Nervous Nellie in the Wild

Two boats tied up to a dock. Just to give you an idea of the size of our boat - the small one. It's 25 feet long. The other is 62 feet long. We were usually the smallest boat in any marina or anchorage. But I think we had just as much fun as the big boaters. The important thing is getting out there to enjoy all the beauty.
 

Normally, we anchor the boat and often stern tie it to land, especially if things are choppy on the water, or an anchorage has a few boats in it. 

One of our destinations was Toba Inlet, a narrow fjord that winds its way into the mainland of the province. Anchorages are difficult to find, hence the tie up at the marina dock. Another plus was the hot showers available at the marina.
  

We like to hike. We see some great scenery and get good exercise huffing and puffing our way up mountains. (One of us huffs and puffs; the other is steady as a metronome.) 

We asked the marina host, Kyle, for a trail recommendation - "about an hour's climb," we said. He gave us directions and off we went.

"What about bears?" asked she of the nervous disposition.

"Haven't seen any for quite awhile."

"Good," thought she. But she was glad that her hiking companion, Mr. Woodsman, had along his bear spray.

(You can probably figure out where this is going....)

We got to the viewpoint, had a drink and some gorp and I took lot of photos. In the photo above, the waterway opening in the center is Waddington Channel, coming into Pryce Channel, our route from the south to Toba Inlet, which stretches to the left of the photo.

We began our descent. 

Rustle. Rustle. Something was in the bushes. 

Mr. Woodsman didn't say anything, so I assumed it was just a bird or squirrel.

Rustle. Crash. Crackle. "It's an awfully big squirrel," thought she of the nervous disposition. "But I'll be brave."

That lasted just a few seconds. "Mr. Woodsman," said she, "stop for a minute and listen."
 

About 50 feet in front of us Mama bear and Baby Bear broke onto the trail from the bush below. Baby bear hightailed it into the bushes on the other side. Mama Bear stopped to take a look at us.

"Get behind me," said Mr. Woodsman. 

Nervous Nellie didn't hesitate for a second. But she did remember her camera, and had a momentary pang that the zoom lens was in the case and not on the camera.
 

"Scram!" said Mr. Woodsman, and clapped his hands. So Mama Bear scrammed, stopping to take one last look just to make sure we weren't following her.
 

We had just passed a fork in the trail and decided it might be prudent to back track a little and take the alternate route down the mountain. You can bet Nervous Nellie scrammed as fast as the bear!

How wobbly would your knees be after a hike and a bear encounter? Nervous Nellie's knees quivered for quite awhile.