1 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:08,160 Hey guys, it's Chris here. Thanks again for reaching out on 2 00:00:08,160 --> 00:00:11,280 Instagram during the free sticker promotion week. 3 00:00:11,680 --> 00:00:14,880 All your stickers should have arrived by now, but if not, 4 00:00:15,280 --> 00:00:16,960 please reach out and let me know. 5 00:00:17,640 --> 00:00:20,840 For those of you that missed it, don't worry, there are plenty of 6 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,880 stickers and other merchandise available on our Etsy store. 7 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:28,720 There are shirts, sweaters, mugs, and a lot more. 8 00:00:29,280 --> 00:00:32,280 The link will be in the show notes if you want to check that 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,040 out. And with that, let's go ahead 10 00:00:35,040 --> 00:00:38,640 and give a shout out to a returning Patreon member. 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:42,360 Huge thank you to Paul. 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Now on to the episode. 23 00:01:34,960 --> 00:01:38,280 It happened so fast, it knocked me onto the ground, kind of 24 00:01:38,280 --> 00:01:40,960 swiped me. It could have done whatever it 25 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:44,760 wanted to me. It was really unreal how strong 26 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,520 those creatures are. This is it. 27 00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:52,720 I guess I'm going to die from HP Studio. 28 00:01:53,560 --> 00:02:17,210 This is unnerved. Welcome back to the Unnerved 29 00:02:17,210 --> 00:02:20,730 podcast. It's where normal people share 30 00:02:20,730 --> 00:02:25,170 their abnormal stories. And if you enjoy true stories of 31 00:02:25,170 --> 00:02:29,290 the strange and terrifying, then you're in the right place. 32 00:02:30,090 --> 00:02:41,120 I'm your host, Chris Rickey. A walk in the woods should feel 33 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:47,280 peaceful and inviting, but nature, though it may appear 34 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:51,840 untouched and beautiful, is shared with creatures that are 35 00:02:51,840 --> 00:02:54,680 not as keen to share their home with us. 36 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:01,360 The small, harmless animals will often catch our attention, but 37 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:06,640 we should be concerned about the creatures we don't see until 38 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:11,960 it's too late. And for four college wrestlers, 39 00:03:12,600 --> 00:03:16,360 that nightmare became a horrifying reality. 40 00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,720 In today's story, Kendall and his friends set out on a casual 41 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,560 hike in the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. 42 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:33,760 What started as a simple outing quickly turned into a life or 43 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:38,400 death battle. This this is story. 44 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,880 My name is Kendall Cummings. On October 15th, almost two 45 00:03:44,880 --> 00:03:50,120 years ago now, the day kind of started off like usual Saturday. 46 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:54,000 We had wrestling practice that morning and coach told us it was 47 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:56,520 a nice day. He wanted us to go outside and 48 00:03:56,520 --> 00:04:00,480 do something with ourselves and four other buddies decided 49 00:04:00,480 --> 00:04:02,760 you're going to go out and go see. 50 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:04,320 We couldn't find any shut antlers. 51 00:04:05,120 --> 00:04:09,080 We were like 20 miles outside of Yellowstone on the Cody side. 52 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,760 Basically every year the deer and elk leads their horns and 53 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:17,240 we'd go out there and find them. So we were out there doing that. 54 00:04:20,320 --> 00:04:24,200 The day was going good. Be out there from like 10:00 55 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:30,080 quid, so 6:37. We'd walked all day long. 56 00:04:30,200 --> 00:04:32,920 We walked there at the end of the mountain and the sun was 57 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:35,800 starting to go down. We figured we'd better head back 58 00:04:35,800 --> 00:04:38,360 to a truck so we can make it back in the light. 59 00:04:39,800 --> 00:04:43,040 On our way back me and my buddies named Brady. 