstone Park. The second horse in line decided he wanted to walk on a trail that was about 5 yards below the trail I was on. He went down to the trail, dragging the third horse along, which stumbled, and dragged the rest of the string with it.

I was afraid the whole string would loose their footing and roll down the steep mountainside. All I could think of doing was to hang on to the first horses lead rope, head my horse up hill and rake it with my spurs as hard as I could, hoping my arm did not give out, and that the first horse would help me pull the other 5 horses back up on the upper trail. And that is just what happened.

It so happened that the guide school owner Bud Neslon, was right behind me and saw the whole thing. He told me later that he had never seen anything like it, and that I saved him thousands of dollars in what could have been dead or injured horses and lost or ruined camp gear. He was very thankful.

I guess the worst scare I had was when I was guiding and had my 8 year old son along. The duck boat flipped over, and even though he had a life preserver on, I was still very worried about him. When I found I could stand in chest deep water, I pushed him up on the overturned boat. It was a cold ride home for both of us.

The scariest thing I can remember, is when my good friend and well known owner of Lobo Outfitters (and absolutely the best elk outfitter in North America) Dick Ray, out of Chama New Mexico, who I used to guide elk hunts for, went into an enclosure to feed one of his pet bears. He owned a wildlife park south of Pagosa Springs, Colorado, and a TV station had come in to shoot some video and talk about bears that were raiding garbaige cans in town due to poor forage that year.

Dick went into the enclosure with Cubby, a 500 pound black bear he had hand-raised from a cub, and was going to feed him, when Cubby attacked him. Normaly Dick would have hit the bear on the nose, but because the camera was rolling he did not want to get accused of animal cruelty. Because he did not exert authrotity over Cubby, the bear kept coming, and when he got Dick (who is all of 5 foot 4 inches and weighs about 125 pounds) on the ground, the bear grabbed him right between the legs, sinking his teeth into the pelvic bone just above Dick's genitalia.

I'd sent my friend and fellow camouflage designer Jim Crumley, designer and owner of the first hunting camouflage "Trebark", to hunt elk with Dick that year. But, Dick was unable to guide Jim because he was in the hospital. So Jim hunted with Dick's son Mike. When I got there later that year to guide, Dick told me what had happened, and showed me the scar he had.

I did not see the video until it was shown on "America's Most Dangerous Animals" a few months later. And it has been shown several times since. If you have a chance - watch it, it is the only "black bear grabbing a small guy in a black cowboy hat" video - that I know of.

I don't know about you guys, but I would have been scared to death if I was charged by a 500 pound bear, especially when it sunk its teeth into my crotch, and I thought I might loose my manhood.

What were your scariest times while hunting?