I woke up suddenly.
There was something outside of my tent.
I could hear big, steady breathing, and it was CLOSE.
I knew what it was instantly, and was glad I was facing away from it (because if I was facing it, I would've been able to see it from under my tarp tent walls).
I stayed calm, holding my breath, and listening for any changes in it's breathing.
For what seemed like forever, it stood there, probably looking at my tent, and then it loudly crashed off into the bushes. I listened for up to ten minutes as it got further and further away, and then I went back to sleep, holding my bear spray closer.
In the morning I got up, made sure my food cache was still in the tree where I left it, and then checked out the tracks left near my tent. They were BIG.
I was camping near Seward, Alaska, about 5 miles out of town. I had ridden over from Lost Lake trail the night before, and the amount of snow up there had turned a short bike into a 5 hour bike/push/carry slog. When I rolled into Seward, the town was super busy and most restaurants were closed or out of staff. I was so disappointed in Seward that night that I decided just to camp on the Exit Glacier road and then ride a bigger day the next day.
On this road there's a ton of free camping along the river bed, but because of this, there were also a ton of people camping, and since it was relatively early at night, around 9, and I wanted to sleep, I chose a different spot. I found a small portion of the old Resurrection Trail that was on the other side of the road, which was clearly used by locals, bears, and moose. Just ten meters from the road was a fantastic campsite along a little creek, with an old rope swing, and room for a tent.
I checked out the trail in both directions, and settled on this place. There was water, a log to sit on, a firepit, and it wasn't far at all from the road or people, in case I had issues with bears.
Before I went to sleep I thought about my location, and decided this was definitely a bear trail, and it was probably used frequently, so I made sure to put my smelly food in my Revelate Designs seat post bag, which *was* airtight (before I put 6000 miles of wear on it), and any food that was sealed I put into good waterproof zipped compartments on my bike. My tent was a Black Diamond Beta Light stretched over my upside down bike. I put the food bag 8 feet up in the crook of a tree about 150 feet away, far enough so that I wouldn't be woken up if a bear got into it and started wolfing down the contents. I kept my bear spray close, and went to sleep.
I woke up at 2 am to the beginning of this story.
MORAL: Know what might be lurking in the woods, and do everything you can to avoid a painful confrontation with what might be in the woods. If you aren't sure, be careful. If you're sure there's nothing that will get into your camp, still, keep smelly food put away and keep a clean camp.
I wasn't really scared. I had done everything I could do, aside from not camping there. I expected bears, and I got a bear, but I was ready. Be ready.
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