Daniela Hamm and her 11-year-old son Davin had biked only 500 meters of the Grey Owl Trail in Prince Albert National Park when something stopped them in their tracks.
“It’s loud and it’s crashing. And you’re like, what is it? What is it?” Hamm said. “What went through my mind is like, 'I hope it’s an elk.'”
A bear burst out of the brush and charged the two cyclists.
“But that sound, that crashing sound is actually (what) haunts me more than anything else,” Hamm told CTV News.
Hamm used the fat bike she was riding to push back against the bear. She says she was ready to sacrifice herself as the bear surrounded them.
“It goes through my mind, two people are not going to die today,” said Hamm. “This might be the end and I need to say my goodbyes.”
After the bear had charged three times, it gave up. Both mom and son were unscathed.
Parks Canada says people are likely to see bears on the trails in Prince Albert National Park and to always report bear sightings, especially ones with aggressive behaviour.
The park offers bear aware classes which Hamm has attended with her family.
“This isn’t my first time in the bush. This isn’t my first animal encounter,” Hamm said.
What happened on July 13 wasn’t typical bear behaviour, she said.
The family has no plans to return to the Grey Owl Trail but still enjoy going on hikes, and Hamm stresses this encounter was an unusual incident.
