Matt Doeden - Can You Survive Hair-Raising Mountain Encounters?: An Interactive Wilderness Adventure

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YOU are deep in a majestic mountain wilderness. Youre surrounded by beautyand danger. Rockslides and avalanches are constant threats. Deadly wildlifeincluding bears, wolves, and mountain lionscould lurk at every turn.

What will you do when you come face-to-face with a deadly mountain creature? Will you fight? Will you run? Do you have what it takes to survive a dangerous mountain wildlife encounter? YOU CHOOSE which paths to take. Your choices will guide the story and decidewill you live or die?

Chapter One sets the scene. Then you choose which path to read. Follow the links at the bottom of each page as you read the stories. The decisions you make will change your outcome. After you finish one path, go back and read the others for new perspectives and more adventures. Use your devices back buttons or page navigation to jump back to your last choice.

Theres nothing quite like the mountains. You take a deep breath, inhaling the fresh smell of mountain air. The trees, the rocks, the calm and quiettheres just nowhere youd rather be. Out here, its just you and nature.

But even as you enjoy the scenery and the setting, you know that its not entirely the peaceful place it seems to be.

The mountains can be as harsh as they are beautiful, and the wildlife here has to survive in these conditions. In a place where resources can be scarce, some of the animals here will do anything for a meal. And if you find yourself in the wrong place at the wrong time, that could be you.

So even as you hike through the wilderness, you keep your eyes and ears open. Every sound, from the wind through the trees to a birdcall, gets your complete attention. lurk out here. You can never let your guard down.

A gust of wind blows across your face. You move carefully over the uneven ground. Suddenly, you have the unmistakable feeling that youre being watched. Something is out there, and its tracking your every move.

You turn and look all around you. High mountain peaks reach up toward the bright blue sky. Shadowy forests surround you.

The sound of a snapping branch makes the hairs on your arm stand on end. Something is coming your way. What is it? You dont know. But you prepare yourself to act. Its beautiful out here in the mountain wilderness, but still, you know you must be ready for anything.

Wow, is this the perfect spot or what? Kwan says, gazing toward the towering peaks of Alaskas Denali National Park and Preserve. The snowcapped mountains stand out against a bright blue sky. You think you spy a hint of pink in the west, as the sun begins to dip lower in the sky. The wind through the trees sounds like natures whispering some secret language. The first day of your backpacking adventure has been just like you dreamed it would be.

You smile and nod. Yeah, its pretty great. Ive dreamed of backpacking out here since I was little. Im so glad you came with me.

Kwan has been your best friend since first grade. There is no one youd rather share this adventure with.

Now make yourself useful and find us some more dry wood, you joke. This fire isnt going to feed itself.

Its late afternoon, and the shadows of Denali are getting long. Youve pitched your tent in a small clearing in the trees. Youre both ready to relax by a fire after a long day of climbing and hiking.

Kwan comes with an armful of wood just as you get a small fire going. You arrange some small logs onto the fire in a pyramid. Soon, youve got a roaring blaze going.

With plans to be up here for a week, you expect to for some of your food. Your backpack is stocked with trail mix, jerky, and more. Tonight, however, youve got a treat in mindhot dogs. You each grab a small stick, jab a hot dog onto the end, and hold them over the flames. The smell is amazing.

Theres nothing like cooking over a fire after a hard day of hiking, you say.

Kwan agrees. You can tell hes hungry when you hear his stomach growling.

You laugh. Man, you are hungry, you say.

He gives you a funny look. What are you talking about? That was your stomach, not mine.

Then you hear the sound again. Its a deep growling noise. But its not coming from your stomachor Kwans. Its coming from a dense patch of forest beyond the clearing.

By instinct, you scramble to your feet. You peer into the trees and see a shape. A big shape.

Grizzly bear, you whisper.

Kwan sees it too. Not just one, he says, pointing. Look over there.

A lone grizzly bear would probably leave you alone. But this is a mother bear with two cubs. The cubs have wandered into the clearing, just a stones throw from your camp. The smell of the hot dogs probably drew them in.

Theres one thing you know about bears. Nothing is more dangerous than a mother with her cubs. She will do anything to protect her offspring. With the cubs so close to you, you are in a very dangerous position. You have bear spray in your backpack, but its out of reach in the tent. It wont do you any good here.

Throw them the hot dogs, Kwan says. Then we can make a run for it.

Youre not sure feeding the bears is a great idea. But you have to do something.

In your panic, you cant think of a better idea. The smell of the food probably brought the bears to the clearing. So you pluck the hot dogs off of the sticks and throw them as far as you can toward the family of bears. Hoping thats enough to distract them, you turn and dart for the other side of the clearing. Kwan isnt quite as fast as you are. He lags a few steps behind you.

You realize quickly that your plan didnt work. The mother bear either didnt notice the food or doesnt care. Bears are predators, and their instinct is to chase. Branches snap as the mother grizzly begins to charge. As you run, you glance over your shoulder. Shes coming right at you. Its amazing how fast such a large animal can be. You cant outrun her. You need to find a safe placeand quickly!

You run full-speed into the woods. Branches slap you in the face, but you barely feel them. Kwan is right be hind you. You can hear the bear getting closer by the second.

A tall spruce tree rises in front of you. Off to the side, a group of boulders rise up out of the ground.

You think you read somewhere that trying to scare some predators is actually smarter than running from them. The mother bear is staring at you. You dont have much time to act. You rise to your feet, spreading your arms and legs wide to look as big as you possibly can.

Get out of here! you shout. GO!

The cubs dart back into the safety of the trees. The mother stares at you a moment longer. You fear that she could charge at any moment. So you shout some more. You wave your arms around. Finally, she decides that you arent worth the trouble. She turns and disappears into the shadows.