A young woman survived a grizzly bear attack that occurred while she was jogging on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula Tuesday afternoon with non-life-threatening cuts and bruises.

Officials say 20-year-old Gabrielle Markel was running on the Cottonwood Creek Trail near Upper Skilak Lake with her friend Kaitlyn Haley, 26, around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday when they ran into a grizzly bear. The adult bear stepped out of a thick brush and pinned Markel on the ground.

The attack occurred about three-quarters of a mile from the Alaska Wildland Adventures lodge where Markel works, according to Alaska State Troopers, reports Canada Journal.

Markel tried to use pepper spray to deter the animal, but it did not seem to work. Meanwhile, Haley took off running to get help.

"They surprised a bear as they were coming around a turn, basically," said Tom Timmel, the operations manager for Alaska Wildland Adventures, the company that operates the lodge in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, reports The Daily Mail.

"Gabrielle did have bear spray with her and, I think, even attempted to use it," Timmel said. "But as it happens in these types of situations, sometimes, it was very quick and the bear was surprised."

"Haley ran from the scene back to the lodge for help, the bear was still on top of Markel when Haley last saw her," Alaska State Troopers wrote in a web posting.

"Haley and several other employees ran from the lodge back to the scene of the attack armed with bear spray. As they were advancing up the trail, they saw Markel walking towards them."

The bear, by that time, "was long gone," Timmel added.

She suffered bites and scratches to her head, back and arm.

"It sounds like she had some pretty significant injuries and will have a long road ahead of her," said Terry Bookey, Central Emergency Services captain.

Markel declined interview requests after being admitted to a hospital in Anchorage.