How to Overcome Fear: What Hiking in Bear Country Taught Me

Personal Growth
Written By Jessica Sheaffer

When we arrived in the Canadian Rockies for our summer getaway, the weather was beautiful (minus the wildfire smoke), and I wanted to spend my first day deep in the mountains away from all things urban.

I'd done some research and decided on Chester Lake, a roughly 6.7-mile hike in Kananaskis Country that leads to a beautiful alpine lake tucked deep within the mountains.

There was just one problem.

I'm afraid of bears.

Not in a cute, “Oh, I hope we don't see a bear” kind of way.

I am legitimately afraid of bears.

As I was preparing for this hike, I kept thinking about the story of this couple who were killed in a grizzly attack in Banff National Park a couple years ago. These were experienced backcountry hikers who knew what they were doing, and yet they and their dog were killed by a bear.

That could be me.

I couldn't let go of the thought.

That next morning, as we were packing our backpacks with our hiking essentials, my boyfriend and I even got into a little argument about it. He kept reassuring me that we'd be fine, while I kept insisting, "I am NOT going hiking in bear country without bear spray."

I'd read enough about bears to know I didn't want to wander around the Canadian wilderness completely unprepared.

So on our way out, we stopped at a little roadside gas station.

And they had bear spray.

For $80.

EIGHTY DOLLARS? Are you effing kidding me?

Turns out bear spray is normally around $60 in Canada, so they weren't totally price gouging us. But suddenly my deeply held conviction that I would absolutely NOT hike without bear spray became slightly more negotiable.

I stood there staring at it thinking, Eighty dollars for something we're probably never going to use?

Screw it. We'll be fine.

The clerk did recommend a bear bell, though. For $10, apparently we could clang our way through the wilderness and alert the bears that humans were coming.

Perfect.

So I left the gas station without the one thing I'd insisted we absolutely needed and instead had a tiny, annoying bell.

I somehow felt safer.

Off we went toward Kananaskis.

Without bear spray.

Actual picture of the Momma bear.

And then, as we're driving along Highway 742 toward Chester Lake, guess what we see?

A bear.

Actually, not just a bear.

A Momma bear and her cub.

They ran from the side of the road into the bushes as we approached.

Fantastic.

Now I had proof.

There were, in fact, actual bears out here.

(BTW... as it turns out, this wouldn't be our last bear encounter. I actually caught the next bear on video. Keep scrolling to watch it.)

A little farther down the road, we turned onto a dirt road.

And there it was.

A temporary roadside sign:

THE BEARS ARE OUT!!!

At this point, the universe seemed to be having a little fun with me.

We eventually reached the Chester Lake trailhead, and I immediately felt better when I saw about 10 cars in the parking lot. At least we weren't going to be the only people wandering around out there.

As we were getting our packs on, we watched two couples head out ahead of us. Whew…people…I’ll be okay.

And we started hiking.

The trail was absolutely beautiful. Every once in a while, the thought of a bear would pop into my mind. I'd clap my hands, whistle, sing, or make some noise because I'd read that making your presence known can help prevent surprising a bear.

And then I'd keep walking.

We climbed through the forest and eventually came out into this incredible meadow surrounded by mountains, with wildflowers everywhere.

It was like walking into paradise.

The place felt almost entirely our own.

And somewhere along the way...I forgot about the bears. I just let go.

I wasn't trying to overcome my fear. I wasn't giving myself a pep talk. I wasn't telling myself there was nothing to be afraid of.

I was simply experiencing what was right in front of me.

The mountains. The meadow. The trees. My boyfriend. The trail beneath my feet.

And eventually, this glorious alpine lake tucked beneath the mountains.

By the time we reached the lake, I wasn't thinking about bears at all.

On our way back down, we started passing more and more hikers coming up the trail. I remember feeling grateful we'd gotten such an early start because we'd had so much of the trail and lake to ourselves.

But apparently there was something else happening around me that I completely failed to notice.

Later that evening, my boyfriend casually said:

"You know every single person we passed had bear spray, right?"

Me…without my bear spray

What?

And apparently EVERYONE had bear spray.

I’m talking experienced hikers.

Tourists.

Even the people who reeked of cologne and clearly weren't seasoned Canadian wilderness people.

All…had…bear spray.

One person apparently had bear spray hanging around their neck.

And I hadn't noticed any of it.

Not. One. Can.

Earlier that morning, I'd been so focused on bears that I was arguing about bear spray before we'd even left.

Hours later, I was surrounded by people carrying it and my brain didn't even register it.

And then, because apparently the universe wasn't finished with me yet, we discovered something in the closet of our Airbnb later that day.

