Photo by Dmitry Mull/Unsplash A cold wind from the east made me zip my jacket all the way to my chin. I knew several hours had passed since Blue wiggled out of her leash and chased that stupid rabbit across the creaky old foot bridge over the mountain stream where we camped in the Cascade Range. She just kept running and I did too. We went through the brush, dodging tree branches that swung back and hit me in the face, but no matter how fast I ran, Blue was still way ahead. All I could ever see was the tip of her tail diving under another bush. When I made it into a small clearing, the rabbit was gone and so was Blue.
“Blue! Where are you girl?” I called, but she was nowhere in sight. I needed help, but getting Mom and Dad meant another lecture. I could already hear Dad saying, “Nikki, you’re only eleven! I told you not to go into the woods by yourself!” The problem was all I could see was trees, trees, and even more trees that were so tall I could barely make out the sun. I was lost!
“Blue! Come girl! Mom and Dad have to be looking for us by now,” I yelled but there was no answer. Not one bark! How could she have done this to me? I thought as I tried to remember what dad told me to do if I got lost. He said that moss grew on the North side of the tree, but none of the trees had any moss. Besides, knowing which side the moss grew on wouldn’t help me anyway, because I couldn’t remember if our camp was South, East, or West of where I was now. Then, I remembered the whistle he gave me, and reached into my pocket, but it wasn’t there. It was probably sitting on the picnic table next to that hamburger mom was barbequing for lunch. My stomach wished I had it now.
I decided to climb to a higher spot to get a better view. “The higher, the better, Nikki,” Dad always said when we hiked. “You can see where you have been and where you are going when you are on high ground.”
The only place higher was a tree covered mountain about a thirty-minute hike away. I started off. It took me a lot longer than I thought to reach it, but it was a good decision because a deer trail led me to a small pond and a narrow creek. Man, was I thirsty! The water was super cold, but boy, did it taste good. The sun was almost down, and it was getting dark. “If you’re lost, don’t walk at night. You will get hurt,” was something else Dad told me, so I decided to bed down at the bottom of a huge fir tree near the creek.
I had just closed my eyes when I heard a loud splash coming from the creek. There was just enough moonlight to make out a huge, black shape in the water near the bank. I knew it couldn’t be dad. It was too big. Then I heard the snorting noise that jolted me to my feet. I thought about running, but then Dad’s voice flooded my mind.
“Never run from a wild animal, Nikki. Just make yourself look bigger and wave your arms.”
Sure, Dad, I thought, when did you ever have to face a wild animal in the middle of the night all alone?
“Okay, you can do this,” I whispered to myself, “Get up, and act bigger than you are and make a lot of noise.”
Slowly stepping into the open, but not too far from the tree in case I needed to climb it fast, I started yelling at the top of my lungs and waving my arms wildly. “Hey! Hey! Get out of here!”
It didn’t work! That huge mass stood on its hind legs and roared. I never climbed a tree so fast. I didn’t need to look back because I could hear the bear’s sorting and snarling getting closer. I had barely made it to the first limb when the bear was clawing at the tree trunk. I figured I was a goner when the bear’s huge paw hit the trunk just under the limb I was clinging to, but just as I started to kick at it, Blue came out of nowhere and sunk her pit bull teeth into the bear’s leg!
The fight was on! Blue was growling and shaking the bear’s leg side to side. The bear dropped back to the ground and took a swipe at Blue. She tumbled into a bush but came right back at the bear. The bear roared and snapped, but Blue didn’t let up. She tore back into the black beast until the bear finally took off. I scrambled down the tree.
“Blue! Blue! Come here girl!” She crawled toward me. “Oh Blue, you’re here. I can’t believe it. Where did you come from?” I had a thousand questions, but they all stopped when I felt something wet covering her left front shoulder and heard her whimper. I took my jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulder.
When the sun finally came out, I cleaned Blue’s shoulder with water from the creek, and packed it with moss. The wound didn’t look too deep, but she would never make it on her own. She was too heavy to carry, so I made a stretcher for her from two fir branches and my jacket. I climbed the tree as high as I could to get my bearings. I spotted a road to the south. I could tell it was south because the sun rises in the east. I climbed back down, grabbed the sled, kept the sun to my left, and headed south.
