5 EYEWITNESS NEWS Sports Director Joe Schmit crossed off a bucket list item of seeing gorillas up close in the jungle.

He recently traveled to Uganda to go gorilla trekking, something that has become an economic boost for the country and is strictly regulated.

The excursion took 90 minutes of hiking to find the creatures, and he needed to get the permits months beforehand to participate.

Schmit said it was all worth it to see the beautiful animals up close for an hour.

“Looking for ways and words to describe standing 5 or 6 feet away from these majestic animals is hard to do,” Schmit says. “I kept coming back to one word: magical.”

The treks only happen once a day and lasts exactly one hour to not stress out the mammals.

Along with the limited number of tourists on the treks, there are also two armed guards, a ranger and three spotters who are looking for where the primates are hanging out at the time.