The Trail — Declan Riley
The crisp morning air bit at my cheeks as I set foot onto the frozen Redwood Creek Trail to reach the very top of the view point. A scent of the damp forest filled my nose, while looking down onto the redwood forests, this being one of the best viewpoints in the United States. Rays of sunlight shone down through the tree’s canopy, painting the trail in shifting patterns of light and shadow. Sunlight shined down onto the bark of the redwoods, almost shining an orange essence throughout the forest. The scent of pine was strong. The only sound was the crunch of my boots on the frigid packed earth below and the occasional call of a bird, screeching through the redwoods. It was the kind of solitude and peace I was craving. Before leaving camp I made myself some breakfast and grabbed a swiss army knife for any occasion that I might run into. I started cooking up two fried eggs, and some burnt toast. The smell of the frying eggs attracted a friend. A small chipmunk had strolled into my camp wanting to try the eggs and toast. I gave him some of the yolk to try, and the chipmunk dunked his whole face into the middle of the egg. The center filled with warm liquid gold, and as quick as he appeared the chipmunk scurried off.
On my way up the steep trail, I could hear the rustling of leaves from other small animals running around. The tree’s bark almost looked as if they had faces in some of them. There were an abundance of beautiful, colorful flowers frozen in a sunpatch on the trail. I stood there as though frozen in time just like the flowers. It was as though the calmness and stillness was absorbed by me in the moment. I picked a couple of them to keep and kept on hiking. A little bit more time passed, while on my way up to the view point. Eventually I rounded a bend and saw it: a bear. Not a cub, a fleeting glimpse of brown fur disappearing into the underbrush, but a full-grown grizzly, maybe fifty yards away, slowly walking onto the same trail I was on. My heart hammered against my ribs. It was massive, its fur thick and matted from the harsh weather conditions, its muscles flexing and unflexing beneath its skin. The bear swung its head up standing on its hind legs now. A staggering eight foot tall grizzly bear sniffing the air. In a split second the bear did a hundred and eighty degree turn, facing me on the small, narrow trail. Our eyes locked for a second. Time felt as if it had stopped. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound, only the wind whistling through the tree branches. Until a familiar chipmunk came running through the trail.
I remembered snippets of advice from every nature show I’d ever seen. “Make yourself big.” “Speak in a calm voice.” “Back away slowly.” These all seemed like things to do in this situation, so I raised my arms up in the air, trying to make myself appear bigger than I was. I began to speak in a calm tone. My voice trembled almost as if my throat was closing on itself, “Hey grizzly, easy does it there big fella.” The bear’s ears twitched with the sound of my voice and the faint sound of the water rushing in the nearby river. Its expression was still unreadable as its fierce, fiery gaze stared into my eyes. It felt as though its gaze was burning into me. Making me freeze in the moment. Slowly I began to back away, never taking my eyes off of the bear. My mind racing with thoughts of what the bear might try and do next. “What if the bear lunges at me?” “Where will I run too, I can’t climb a tree or else it will follow me.” After backing away a couple more yards from the huge grizzly bear, I bolted and continued on the trail to the top of the view point, but at a faster pace now.
After continuing on the trail, I began to notice the sun starting to set. I picked up my pace even more, putting my head down determined to make it to the viewpoint before nightfall. Once I started to see the drop off of the viewpoint, I was ecstatic with excitement. Pride was flowing through my body, knowing I could do this. The view was breathtaking. I stopped in stride. In place. The land of the redwood forest stretched before me. A massive sea of green under the bright blue sky with hints of the red and orange bark shining through the tree’s canopy. As I was taking in the beautiful sight, I heard a branch snap behind me. My heart stopped, my breathing became slow as I turned around face to face with the same grizzly I encountered on the trail. Except this time I had nowhere to go--walking forwards meant walking into the bear's grim jaws, or the other option being to jump off of the cliff. I froze, before remembering my tactics I used before. I spoke in a calm voice, raised my arms up into the air making myself look larger. The bear became more alert now, ears pointing straight up, its backhairs standing on end. I thought, “Maybe I made the wrong decision”, and right then the bear began to charge at me fueled by rage and hunger. I scrambled to grab the only weapon I had on my person--the swiss army knife. The bear grabbed a hold of one of my arms with its dagger-like teeth. Making me drop the knife, while trying to dodge the bear’s bite. I wasn’t quick enough though. I could feel my tissue and muscles being ripped apart by the pure force of the grizzly’s titanium jaws. In seconds I could feel the warmth of blood gushing out of my arm, and not the handle of a swiss army knife. I stretched my frozen hands and fingers as far as they could reach down towards my legs. I could barely feel the handle since my fingers were so numb from the cold. The dirt was rock hard stabbing into my back as the bear lay on top of me. I gripped the knife with all the strength I had left in me, and began to drive it into the bear’s neck. Hoping I’d kill the animal before it killed me.
Delcan Riley lives in Sherwood, Oregon, attends Sherwood High school, and works at Jersey Mikes. This is his first publication.