There was barking and yelping as the black flash plowed through the dogs and rammed into me knocking me to the ground and stomping on me as it ran. It was what we thought would be an ordinary day in the back woods of Wisconsin looking bear tracks to start the first chase of the morning. We drove around looking for a bear track or looking to see a bear cross the road. We found a pretty decent sized bear track and that normally means a big bear. We found the track off the Jolson and we threw on it thinking it would be a quick and easy hunt and it would tree right away, but oh were we wrong.

We unloaded the dogs and put them on the track. They took off as if it had just crossed the road and acted like it was smoking hot. They took off and caught it almost as soon as they took off. We walked in expecting it to be treed and when we got in there the bear was on the ground fighting dogs so we threw sticks and rocks and got the bear moving again. Once we got it moving again another guy and I had to walk with the dogs and the bear to keep it moving.

We had him on the run and it sounded like he treed. I walked in and he was finally treed. As I started grabbing dogs and leashing them. He got a little too comfortable and started coming down the tree looking at me. Then he jumped.

He jumped at me and I drove to safety near the dogs and when I looked up I saw him turn and bolt into the woods. This became personal and I unleashed all the dogs to chase him down again. I had to tree and catch him again to show who was boss.

We chased him to the road and we were ready to watch him come across and we had dogs raring and ready to take the place of the stating dogs. As they were getting closer to the road it got quite then BOOM the bear comes shooting out of the wood and onto the road running as fast as it can to get to the other side. We let the dogs go and they tear off as if they were getting pulled by something and the chase was on again.

After a while we looked at the GPS and it looked like a kids coloring book as the bear ran circles and circles in the woods. It finally stopped and looked treed or caught. I ran into the woods leashed up and ready to be over with the chase now as it has gone on for hours by now. I walked into a mess. Dogs were everywhere the bear was on the ground fighting dogs. I grabbed and threw dogs out of the way and grabbed wounded dogs and set them off to the side out of harms ways. As I went to grab another dog the bear lounged at me and stopped two feet away as I kicked in the head.

The bear took off again and the dog followed. I took out wounded dogs and brought fresh ones in. I continued to pursue the bear and the dogs in fear it would stop again and hurt another dogs if not kill one. It was hot and humid out and I was down to wearing my tore up bloody jeans and my hunting boots.  The day was dragging out I continued after the bear and the dogs. My next encounter with the bear could potentially my last.

The dogs had it caught on the ground again and as I got closer I could hear the dogs fighting the bear and squeals and yelps from the dogs as they got swatted and rolled. I ran up and grabbed and threw dog out of the way and trying to get the bear moving again. I was throwing sticks and stones at the bear and kicking it in an attempt to get it moving again or to tree. I got it to run again and it ran another 100 yards and stopped. I ran to it again and it seemed like it was slow motion, it lounged at me as I fell back, it stopping a foot short of me slamming its jaws shut on a log snapping the log in half. I stumbled to feet trying to be ready for anything else this bear had to dish out. As I got to me feet he tried or bite again but failed, do to me kicking it in the jaw and the dogs tackling it as it tried. I fear if it would have succeed I would’ve ended up getting seriously hurt or mauled. 

We had two dogs left on the bear at that point and as the bear broke away and ran. I grabbed both dog and leased them up. After I leashed them up I sat down and hugged them. To this day I believe it’s their actions, the actions of Jed and Sota, that kept me from getting seriously hurt.