by Max Brown
I walked backward facing Nathaniel, my eyes struggling to find his shape in the dusky light. I spoke excitedly, recounting the day’s hike so far in Katmai. Suddenly, Nathaniel’s eyes widened as he pointed behind me, hand shaking. I turned around slowly, now nearly face to face with an enormous brown bear in the trail. I froze in my tracks before carefully backing up. The bear snorted and grunted, appearing unimpressed by my small self before lumbering off into the woods. I turned to Nathaniel: “I think Katmai is not going to disappoint.” He stood there, saying nothing.