We were about halfway down the mountain when we heard a rustling in the brush on the trail. Blue started growling, and the thought of that bear flooded my mind so much that I almost ran, but Blue’s tail started to wag. The best thing I ever saw was my dad and mom running up the trail to Blue and me. Being found is so much better than being lost!
“Blue! Where are you girl?” I called, but she was nowhere in sight. I needed help, but getting Mom and Dad meant another lecture. I could already hear Dad saying, “Nikki, you’re only eleven! I told you not to go into the woods by yourself!” The problem was all I could see was trees, trees, and even more trees that were so tall I could barely make out the sun. I was lost!
“Blue! Come girl! Mom and Dad have to be looking for us by now,” I yelled but there was no answer. Not one bark! How could she have done this to me? I thought as I tried to remember what dad told me to do if I got lost. He said that moss grew on the North side of the tree, but none of the trees had any moss. Besides, knowing which side the moss grew on wouldn’t help me anyway, because I couldn’t remember if our camp was South, East, or West of where I was now. Then, I remembered the whistle he gave me, and reached into my pocket, but it wasn’t there. It was probably sitting on the picnic table next to that hamburger mom was barbequing for lunch. My stomach wished I had it now.
I decided to climb to a higher spot to get a better view. “The higher, the better, Nikki,” Dad always said when we hiked. “You can see where you have been and where you are going when you are on high ground.”
The only place higher was a tree covered mountain about a thirty-minute hike away. I started off. It took me a lot longer than I thought to reach it, but it was a good decision because a deer trail led me to a small pond and a narrow creek. Man, was I thirsty! The water was super cold, but boy, did it taste good. The sun was almost down, and it was getting dark. “If you’re lost, don’t walk at night. You will get hurt,” was something else Dad told me, so I decided to bed down at the bottom of a huge fir tree near the creek.
I had just closed my eyes when I heard a loud splash coming from the creek. There was just enough moonlight to make out a huge, black shape in the water near the bank. I knew it couldn’t be dad. It was too big. Then I heard the snorting noise that jolted me to my feet. I thought about running, but then Dad’s voice flooded my mind.
“Never run from a wild animal, Nikki. Just make yourself look bigger and wave your arms.”
Sure, Dad, I thought, when did you ever have to face a wild animal in the middle of the night all alone?
“Okay, you can do this,” I whispered to myself, “Get up, and act bigger than you are and make a lot of noise.”
Slowly stepping into the open, but not too far from the tree in case I needed to climb it fast, I started yelling at the top of my lungs and waving my arms wildly. “Hey! Hey! Get out of here!”
It didn’t work! That huge mass stood on its hind legs and roared. I never climbed a tree so fast. I didn’t need to look back because I could hear the bear’s sorting and snarling getting closer. I had barely made it to the first limb when the bear was clawing at the tree trunk. I figured I was a goner when the bear’s huge paw hit the trunk just under the limb I was clinging to, but just as I started to kick at it, Blue came out of nowhere and sunk her pit bull teeth into the bear’s leg!
The fight was on! Blue was growling and shaking the bear’s leg side to side. The bear dropped back to the ground and took a swipe at Blue. She tumbled into a bush but came right back at the bear. The bear roared and snapped, but Blue didn’t let up. She tore back into the black beast until the bear finally took off. I scrambled down the tree.
“Blue! Blue! Come here girl!” She crawled toward me. “Oh Blue, you’re here. I can’t believe it. Where did you come from?” I had a thousand questions, but they all stopped when I felt something wet covering her left front shoulder and heard her whimper. I took my jacket off and wrapped it around her shoulder.
When the sun finally came out, I cleaned Blue’s shoulder with water from the creek, and packed it with moss. The wound didn’t look too deep, but she would never make it on her own. She was too heavy to carry, so I made a stretcher for her from two fir branches and my jacket. I climbed the tree as high as I could to get my bearings. I spotted a road to the south. I could tell it was south because the sun rises in the east. I climbed back down, grabbed the sled, kept the sun to my left, and headed south.
We were about halfway down the mountain when we heard a rustling in the brush on the trail. Blue started growling, and the thought of that bear flooded my mind so much that I almost ran, but Blue’s tail started to wag. The best thing I ever saw was my dad and mom running up the trail to Blue and me. Being found is so much better than being lost!
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