Bear spray.

A perfectly good can of bear spray.

Sitting in the closet.

Free.

Waiting for us….AFTER THE HIKE!!

I got the giggles so badly that every time I thought about the entire situation and the irony of it all—the $80 bear spray I refused to buy, the ridiculous $10 bell, the mama bear and cub, THE BEARS ARE OUT sign, and apparently every human being hiking Chester Lake carrying bear spray except us…I started laughing all over again.

Because somehow, during those few hours on the trail... I'd forgotten to be afraid.

And I've been thinking about that ever since.

How Do You Overcome Fear?

We tend to believe we have to get rid of fear before we do something.

We wait to feel confident. We wait to feel ready. We wait until we're certain we'll be okay.

But what if that's backwards?

What if sometimes we don't think our way out of fear?

We experience our way out of it.

I didn't become less afraid of bears sitting safely at home reading about bears.

And I certainly didn't become less afraid because my boyfriend kept telling me, "You'll be fine."

I became less afraid by walking into the experience.

At first on the trail, I was hyperaware. I made noise. I stayed alert. I thought about bears.

And then life started happening.

There was a beautiful trail to walk. A meadow to cross. Mountains to stare at. A lake to reach.

Chester Lake Kananaskis Country, Alberta Canada

And gradually, without even realizing it, my attention moved away from everything that could happen and I forgot to be afraid.

Later in our trip, we talked with a park ranger about the black bears we'd seen. She explained that black bears generally want to avoid humans and spend much of their time foraging for berries and leaves. Then we proudly told her we'd bought a bear bell.

She looked at us and basically said:

“Don't use the bell… the sound can make curious bears want to investigate.”

Are you kidding me?

So not only had I refused to buy the bear spray...

I'd bought what was potentially a bear dinner bell.

I lost it and started laughing.

But by then, something had genuinely changed in me.

I'm less afraid of bears now.

And next time?

I'm buying the damn bear spray.

Even if it's $80.

Because courage isn't recklessness. Preparation does matter.

I’m also reminded of something about myself when it comes to my fear of bears, sharks, and other creatures that could potentially consider me a meal. I like feeling safe. I like knowing what to expect. And apparently, I especially like knowing I'm not on the menu.

But maybe that's part of what fear is really about—the desire to know we're going to be okay before we take the risk.

You Don't Have to Wait Until You're Fearless

Sometimes we keep waiting for fear to disappear before we're willing to walk forward.

But maybe that's not how fear works.

Maybe we don't have to wait until we're fearless.

Maybe we prepare ourselves as best we can...

and then we start walking.

Maybe overcoming fear isn't about convincing ourselves that nothing bad will happen. Maybe it's about learning that we can be present with uncertainty without letting it consume our entire experience.

And then somewhere along the trail, we may discover that we forgot to be afraid.

A few days later, on our way back from Jasper, another black bear wandered across the road right in front of us.

I was mesmerized and caught off guard by how calmly and casually he walked across the highway. He seemed completely in his own world—not some ferocious beast to be afraid of, but a beautiful animal to appreciate from the safety of my car as I quickly pulled out my phone to capture a video before we scared him off.

Black Bear Crossing the Icefields Parkway in Jasper National Park.

I was in awe of him and the experience.

And maybe that's what surprised me most.

A week earlier, the thought of encountering a bear had nearly kept me from walking into the mountains.

Now here I was, looking at one with wonder instead of fear.

Same bears. Same wilderness.

But something in me had changed.

Ready to Stop Letting Fear Make Your Decisions?

You don't have to wait until you're fearless to start moving toward the life you want.

Sometimes confidence comes after we take the step, not before.

If fear, self-doubt, or overthinking have been keeping you stuck, I help women learn how to regulate their nervous systems, trust themselves again, and take action even when they don't have every answer.

Want to learn more about working with me? Explore my 1:1 coaching or schedule a complimentary 30-minute consultation to see if we're a good fit.

Schedule a 30 min free consult with Jess

About Jessica Sheaffer

Jessica Sheaffer is an Austin-based life coach, somatic embodiment guide, energy healer, and big believer that women are far more powerful than they realize. With more than 25 years in the healing world, she helps women strengthen their intuition, uncover the blind spots and old patterns keeping them stuck, and develop the inner “superpowers” they may have forgotten they had.

Her work blends nervous system regulation, somatic healing, intuition, and practical coaching to help women quiet the noise, trust themselves more deeply, and have the courage to create a life that actually feels like theirs.

When she's not working with clients, you'll probably find her traveling, hiking somewhere beautiful, or apparently wandering through bear country without bear spray.

 

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