A California woman running on a mountainous trail bumped into an adult brown bear and two cubs in a frightening encounter caught on video earlier this month.
The heart-pounding footage was taken along a narrow hiking trail in Sierra Madre on Nov. 8.
“While I was trail running alone, I was about 5 inches from hitting momma bear after turning a tight blind corner,” Laura Gold wrote on social media.
The video shows Gold turning the corner and stopping after spotting the bears. She slowly backed away and could be heard roaring and whistling to try to scare the bears. The trio, however, continued to follow her along the trail.
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The runner turned a tight corner along a hiking trail in Sierra Madre, California, and nearly bumped into a bear and two cubs. (@_lauragold via Storyful)
“I used every trick in the book (except bear spray) and nothing worked,” Gold wrote. “Momma bear continued to move towards me until another hiker came from behind me and helped scare them away.”
The bear trio slowly followed the woman along the trail as she backed away. (@_lauragold via Storyful)
Gold wrote that the trail behind the bears splits and that both paths lead down the mountain.
The runner roared in an attempt to scare the bears away. A second hiker eventually helped her scare the bears down the trail. (@_lauragold via Storyful)
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Officials with California State Parks say that when encountering a bear, you should make yourself appear as large as possible, stay calm and quiet, and slowly back away. However, if the bear actually approaches you, officials said to make noise and yell at the animal.
Sierra Madre is located in the San Gabriel Mountains near the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County.
