We're going on a bear hunt

By -

Photo taken by Martin Horton

All together now 'We're not scared!'

One of the best loved children's books, by the wonderful Michael Rosen. A tale filled with 
 drama, peril and wonderful onomatopoeia words like swish, splosh and squelch. A lot of harmless fun is had by all, because this is a hypothetical bear hunt, right? The bear only exists safely inside the covers of the book, but what if there was a real bear, with sharp claws, terrifying teeth and a deafening roar? Suddenly, it would all feel very different...

Eva and I nearly saw that bear. There we were in the High Tatras national park in Slovakia, after completing a mammoth hike from Velka Svistovka otherwise known as the Great Marmot due to the cute creatures that make their home there - sadly we didn't see any. 

I'm amazed to see the translations describe it as a 'grassy mound' and 'an easy hike'. My legs would tell you otherwise. At 2037 meters, it's significantly higher than Ben Nevis at 1, 345 meters, and with chains and moving rocks, it's not a leisurely stroll, but the views are stunning, which made it well worth the effort.

Our destination, photo taken my Martin Horton 

'But what about the bear?' you'll yelling at me. Okay, yes, I wasn't distracted, I was just setting the scene. There we were, near the end of our mammoth hike, when we met some fellow hikers, who were a little wary as to some strange sounds they'd heard in the woodland. Loud clumping sounds, even their dog was concerned, so what did we do? 

We went stumble trip, 

swish swash

splash splosh

  squelch squerch 

            all the way back to a conveniently placed bus stop. 

Part of me would have been excited to have seen a real-life bear, but my legs were extremely thankful for a bus ride home rather than a further hour's hike. 

Me swallowed up by a mountain, taken by Eva

This is the closest Eva and I have ever got to truth slightly mirroring fiction; I'd love to hear of any of your similar experiences. Let me know in the comments or on Facebook.

Martin is a writer, baker, photographer and storyteller. He's been published in the ACW Christmas anthology and Lent devotional. He's currently honing his craft at flash fiction, and you can find him on Twitter here. 

 

 



Comments

  1. Olusola Sophia Anyanwu9 October 2022 at 16:46

    You brave man! How wonderful! Lovely post. I am always amazed at those who go moutain hiking, climbing or whatever. I never have and never wiil, not in this life. It is a great adventure, seeing the glory of God from the mountain's perspective! Beautiful pics. Blessings.

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    1. Martin Horton12 October 2022 at 06:47

      Thank you so much, Sophia. I'm not brave at all, just married to a woman who has grown up with hiking in her blood, which isn't surprising when she comes from such a beautiful country.

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  2. Deborah Jenkins9 October 2022 at 16:57

    Loved this Martin! I can't think of any occasions when my life has mirrored fiction except that when I was little I was actually convinced for a while I was IN someone's story and not real. Hm, let's not delve too deeply into that ;) I hope you've both got over your bear hike!

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    1. Martin Horton12 October 2022 at 06:54

      Aww, thank you, Deborah, that's very kind. I can't imagine how your parents handled that. What a fascinating conundrum, and great seeds for a story! Yes, a delicious pancake helped.

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  3. Ruth Leigh9 October 2022 at 17:47

    You are brave. Mountain climbing is so not for me. Terrifying stuff but as always, the writer's brain turns it into a piece of work. "We're going on a blog hunt."

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    1. Martin Horton12 October 2022 at 06:57

      Thank you, Ruth, I'm not a mountain climber, either, but I married a woman who has it in her blood, so at least once I should experience, and I'm glad I did. Yes, it is amazing how our brains work :)

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  4. Teardrops of Hope10 October 2022 at 05:51

    Perhaps I should explain. Although I'm a writer, and poet, and I write 4 (for) God. I have some sort of reading difficulty. Apparently I'm not dyslexic. Who'd want to be dyslexic anyway. But that's beside the point. I have a difficulty reading,, added to which the flipping cataract operation they did has gone wrong and now they want to lazor, or is it Lazer the eye to put it right. One of my problems is I take things literally. I couldn't understand why you were going on a mammoth walk. Because they've been extinct for a very very very long time , well at least that's what I've been given understand. And anyway, I was very confused, because Marriott's way is near where I live. There used to be a railway line there and now it's a cycle path except that people walk there too to and from the city. Or is that to. Too and fro from the city and there are goggers, no, I meant joggers,or at least I think I did. I don't know cos my husband says my spelling is unique. But if you've never met a bear, you are not qualified to talk on the subject. Only people who have no, or is, know what their talking about.
    Maybe you will one day. We'd like to hear your blog about that

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    1. Martin Horton12 October 2022 at 07:08

      Thank you for reading, Rachel, and I'm really sorry your operation didn't go well, I hope the laser surgery helps. Taking things literally must make reading fun, you see things in a whole new light. You say I'm not qualified to talk on the subject because I've never met a bear, well I doubt Michael Rosen has, but it hasn't stopped his book from been a tremendous success, and what about all those crime writers who describe so well how you murder someone, let's not hope that they haven't actually committed a crime. Oh, and I am dyslexic, and this will explain how I deal with it. http://morethanwriters.blogspot.com/2021/05/my-struggles-with-grammar.html

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  5. Silver J. Laine20 October 2022 at 14:17

    Fantastic post, Martin! Thank you for sharing!

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