US Todd Orr says in a Facebook video that shows his face covered in blood and wounds that he survived two attacks by a bear in southwest Montana.
On Saturday, he explained he went hiking in Madison valley, hollering "hey bear" to avoid surprising the animal.
But when he came out into a meadow, a bear, who had cubs, charged at him.
"I yelled a number of times so she knew I was human and would hopefully turn back. No such luck. Within a couple seconds, she was nearly on me. I gave her a full charge of bear spray at about 25 feet. Her momentum carried her right through the orange mist and on me," Mr Orr wrote on Facebook.
He said he fell to the ground, and tried to protect his neck with his hands. "She was on top of me biting my arms, shoulders and backpack."
"The force of each bite was like a sledge hammer with teeth. She would stop for a few seconds and then bite again. Over and over. After a couple minutes, but what seemed an eternity, she disappeared."
He picked himself up and began heading back, hoping he would not suffer too much blood loss yet not wanting to stop to dress his wounds should the bear approach him again.
Ten minutes later his fear was realised.
"She was instantly on me again. I couldn't believe this was happening a second time! Why me? I was so lucky the first attack, but now I questioned if I would survive the second."
Again, he attempted to protect his neck with his arms and kept tight to the ground to protect his face and eyes as she bit into his arms.
"One bite on my forearm went through to the bone and I heard a crunch. My hand instantly went numb and wrist and fingers were limp and unusable. The sudden pain made me flinch and gasp for breath."
He said he kept motionless in the hope the bear would stop.
"Another couple bites to my head and a gash opened above my ear, nearly scalping me. The blood gushed over my face and into my eyes. I didn't move. I thought this was the end - she would eventually hit an artery in my neck and I would bleed out in the trail.
But then, Mr Todd said, she suddenly stopped and stood on top of him.
"Then she was gone."
He said he assessed that he'd hold enough blood to reach his truck and drive to hospital. He called emergency and was met by a medical team when he arrived.
He says X-rays revealed the bear had chipped his ulna bone in his forearm and received stitches to the gashes on his head and arms.
"Not my best day, but I'm alive," he said. "So thankful I'm here to share with all of you."
