How To Hike Safely in Bear Country
Bears choose beautiful places to live. Places you want to visit and hike. So how can you safely hike in bear country?
Today we are talking about hiking in bear country. You’ll learn how to identify whether you’re looking at a black or a grizzly bear – hint – it’s not about color, plus you’ll learn how to minimize any unpleasant encounters with bears and what to do in an unfortunate bear attack.
Bear attacks are very rare, and rarer still if you are hiking in a group of three or more, so this show is not meant to scare you. In fact bear encounters are a treat!
Comparing Black and Brown (Grizzly) Bears
FACE:
Black: Straight Romanesque nose
Brown: Scooped snout
EARS:
Black: Straight upright
Brown: Rounded
SHOULDERS:
Black: Smooth
Brown: Humped
PAWS:
Black: Rounded pad, baby toe location
Brown: Oblong pad, toes above ‘line’, much longer claws (can be as long as a finger!)
SIZE:
Black: To 660 lbs
Brown: To 1300 lbs
Differences Between Black and Brown Grizzly Bears
Let’s first learn how to determine what kind of bear you are looking at, as the encounter response is different:
Black bear Characteristics
* Most common
* Range is from Canada down in to some parts of central Mexico, and in the lower 48, in both the east and the west
* Usually just black, but can be blue-black, brown, cinnamon or even white
* Taller ears
* Straight roman face profile
* Smaller claws good for digging in logs looking for bugs, or for climbing trees
Grizzly Bear Characteristics (sometimes called a brown bear)
* Can’t determine by the color. Colors range from honey to Black. Often brown.
* Instead look for the distinct humped shoulders and a head that looks like someone took a bowl and scooped out a part of the lower snout.
* Small rounded ears – I find these hard to distinguish , usually furrier
* Range from Alaska, Canada, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho and possibly in the Cascades of Washington, and in Russia
* Larger claws – can be as large as a finger in mature adult
How to Determine what kind of bear from tracks:
If you see tracks, you can tell by drawing an imaginary line horizontally across the top of the paw pad. If the baby toe is below the line, it’s a black bear. Also, black bear paws are more rounded. Grizzly paws pads are more oblong, so the line is predominantly below the toe imprints.
Bears sense of smell:
Bear brains are a third of the size of humans, but their olfactory is 5x larger. They say that a bear can smell a rotting carcass 20 miles away, and think ‘din din’!
Having a nine inch nose helps, too! It’s it’s full of A LOT more receptors than humans!
Hiking Safety Tips for Bear Country
* Find out whether and what kind of bears are in your hiking area. Check with rangers about current sightings. In parks, rangers will close trails that have bear activity – usually berries are ripe, or another popular food is ready for them.
* Avoid wearing or using scented products. Think shampoo, toothpaste, lotions, etc. Remember that big nose! Scents attract bears.
* Like Dr. Smith advises, bring a deterrent: Bear Spray. And don’t leave it in your pack. Put it in a holster on your belt for quick access. And super important: read the directions before you hit the trail. If the spray is necessary, you won’t have time.
WHAT IS BEAR SPRAY?
* Bear Spray is a pepper spray that is truly effective: more effective than a gun! Dr. Smith did a study in 2012 and found of the 133 bear encounters using Bear Spray, only three were injured, all mild. However, of the 269 bear encounters using a gun, there were 17 dead people and a couple hundred dead bears. Buy Bear Spray HERE.
* Bear spray works up to 30’ away but generally lasts under ten seconds. If you need to use it, make sure you are NOT spraying upwind, or it’ll go in your eyes. Aim low so the spray doesn’t go over the bear’s head. The spray works by temporarily burning the eyes. It does no good to “pre-emptively” spray your tent. That creates a scent that may actually ATTRACT bears!
* Plus: if you shoot a grizzly in the lower 48, YOU are required to carry out the carcass. Good luck strapping him on your backpack: a grizzly can weigh up to 1300 pounds. Black bears don’t exceed 660 lbs.
* Check with rangers about regulations of the park you are visiting. For example, Bear Spray is NOT allowed in Yosemite as they only have black bears. However in some parks, you are required to bring bear spray and if a ranger stops and you don’t have any, it can land you a hefty fine.
Hiking Tips for Bear Country
* Don’t hike SOLO. Rangers recommend at least a group of three. According to the NPS, 91% of attacks are of groups of 1-2, and most times folks were OFF TRAIL.
* Therefore, stay on trail and mind posted signs warning of trail closings due to bear activity. Listen to the rangers.
* Make noise, such as “Hey Bear”, clap or sing. The idea is not to startle or surprise a bear. This is especially important as you are coming to a bend where a bear could be around the corner, or in tall grass areas where a bear could be resting unseen. Forget about “Bear Bells”…sometimes these actually attract curious bears and are no longer recommended.
