I take a hike through the Canadian wilderness with eight tough fellow adventurers. Every evening around the campfire we try to outdo each other with the most heroic stories, and before we crawl into our sleeping bags we stoke the fire to scare off curious grizzly bears at night. One morning we discover an enormous bear roll, fresh and still steaming, right next to the still smoldering campfire. No one noticed anything about that visit. But then the cool campfire stories were done for good.
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A version of this article also appeared in the October 5, 2023 newspaper.