John Steitz Wakes Up From Nap And Sees Bear Inches From His Face

When John Steitz woke up from a dream, he found himself in a nightmare.

Steitz, who had been napping after a tiring hike, opened his eyes to see a bear right in his face last weekend.

The 26-year-old Minneapolis resident, had been outdoors with his friend, Samuel Roberts, near Beaver Bay, Minn., since the early morning hours and they decided to rest at a campsite.

Steitz fell asleep and, according to the London Free Press started having a vivid dream about a dog jumping on him, scratching and licking his face.

“I opened my eyes, and there was a bear on top of me with its face in my face,” Steitz told the Duluth News-Tribune. “I kind of opened my eyes and gave a, ‘What-the-expletive?’”

Steitz leaned forward and the bear backed away about five feet away.

He admitted the bear wasn't the biggest he's ever seen, but was pretty "hefty."

“A bear seems much bigger when it’s that close,” he said.

Steitz and his friend tried to frighten the bear by yelling at it and banging pans with a hatchet, but the bear just slowly moved away, looking back every so often.

(h/t Fark.com)

Despite the close encounter, Steitz walked away without a scratch.