Five years ago I began writing my first blog. I had just started on a year long program studying Mandarin at two universities in Beijing. The first thing you get when you study Chinese is a Chinese name. My intro Chinese teacher looked at the name Rahul and decided it sounded very similar to 瑞虎 (Ruìhû). It meant tiger. Lucky tiger.
Everywhere I went in China, people would call me the lucky tiger. One time when I was in Xi'an a lady got me confused with Obama. "噢爸妈来了!" she screamed. (Obama has come!) I told her she was mistaken. She asked me what my name was. I told her Lucky Tiger and she burst out laughing instead. Henceforth, the tiger was born.
I spent the day hiking alone through Grand Teton National Park. Around Jenny Lake, up to Inspiration Point, and far into Cascade Canyon there are several amazing panoramic views of the Teton Range. Since I was all alone, I needed to be careful. Bear sightings had become more frequent this time of year, especially when mama bears would teach their cubs how to hunt and scavenge for food. Bears don't attack groups, but they do attack individuals. Quiet individuals. At first I thought..."what are the chances I will run into a bear?" So I started the 10 mile trail up the mountain, but decided that it would be better if I made the investment in some bearspray (which I have now added to gear list).
The store owner showed me how to remove the safety, lock and load, and fire. "Never run" he whispered "it will trigger their internal bear instincts... they will chase... and that is one race you will never win."
Scared shitless by the old man, I wandered to my doom in the great mountains, the Grand Teton Range. Up and up, several slopes and trails I traversed, crossing the river pass between String Lake and Jenny Lake and noticing several of the beautiful flowers that had come to bloom along the way. Yellow and purple colored the mountainside and by the lake, the colors were most vivid. Everything was going well until I turned one corner...
I held my hand on the bear spray canister. Trigger was ready to be pulled. But I had the intense urge to video record this...just in case this was the way things would end for me. Camera in the left, bear spray in the right, and mouth on the orange safety...I backed away slowly.
I had already passed a tour group of horses earlier and met up with the leader to tell them that a cinnamon mama bear and two black cubs were up by the river side. The group leader made a bunch of noise, and the group pushed the mama bear back. After that I was known no more as a Tiger, but as Bear Bait. I would go ahead of the horses, scout the area and tell the group it was clear. I was surprised by the number of frightened international people I met on the trail who did not have bear spray. They were all relieved and excited that I had a can. Pretty soon I was leading a group of Germans, Italians, and Lebanese through the woods (Left- see the pic of confused people). We split our way at the river and I started the long trek up to Inspiration Point.
The trail wasn't too bad and I had packed a full 2 liters for the venture up. My plan was to go once around the lake, and hopefully reach the car before things started getting dark. It was all going well, until I turned another corner... and saw....Diva Bear.
I made it to Inspiration Point despite two bear encounters and keeping a calm hand on the trigger. After, I made it the rest of the way around Jenny Lake without seeing a bear. Hiking alone definitely is mentally taxing. Any second, something could attack and you are hyperaware of all noises in the wild. I got around the fear of the unknown by imagining a bear coming out of the bush and the actions I would take to save my skin. Perhaps that calmed the nerves, or perhaps it was dipping my feet in the lake after the hike was done.
