Way To CLOSE!!!!!!

I ran into a Bear. Straight up ran into a 2-3yr old male(guessing) bear. 250ish pounds of power and muscle way over capable of ripping me in half.

It Started out like most "Rocky" training days, usually with a destination in mind, I had wanted to go check out a few cliff bands on a topo map that map that I had been eying up for quite some time now. It is a great time of year to scope new areas because looking through the forest is possible, unlike the summer time when you can't see crap. Not to mention the bugs. Anyways I found a great cliff and followed it along for a few hundred meters until it petered out to the lake, I then went up over the cliff/hill and found a even better cliff on the other side of this one and descended into the gully to check out the cool lines I had found! Note: I am roughly about 1hr from the car, which is also the nearest road. It was one of the days when you just "followed your nose".

As I am standing there in awe at the potential lines, no farther than 5ft away a bear comes out of a perfect looking hole under a tree that I had neglected to notice(I was way to excited for what I had found). He rears up on his back legs, ears up and glares at me.. Uh. Hmmmm Right, so 5ft away there is a bear ready to make out with me. I have had some "close" encounters with bears before, but 5ft!!!! Come on, that's way to close for comfort!! I could of shoved him if I wanted to. Now the little dude inside me said, "run"! The other dude in their said "Arms up, act calm and cool", "make eye contact and don't look away", "Straighten up, big as you can make yourself" and at a whooping 5ft 7inches tall that not much! I spoke in a deep mellow voice, "easy there big fellow, we are good, we are good, easy there". I slowly backed away, fully crapping my pants! Once I got about 7-10 steps back he dropped onto all fours and with his ears still up maintained to stand in front of his perfect den under the Perfect cliff. I backed around a corner a bit more until I was well out of sight and then RAN!!! like no tomorrow, I ran hard!!! Through the thick Muskoka Woods, I bloody "hit it hard"!. A few hundred feet later I found myself at a point where I either went up a cliff, across a lake(oh, so cold) or back past the bear. Up I went, probably life wet 5.5 climbing in trail runners and with trekking poles in hand, I literally ran up the cliff. Once on top I ran along the ridge to a safer area away from the bear (a few hundred meters down wind). Since nobody really knew where I was (smart) I called Meg and filled here in on where I was and what had just happened(Good old iphone). I Proceeded to make my way back to familiar terrain and then onto the car.

I have had a few close calls over the last few years, most of you probably already know them, but this was seriously one I will never forget! It is almost impossible for me to explain the details that I can remember on this bear and needless to say I hada rough night sleeping last night.