A British Columbia Grizzly Adventure

It was a simple annoyance. A mosquito wanted to make a meal of my cheek, .but I couldn't swat him away because the movement would catch the attention of a boar grizzly working his way toward me.

My attention bounced back and forth between the bear, the mosquito, and the fact that my boots were 50 yards behind me. We, my cameraman and I, left them there to close the distance to the bear via wool-sock stealth.

At 30 yards, the bruin turned his head to feed on a clump of grass. That offered a chance to wipe my cheek, clip the release to my bowstring loop, and quickly crank the 72-pound bow to full draw.

When the boar stepped closer, he seemed to realize he wasn't the only predator in the clear-cut. He locked his eyes in that classic, ominous bear stare that kept Chris Douglas, my cameraman, and I glued to the ground.

I settled the top pin on his vitals, but hesitated. It was only the first day of a 10-day hunt. Although the grizzly was nice, he was a 7-footer, not what I was looking for.

The adrenaline surging through my veins began to ebb as the bear spun and retreated. And it was only then that I realized how much I was shaking.

I love hunting dangerous game. There's nothing quite like it.

The thrill of stalking within bow range of giant animals armed with tusks, nasty claws or popping jaws adds a dimension to the hunt that isn't found on sheep mountains or in a whitetail tree stand.

For those with means to travel, elephant, cape buffalo, hippo and plenty of big cats await on the Dark Continent. But if you're forced to stay in North America, the ultimate thrill of dangerous game is bear hunting.

Although the Alaskan brown bear and the polar bear edge the grizzly out in sheer size, they can't compare to the grizzly bear's agility and in general, overall fierceness. To top it off, grizzlies are quite comfortable in dark timber. Their chosen natural habitat does a great job of stacking the odds solidly in their favor. Also, the mountainsides they roam are home to thermal wind currents, which the bears constantly use to their advantage, thanks to their highly developed sense of smell.