60 00:04:44,280 --> 00:04:48,560 We decided to stay up on top of the mountain and the other two 61 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,160 went to the bottom of the mountain and we're just going to 62 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:51,560 head straight back for the trucks. 63 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:57,760 We get to a spot where the trees are pretty thick. 64 00:04:57,760 --> 00:05:02,200 I went through the trees and as soon as I got to the other side, 65 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,920 my buddy said, hey, Kendall, there's a lot of bear sign right 66 00:05:05,920 --> 00:05:08,160 here. As soon as you say it jumped 67 00:05:08,160 --> 00:05:15,800 out, I could just hear crashing through the bushes. 68 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:20,280 And then I saw the bear. When the bear was coming at him, 69 00:05:20,280 --> 00:05:23,960 he put his arm up to block it I guess, and do all he could do. 70 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:27,240 And the bear bit his arm and snapped it. 71 00:05:29,000 --> 00:05:31,840 And it happened so fast and I was yelling at the bear. 72 00:05:31,840 --> 00:05:35,760 Hey bear, I tried to grab the sheds from my backpack and they 73 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:39,320 were clipped in there. I remember I threw a stick and 74 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:42,840 just kind of bounced off and threw a rock and done the same 75 00:05:42,840 --> 00:05:45,280 thing. And I kind of looked over my 76 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:48,520 shoulder and saw the rest of the mountain And I I did think about 77 00:05:48,520 --> 00:05:51,320 running, but it was a split second I thought about doing 78 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:53,760 that and then I just jumped down and grabbed the bear. 79 00:05:57,440 --> 00:05:59,320 I don't know if there was a whole lot of thought behind that 80 00:05:59,320 --> 00:06:03,520 one, but put one hand on his ear and the other one and on his 81 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:07,720 scruff right below his head and his neck, and I just pulled as 82 00:06:07,720 --> 00:06:09,960 hard as I can. The bear didn't even move it 83 00:06:10,280 --> 00:06:13,360 kind of like slow. He turned his head and looked at 84 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:15,280 me. What the heck's pulling on me? 85 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:18,040 I was thinking, oh, I guess I got to run now. 86 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:20,960 So I turned and I started running. 87 00:06:20,960 --> 00:06:23,000 I probably took two or three steps. 88 00:06:28,720 --> 00:06:33,560 It knocked me onto the ground, kind of swiped me, pushed me 89 00:06:33,560 --> 00:06:37,440 into the trees. It could have done whatever it 90 00:06:37,440 --> 00:06:43,640 wanted to me. I had never felt strength like 91 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:47,760 that. It was really unreal how strong 92 00:06:47,760 --> 00:06:52,160 those creatures are. I was sticking my hands in its 93 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,920 mouth so it couldn't kind of get in my neck and all of a sudden 94 00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:07,240 it just runs away. I started yelling out for my 95 00:07:07,280 --> 00:07:10,200 buddy that got attacked with me, started yelling out, breathing 96 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:13,600 or yeah, you all right? I didn't hear. 97 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:17,040 He didn't say anything back. All I could hear was the bear 98 00:07:17,040 --> 00:07:19,960 was back and he was breathing heavy right behind me. 99 00:07:23,960 --> 00:07:26,960 I couldn't see it. It was kind of like if you're in 100 00:07:26,960 --> 00:07:30,040 a corn maze and you can just see where the animals travel 101 00:07:30,040 --> 00:07:32,400 through. I couldn't hear him, but I could 102 00:07:32,400 --> 00:07:35,360 hear him breathing heavy and kind of snarling through his 103 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:37,960 nose. And he sounded pretty upset, 104 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:43,440 kind of watching where I'm hearing this sound from and I 105 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:46,080 just see his head. And then it turned and looked 106 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:49,160 right at me. It just had little teeny tiny 107 00:07:49,320 --> 00:07:52,240 black, black eyes. It was like 2 marbles and 108 00:07:53,040 --> 00:07:59,280 charged me again. It got my arm and it got my leg 109 00:07:59,280 --> 00:08:03,400 and I remember kind of squeezing his neck as hard as I could, but 110 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:06,640 when it had my arm, it would pick me up almost off the ground 111 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:14,640 and shake me. After that, it bit onto my head. 112 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:22,560 It's bottom jaw kind of got locked up in where your top and 113 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:26,520 bottom jaw connect, and it's top just kind of slipping, rolling 114 00:08:26,520 --> 00:08:29,560 off my head. I remember like just grinding. 