Three hikers out for a trip to Crater Lake had a scary surprise on the mountain yesterday.
Sarah Eisele says when she, her mother and a friend reached the lake they saw a grizzly bear on the ridge.
She says the bear had already spotted them and they panicked and started to run, which prompted the grizzly to start chasing them.
“Definitely I have never been that scared in my entire life. I thought for sure I was going to die yesterday.”
She says they quickly realized running was a bad idea and stopped.
“We put all our sweaters up in the air and put our hands above our heads and grabbed big rocks and sticks because it kept on running at us. It stopped but then started circling us from the side and coming around the side of us. It probably followed us for a couple kilometers, we could see it in and out of our vision.”
Eisele says she hikes the area frequently and has never seen any traces of bears there before.
“I don’t know why it would have followed us unless it had a cub or food around. I did have my puppy with me too so that could attract bears as well I guess.”
She says she will now carry bear bangs or spray when hiking in the area.
Photo: Sarah Eisele