Against the Odds is a podcast about stories of survival. This series is produced by Wondery and hosted by adventurers Mike Corey and Cassie De Pecol. The episode I listened to is about Alex Messenger, an outdoors enthusiast, who survived a bear attack. The tale is incredible and I highly recommend this show to anyone that enjoys thrilling adventure stories.
At the beginning of the episode, Messenger describes how he became infatuated with the outdoors. After experiencing it at an early age, he went on trips into nature whenever he could.
In 2005, Messenger went on a 42-day canoe trip to the remote wilderness in northern Canada with six companions. On day 29, he went on a solitary hike. When he reached the top of a ridge, he encountered a 600 hundred pound grizzly bear. He unsuccessfully tried to scare the bear off by shouting at it. The bear charged and and attacked him. He initially dodges the bear’s paw swipes but he is eventually battered to the ground. The grizzly then sinks its teeth into his leg and Messenger passes out after being in excruciating pain. Fortunately, it runs away after thinking he is dead.
Luckily, Messenger’s companions are not far away and they dress him with bandages and disinfectant. The problem is that they are in the wilderness without a hospital close by. Messenger is not in immediate danger, so no distress call is made. For the next few days, Messenger and his friends continue to paddle their way back to civilization. However, a serious infection develops in Messenger’s wound and he is rescued by helicopter. He is taken to a hospital and treated with abundant doses of antibiotics. He recovered and eventually went back to taking trips into the wilderness.
I highly recommend this episode of Against the Odds. To hear Messenger talk about his ordeal in his own words is chilling. Still, there is an inspirational aspect to this episode when you hear how this did not deter him from going on other adventures.
Messenger wrote about his experience in a book called The Twenty-Ninth Day. It can be borrowed from a library in Westchester County or read as an ebook.
Michael Walsh is an Adult Services Librarian at the Will Library. He is currently reading Back to the Dirt by Frank Bill.