115 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:39,159 I didn't really feel none of it. It's kind of like when you go to 116 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,880 the dentist and they numb in. You can feel that they're 117 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,120 working on your teeth, but it doesn't hurt. 118 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:46,560 I think I just had so much adrenaline. 119 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:52,160 I remember when it did bite through my head, it was like if 120 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:55,000 you twisted the water bottle a whole lot and poked it with a 121 00:08:55,000 --> 00:08:57,480 pen and just all that pressure escaped. 122 00:08:58,240 --> 00:08:59,680 That's what it felt like in my head. 123 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:02,760 That's when I was like, man, this is it. 124 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:22,280 I guess I'm going to die. When I felt pressure release in 125 00:09:22,280 --> 00:09:23,840 my head, I, I thought that was it. 126 00:09:23,840 --> 00:09:29,160 And I laid down and I thought that's I can't do nothing else. 127 00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:32,000 So I did just kind of lay down and limp. 128 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:37,040 After that, the bird kind of put its paw on my head and put some 129 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:41,360 weight down and then it got off of me and scooped some dirt on 130 00:09:41,360 --> 00:09:50,160 top of me and wandered off Bears and like mountain lions and 131 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:52,040 stuff. When they kill a deer or elk, 132 00:09:52,240 --> 00:09:56,280 they they'll bury it kind of preserves it, keeps the birds 133 00:09:56,280 --> 00:09:59,280 off of it. I was laying there simply, I'm 134 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,120 going to die. I went to get my phone out of my 135 00:10:02,120 --> 00:10:04,480 pocket. I was going to call my mom and 136 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,320 kind of let her know. But the bear, when it bit my 137 00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,080 leg, it bit into my phone and just crunched it broke it. 138 00:10:11,760 --> 00:10:14,960 So I was just laying there kind of trying to collect myself. 139 00:10:18,080 --> 00:10:22,040 After a while, I, I unclipped my backpack and I remember that 140 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:23,680 that's when the pain was kind of coming. 141 00:10:24,040 --> 00:10:27,240 When I unclipped my backpack, I felt like every single one of my 142 00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:30,040 fingers was broken. That hurt a lot. 143 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:34,520 When it bit my arm, it had tore the bicep completely off, so 144 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,400 that hurt. Started walking down the 145 00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:42,840 mountain, looking over my shoulder. 146 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,320 I kept looking back and I was scared I was going to come back 147 00:10:46,320 --> 00:10:48,800 and get me, but fortunately it didn't. 148 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,160 I walked probably like a plug a mile before I found one of the 149 00:10:58,160 --> 00:11:01,360 two buddies that had gone to the bottom of the hill, my buddy 150 00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:03,080 Brady. As soon as I pulled the bear off 151 00:11:03,080 --> 00:11:07,600 of him, he rundown on 911 and I found those two and told him 152 00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:10,680 what had happened. The one of them stayed with 153 00:11:10,680 --> 00:11:12,840 Brady and the other one was coming back up for me. 154 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:17,040 I met him halfway. I remember asking him I was like 155 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:19,760 Gus, how do I look? And he's like, you look, you 156 00:11:19,760 --> 00:11:22,400 look good man. I was like no, no, no, no, not 157 00:11:22,400 --> 00:11:23,920 the people eyeing me. How do I look? 158 00:11:24,680 --> 00:11:29,720 And he's like, you look good. We started wandering off and had 159 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,640 my arm over him and he was kind of helping me and limp down the 160 00:11:33,640 --> 00:11:36,160 mountain when we got to the bottom. 