Grizzly bears were one of the mountain man's greatest enemies. An incident involving the animals happened to Carson in 1834 as he was hunting an elk alone. Two bears crossed paths with him and quickly chased him up a tree. One of the bears tried to make him fall by shaking the tree but was unsuccessful and eventually went away. Carson returned to his camp as fast as he could. He wrote in his "Memoirs": "bear finally concluded to leave, of which I was heartily pleased, never having been so scared in my life."