What is the most bizarre/puzzling/unexplainable experience you've had while out in the Great Outdoors?

Originally Answered: What is the most unnerving experience you had in the Great Outdoors?

My first cruise was on Princess with my wife to Alaska. It was through the Inside Passage from Vancouver, Canada. I had signed up for a hike in the wilderness before we left on the cruise. I even brought special shoes, called waffle stompers, that I had used in the High Sierras on a two-week backpack wilderness trek. One of the guides for the hike complimented me for coming prepared. Some of my fellow hikers were wearing sneakers. Not the best footwear for our hike.

The cruise tour involved a helicopter ride from Skagway to the trail head which was next to the rails of the White Pass & Yukon Railroad. We were to take the train back to Skagway after going up to the White Pass and the Canadian border.

Our hike to the foot of a glacier was uneventful except for fresh Moose sign. We did not see any except at long distance. Just as well, our guides said if we saw a Moose to put a tree between us and the Moose. On our way back to the railroad, one of our guides received a radio message from a railway worker who was inspecting the track ahead of a train. The railway worker said that a large Brown Bear had broken into the containers we had left, had eaten our lunch and was headed in our direction. This caused the guides to become very agitated and they instructed us to call out if we saw any large dark shape in the thickets we were going through. The fact that the guides were so agitated did not give me a warm fuzzy feeling. One even made the comment that while the thickets were impassible for us, it would not even slow the bear down. I had read about Alaska Browns and knew they were dangerous. Actually any bear can be dangerous and are best avoided.

We completed our hike back to the railroad without incident. However, all the bear left was the container of beer, so we had beer for lunch. Everything else was empty. I hoped the bear enjoyed the smoked salmon. The train arrived and we returned to Skagway hungry but relaxed after several beers.

The last hour or so of that hike was anything but relaxing as everyone was straining to see anything that moved. The tension was palpable.

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