161 00:11:36,240 --> 00:11:38,880 When you call 911, something like that happens. 162 00:11:38,880 --> 00:11:41,320 They alert everybody in the area. 163 00:11:41,520 --> 00:11:43,720 They say, you know, there's a bear attack right above your 164 00:11:43,720 --> 00:11:46,280 ranch. The ranchers had met us at the 165 00:11:46,280 --> 00:11:48,160 bottom of the hill and they're side by side. 166 00:11:49,360 --> 00:11:53,400 They zipped us over to the trailhead and there was an 167 00:11:53,400 --> 00:12:00,000 ambulance waiting there. They cut all my clothes off and 168 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:04,840 checked me out and then giving me some blood and stuff and then 169 00:12:05,200 --> 00:12:08,000 a helicopter. Kane picked me up and got to the 170 00:12:08,000 --> 00:12:12,640 hospital in Billings. They cleaned up the dry blood 171 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,440 and checking out my wounds even more. 172 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:17,240 And then they wheeled me back for surgery. 173 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:20,360 And I remember the doctor kind of saying, Are you ready? 174 00:12:20,440 --> 00:12:22,960 And I said Yep. And then I woke up. 175 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:25,960 I think I had 70 staples in my head. 176 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,600 And they said hundreds of stitches altered around my body. 177 00:12:30,800 --> 00:12:33,080 I guess they when they were doing surgery on my face, they 178 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:37,640 found pieces of the bear's tooth up in my cheek, apparently don't 179 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:40,640 take good care of their teeth and they fall off when they're 180 00:12:40,760 --> 00:12:45,080 chewing on hard bone like that. College friends and wrestlers 181 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:47,160 who were attacked by a bear in Wyoming. 182 00:12:47,400 --> 00:12:49,680 They fought it off. And this morning they're sharing 183 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,680 their story. Modalenge joins us with more 184 00:12:52,680 --> 00:12:54,920 about how they survive and got away. 185 00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,680 Good morning, Mola. Good morning, Michael. 186 00:12:56,680 --> 00:12:58,880 Yeah, these guys are lucky to be alive, and they know it. 187 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,800 They tell me that at one point they were convinced that one of 188 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:03,920 them wasn't going to make it, that he was dead. 189 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,320 But his teammates, his friends, they wouldn't let that happen. 190 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,880 Just for us to walk out of there alive, all four of us, it's a 191 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:14,680 miracle. It really is with the situation 192 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:17,080 we were in with. This morning, 4 college 193 00:13:17,080 --> 00:13:21,040 wrestlers grateful to be alive and for each other after perhaps 194 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,720 their toughest match going toe to toe with a grizzly bear. 195 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:30,320 I just knew I had to protect my head and, and just kind of fight 196 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:31,920 for life, you know, it's life or death. 197 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:35,320 Northwest College students Braden Lowry, Kendall Cummings, 198 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:38,800 August Harrison and Oran Jackson were searching for fallen 199 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:42,400 antlers in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest on Saturday when 200 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:45,560 all of a sudden, Lowry and Cummings came face to face with 201 00:13:45,560 --> 00:13:48,560 the Bear. The Bear pounced, tackling Lowry 202 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:50,440 first. The bear came running out of the 203 00:13:50,440 --> 00:13:52,960 trees. I I didn't even see it until it 204 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,520 was right in front of me but I heard the crashing and and the 205 00:13:56,520 --> 00:13:58,560 only thing I could yell was. Bear, bear and. 206 00:13:58,560 --> 00:14:01,480 I yelled. Baron the Bear tackled me first. 