Overnight with Mango // 

The sporting goods owner glanced at my purchases, an airhorn & bear spray. With a stale look he said, “you know bears like dark coloured clothing”. I was wearing a black sweater. I laughed & fed the comment, “Oh really, tell me more!”. I added, “they use to say that sharks had an aversion to certain colours & patterns, but I think that was dismissed”. He replied, “I’m terrified of sharks. You can’t see them coming. It would be like moving through thick bush in the dark, knowing that there are grizzlies around.” Eyes wide he added, “which I’ve done!”. He had a point. You aren’t going to miss a grizz coming for you. Hundreds of pounds of muscle and fur bulldozing through the forest. While bobbing on a board, the shark strike is more often than not a total surprise. I felt an odd sense of comfort comparing the two. I thanked him & headed out. He sent me off with a heartfelt chuckle, “now don’t get eaten by a bear!”. Well, we didn’t get eaten & didn’t even see a bear, prints or scat, for that matter. But the thought danced around in my head, wide awake, thinking of the “grizzly country sign on the highway”. Hearing felt heightened in the pitch dark of the night. I had tucked in early to hide from the hungry bugs. Every rustle of the dry autumn leaves overhead, & each plop of the trout jumping in the lake could be crisply heard. A gnawing mammal squeaked the perimeter of the tent. @mpprefontaine was meant to come along for the journey, but got sick. Would there have been comfort in numbers or would double overthinking have exaggerated the fear? I watched my mind creatively curate all the possibilities. Your tent is so snug that one swipe would take you and Mango out. What would it feel like to have a bear sniffing around the nylon walls? .... [continued in comments ...]