Not all of my camping/hiking memories are fond...I have on more than one occasion risked my life and done some really stupid things...like...crossing a snow bridge at Convict Creek which would have killed me if I had fallen into the raging waters below while on a hike during Memorial Day about 12 years ago...or...hiking in pitch black conditions along a dangerous ridge, in a rain storm, on Mount Jefferson in Oregon...or... scaling a verticle cliff in Yosemite with my backpack on. It was so steep I couldn't make my way back down so I had to throw my pack from a ledge and climb down backwards on my hands and knees...or...walk out on frozen lakes on more than one occasion...or attack a Grizzly bear in Glacier National Park with only a stick in hand...just kidding...I have encountered numerous bears and two mountain lions in the wilderness...but...the only time I felt threatened was when I unexpectably came upon a mother bear and two cubs while on a hike in the early morning. Although I was probably less than 20 feet from the bears they never saw or smelt me. I backed away slowly with my heart pounding and headed back to camp...