207 00:14:01,600 --> 00:14:04,440 Seeing his teammate being mauled, Cummings took the fight 208 00:14:04,440 --> 00:14:08,520 to the bear, yelling, punching and grabbing it until the bear 209 00:14:08,840 --> 00:14:10,880 turned on him. And knocked me onto the ground 210 00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:14,000 and then with its head pushed me on the ground all the way up 211 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:17,320 against the trees, and then kind of pinned me up there. 212 00:14:17,320 --> 00:14:20,560 And it was attacking me for a second. 213 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:22,600 It was. I was putting my hands in its 214 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:25,360 mouth and stuff so it wouldn't be chewing on my neck and 215 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:27,760 everything. The bear finally walking away, 216 00:14:27,920 --> 00:14:30,920 but the horror not over. Just when they thought they were 217 00:14:30,960 --> 00:14:33,520 to clear, the bear returned. I. 218 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:35,520 Called out to Brady. I was like Brady. 219 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:37,120 You all right? Where you at, Brady? 220 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:39,560 And then? I didn't hear nothing from 221 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:42,320 Brady, but I heard the bear kind of grunting behind me and I 222 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:46,560 heard it walking and then I saw it again and it came and it 223 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,040 attacked me again. Eventually, Lowry and Cummings 224 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:53,400 able to escape, calling 911 and reuniting with their teammates. 225 00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:59,240 I spoke with the lady on the phone, the dispatch lady, and we 226 00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:03,160 kind of coordinated a plan to get the flight for life there. 227 00:15:03,440 --> 00:15:06,040 I remember telling her that's our brother up there. 228 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:10,120 Cummings airlifted to Billings Clinic Hospital, getting 60 229 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:13,520 staples in his head. Lowry taken to the same hospital 230 00:15:13,520 --> 00:15:16,600 by ambulance, treated for a compound fracture in his left 231 00:15:16,640 --> 00:15:17,920 arm. Surprised to hear that they 232 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:19,080 fought for each other. The way they did. 233 00:15:19,080 --> 00:15:22,000 No, no, not at all. Not at all. 234 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:26,080 I, I, you know, growing up in a wrestling world, it's just the 235 00:15:26,080 --> 00:15:27,320 kind of brotherhood that there is. 236 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,880 They'll fight for each other. Experts saying the outcome could 237 00:15:29,880 --> 00:15:32,880 have been much worse if they didn't have each other and. 238 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:36,400 The two against one seem to, you know, tip the scales to their 239 00:15:36,400 --> 00:15:38,640 advantage, and he was very lucky to chase the bear off that way. 240 00:15:39,080 --> 00:15:43,400 Now, as they recover, broken and bloody, their friendship 241 00:15:43,920 --> 00:15:46,680 stronger than ever. I'm happy that everyone's here 242 00:15:46,680 --> 00:15:49,800 and everyone's all right. In the last few weeks, there has 243 00:15:49,840 --> 00:15:53,200 been an increase in reported bear activity in this region, 244 00:15:53,200 --> 00:15:56,400 especially at low elevations, according to the Wyoming Game 245 00:15:56,400 --> 00:15:58,520 and Fish Department. They tell me that that is common 246 00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,840 this time of year as bears are more active in their search for 247 00:16:01,840 --> 00:16:04,160 food Guys. Thank you. 248 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:06,760 Just even think about it. That is frightening. 249 00:16:06,760 --> 00:16:12,560 Thank goodness they're all OK. I was in the hospital for five 250 00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:18,280 or six days and then they let me go and I went back to the 251 00:16:18,280 --> 00:16:21,440 college town that I was in and collected some things and my 252 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:24,880 parents took me down to my house where I live and they took care 253 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,600 of me for two weeks. I think I had a Walker and 254 00:16:28,600 --> 00:16:31,920 everything. But after two weeks, it got kind 255 00:16:31,920 --> 00:16:36,080 of that good and I would say it was like 2 months or so and now 256 00:16:36,080 --> 00:16:38,960 I was kind of lightly wrestling again, doing some of that stuff. 