Evading bears and hiking in a Hokkaido storm – then rewarded with a rainbow

Evading bears and hiking in a Hokkaido storm – then rewarded with a rainbow

I squint into the fog, my eyes streaming in the cold wind that whips over the mountain. Did that rock just move? I give the bell hanging from my backpack a shake, wipe the tears from my eyes and look again at the dark shape 50 metres away. Jingle jingle. Nothing stirs; indeed, it is a rock and not a bear. We continue up the mountainside while keeping an eye out for movement. My partner and I are in the middle of a multi-day, 50km summer trek thr…