As soon as I arrived in the Yukon, I followed the advice I’d read and bought bear spray. On solo trail runs, I’d carry it, along with a bell and sometimes bangers, my heartracing, prepared to see a bruin around every turn. I worried that if I saw a bear, it would try to kill me. Once, convinced I’d stumble upon one, my anxiety spiralled out of control and I started crying in the woods. When we looked up, we saw a grizzly with two cubs, about 100 metres away.