257 00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:43,240 And by the end of the year, I was totally wrestling and my 258 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:45,800 buddy actually got to compete again night and year. 259 00:16:46,320 --> 00:16:49,600 We were practice partners right there towards the end. 260 00:16:49,600 --> 00:16:53,240 So that was that was cool. Tonight here on the campus of 261 00:16:53,240 --> 00:16:56,320 Northwest College in Powell, an encouraging update on 4 262 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,040 wrestlers, 2 of them lucky to be alive. 263 00:16:59,600 --> 00:17:02,520 I've probably told the story 1000 times. 264 00:17:02,760 --> 00:17:04,400 Hundreds, probably. A lot. 265 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,760 A lot, and it serves up a motion every time. 266 00:17:08,160 --> 00:17:11,920 The story is well documented, even drawing national attention. 267 00:17:12,040 --> 00:17:14,920 This is Kendall Cummings. He and three of his wrestling 268 00:17:14,920 --> 00:17:18,520 teammates were shed hunting or searching for antlers about a 269 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,880 year and a half ago. Here they'd split into pairs. 270 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,200 Me and my buddy unfortunately got a attacked by a bear. 271 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:28,079 He got attacked first. I ended up grabbing the bear, 272 00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:30,520 pulling it off of him. You heard that right. 273 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:33,920 Cummings attempted to pull the bear off Brady, Lowry and. 274 00:17:34,080 --> 00:17:35,720 The bear chewed on me for a while. 275 00:17:35,800 --> 00:17:39,560 Fortunately, I lived through it and my friends came up the hill 276 00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:41,680 for me and we all made it out of their lives. 277 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,200 Oren Jackson vividly remembers first sight of his friend. 278 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,720 The most gruesome thing really was when we found Kendall. 279 00:17:47,800 --> 00:17:51,280 He was walking down to us and his entire body was just covered 280 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:55,080 in blood. Cheek was all tore up and he was 281 00:17:55,080 --> 00:17:58,120 scalloped on the head. Skin pretty much falling off his 282 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:00,440 face and covered and drenched in blood. 283 00:18:00,920 --> 00:18:04,280 Reflecting now on his impulse to physically attack a bear, 284 00:18:04,480 --> 00:18:07,720 Cummings admits he sometimes thinks to himself, who does 285 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:10,280 that? I do it from time to time, kind 286 00:18:10,280 --> 00:18:13,720 of think back on it. It was just instincts and it 287 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,680 happened so fast. Being underneath it felt huge, 288 00:18:16,680 --> 00:18:22,160 but I bet it was like 400 lbs. So what are these four friends 289 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:24,520 up to today? Well, three of them spend a lot 290 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:26,800 of time here in the team's small locker room. 291 00:18:26,800 --> 00:18:30,560 Slash home away from home. We take turns getting longer 292 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:33,120 done. Jackson is ranked #5 in the 293 00:18:33,120 --> 00:18:38,560 country at 165 lbs and wrestles this week as Northwest takes 8 294 00:18:38,560 --> 00:18:42,080 to the national tournament. This will be Jackson's last as 295 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:44,640 he heads toward graduation. My goal is to be a national 296 00:18:44,640 --> 00:18:46,560 champion. If if you're not going to the 297 00:18:46,560 --> 00:18:48,400 national tournament with that goal, then you shouldn't be 298 00:18:48,400 --> 00:18:50,360 going at all. As for Cummings? 299 00:18:50,480 --> 00:18:52,760 Kind of train with the guys and helping them get to where they 300 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:55,080 want to be. He'll graduate with a business 301 00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:58,000 degree and wants to open a real estate brokerage. 302 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:01,720 August Harrison graduated last year and is now a volunteer 303 00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:03,480 assistant coach for the Trappers. 304 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:06,080 It's awesome. I love watching the kids improve 305 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:09,680 every day and helping them get to to help them make their goal. 306 00:19:09,680 --> 00:19:12,880 He's been a big help to me, helping me, you know, perfect 307 00:19:13,360 --> 00:19:17,360 little details in my wrestling. And this is Lowry, the friend 308 00:19:17,360 --> 00:19:19,640 coming saved that Saturday afternoon. 