#Repost @jonpaladini (@get_repost) ・・・ Today was my second time hunting alone & 3rd time ever. I was not expecting, nor was I prepared for a close encounter with a blackbear. This gargantuan, lumbering mass silently sauntered over to a tree that was, unbeknownst to me at the time, 20yrds away. I have never before encountered bear in the wild. As large as he was (approx 300lbs), he was almost entirely silent. As he took pause, I began to hastily act and in doing so, I made a rookie mistake: I misjudged my distance by 10yrds. I carefully and quietly reached for my quiver for a second arrow while he was distracted by the sound the other arrow made on impact. I also think the prior arrow gave him a scent because in a flash, he rapidly surged away from the arrow's resting place TO me. He was 3-4 yards to my side, and below the elevated stand. I could hear his deep guttural breathing, I could see mangled tufts of thick, ink black fur on his back and all I could do was pause. I never thought this would happen. Bears are apparently masters at avoiding people in this area, and I came to hunt deer or turkey and that is where my bubble of naivety ruptured; this bear doesn't give a damn. He's doing his thing and just because I thought, "Hey, I'm either hunting deer or turkey today so I shouldn't be worried about bears." Doesn't mean the beast disappears; he lives on regardless. I did choose to take a shot because their meat is apparently amazing, especially from here but I missed; my arrow has his hair on it. Once he got next to my stand, I froze. He locked eyes with me, and of course I realized that I'd have no choice but to surrender should he have decided to climb up. Thankfully, after our staredown, he just moved on. Seeming no longer phased, he blocked himself off from full view behind several trees and moved up the mountain. It was surreal. I have a fear of bears; they are capable tearing any human that ever lived to bits in seconds. And to me, any beast that can do that serves as the fuel for nightmares. After he walked off, I actually started to shiver from some strange, post encounter adrenaline dump. Never felt that way before. #keephammering #uahunt #uaridge