309 00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,120 He suffered a compound forearm fracture, grinded through a 310 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:27,120 three month recovery, then completely defied odds at last 311 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:30,640 year's national tournament. Having not won much, the guy 312 00:19:30,640 --> 00:19:33,240 rolls all the way to the semifinals with three pins, 313 00:19:33,240 --> 00:19:36,120 beating a four seed and a five seed, and ends up on the podium 314 00:19:36,120 --> 00:19:38,560 in the 5th place. Lowry graduated. 315 00:19:38,600 --> 00:19:41,240 He's now a plumber and volunteer, coaching at a high 316 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,320 school in Idaho. Though distance separates him, 317 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:47,320 the four remain close. Huge success story for each and 318 00:19:47,320 --> 00:19:50,560 every one of these young men. They do still shed hunt, though, 319 00:19:50,560 --> 00:19:53,120 more prepared and vigilant. There's a lot of mountains that 320 00:19:53,120 --> 00:19:56,320 are much safer than where we were that day, so we try to hang 321 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,440 out there as much as we can. Ziegler admits he's always been 322 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:02,080 uneasy with the outings, and now more than ever. 323 00:20:02,600 --> 00:20:04,200 Yeah, I'm still uncomfortable with it. 324 00:20:04,680 --> 00:20:06,400 Just the thought of it terrifies me. 325 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:09,600 Still, he's proud. Northwest College has provided 326 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,480 every opportunity for the guys to succeed, and they've done it. 327 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:16,920 True resilience, you know, in the face of adversity, they made 328 00:20:16,920 --> 00:20:20,960 it through. If anyone else has concern about 329 00:20:20,960 --> 00:20:24,360 being out in the wild and hike and whatnot, what words of 330 00:20:24,360 --> 00:20:28,680 advice would you give to them as far as keeping the situation 331 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:33,680 from happening to them? Be prepared and definitely have 332 00:20:33,680 --> 00:20:39,080 bear spray if a guns you're saying go for it and I think I'm 333 00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:42,320 going to go buy a dog from the pound or something, start hiking 334 00:20:42,320 --> 00:20:44,320 with it. But I think that we're in the 335 00:20:44,320 --> 00:20:47,800 wrong place at the wrong time and we were, we were in his 336 00:20:47,800 --> 00:20:50,160 house. So that would be my advice. 337 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:52,800 Just be prepared. It can definitely happen, and it 338 00:20:52,800 --> 00:21:03,270 happens quick. In the United States, there are 339 00:21:03,270 --> 00:21:06,430 an average of 27 bear attacks per year. 340 00:21:07,430 --> 00:21:12,230 Of these, a small number are fatal, with studies suggesting 341 00:21:12,230 --> 00:21:16,230 an average of two to three fatal grizzly bear attacks. 342 00:21:17,390 --> 00:21:22,480 Non fatal attacks are more common, with approximately 30 to 343 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:27,680 40 reported each year. It's likely that when Kendall 344 00:21:27,680 --> 00:21:32,520 stopped fighting the bear, the bear thought he was dead, which 345 00:21:32,560 --> 00:21:37,920 in the end saved his life. Experts say that playing dead is 346 00:21:37,920 --> 00:21:41,880 exactly what you're supposed to do once you're being attacked by 347 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:45,200 a brown bear. They say to lay on your stomach, 348 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:51,080 hover your neck with your hands, and play dead, then give the 349 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,320 bear time to clear the area before you get up to escape. 350 00:21:56,720 --> 00:22:01,480 The advice online for bear encounters varies so much based 351 00:22:01,480 --> 00:22:06,520 on specific circumstances that it's probably best to do your 352 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:11,520 own research before planning any recreational activities in bear 353 00:22:11,520 --> 00:22:15,760 country. But everyone seems to agree that 354 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:21,520 hiking in groups is helpful, which is a safety tip that can 355 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:27,760 also help you in other dangerous scenarios that could be awaiting 356 00:22:27,760 --> 00:22:42,600 you. Thanks again for listening to 357 00:22:42,600 --> 00:22:46,040 Unnerved. 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