* If you aren’t hiking in a park, then use good judgement and avoid berry patches and other bear food favorites. Pay attention to your surroundings.
* Don’t bring your dog. Bears and pets don’t mix well. If you insist, keep it on a leash.
* Keep your kids close by and in sight.
* Bears are most active at night, and early morning and late afternoon, so hike during solid daylight hours is best.
* Store your food properly!!! If you are car camping, food should be in a cooler in your car or hung from a tree. If you are in a park where there are back country lockers – USE THEM! If they have poles or hooks, use them. If you are on your own, use a Bear Canister, which are pretty effective and often mandatory in parks, but bulky and heavy. Or get a lightweight, bear bag AND preferably, a OPSACK 100% odor-proof and waterproof plastic bag that goes inside the bear bag. These you hang from a tree branch.
* You want to hang you bear bag on a tree at least 100 yards downwind of your campsite.
HOW TO HANG A BEAR BAG
To hang a bear bag, tie a rock to a rope 50-100’ long. I use parachute cord. Toss the rock over a solid branch 10’ and preferably at least 15’, and then lower rock to the ground. Remove the rock and tie your food bag to the rope and then pull it up. You want the rope to be at least four feet from the trunk.
* Remember to put all scented things in your container: food, food scraps and trash – including strained food particles from your dish water that you add to your trash zip bag, toothpaste, lotions, shampoos, etc. Some even go so far as to store their stove and kitchen equipment. Clean your pots with minimal soap or just use boiling water to sanitize like I do.
* When we are careless and a bear tastes and learns to crave human foods, we are often giving that beautiful bear a death sentence.
* Black bears and grizzly bears are not attracted to menstrual periods. Polar bears are, though!
* Whenever possible, cook your meals at least 100 yards downwind from your campsite.
* If you see a carcass, move out of the area as bears are attracted. Rangers also request that you report a carcass sighting.
* Be on the lookout for bear indicators… mud prints, claw marks on trees, upturned logs, rolled over rocks, and bear poop, otherwise known as ‘scat’.
What to do when you see a bear
Most of the time, seeing a bear is a treat! But keep your distance: recommendations are 75 yds/70 m for a black bear and 100 yards/90m for a grizzly.So just give a wide berth. No photo is worth your life! Keep a safe and respectful distance from ALL wildlife!
Generally bears are afraid of humans and will run away, particularly if you are in an area where bears are hunted. Your goal: DO NOT SURPRISE A BEAR!
How you react if you encounter a bear depends on the kind of bear. Remember the markers we discussed. To me the shoulder – humped on a grizzly, and the snout, super straight on a black bear, are the easiest markers from a distance.
Most of the times, a bear will simply be checking you out to see if you are a threat or not.
Bears attack for three reasons: Predatory, territory or protective reasons.
NEVER GET BETWEEN A MAMA BEAR AND HER CUBS!!! This is the most dangerous situation. If you see cubs, don’t approach them, even if you can’t see the SOW or mother bear. She is close by. If you see cubs, slowly back away.
If you see a bear, and you are too close, you want to remember three things:
1. Stand your ground. Running might bring out a predatory response. FOr this reason, never trail run in bear territory.
2. Get your deterrent ready, ideally bear spray.
3. Slowly wave your hands to look larger, yell “Hey Bear” to let it know you are human, bang pots and pans, throw rocks. Usually this will do the trick.
Most people fear grizzlies more than black bears, but if you are attacked, it is the black bear that is trying to get you. A grizzly will more often just do a bluff charge.
If a black bear attacks you, it is being predatory. Fight back: punch him in the eyes and nose.
GRIZZLY BLUFF CHARGE VERSUS GRIZZLY ATTACK
If a grizzly sees you, it is likely to stand up to check you out. Speak calmly and back up slowly. Don’t appear like a threat.
A grizzly may do a “Bluff Charge”. When a grizzly is bluffing, it’s ears are UP and it will HUFF and make noise. As terrifying as it will be, STAND YOUR GROUND. Usually that’s the end of it, and after the bluff charge you can slowly back up again, and have a cool story to tell your friends.
However, if the grizzly has its ears DOWN, its head LOW and is QUIET, be prepared to spray your bear spray. You are about to be attacked.
CONTROL YOUR PANIC so you don’t spray too soon. Wait until the bear is about 30’ away, and then aim LOW so you don’t shoot the spray over his head. REMEMBER, bear spray is super effective.
If you are ignoring my advice and don’t bring bear spray, then unlike the black bear attack where you fight, with a grizzly, you play dead. Ideally, you lie face down on the ground with your backpack on, spread your legs, and then place your hands on your head with your elbows out to make it harder to turn you over. Your pack will get the brunt of it. If you roll up into a cannonball, you’ll probably get one bite before he leaves.
*** I want to remind you that this is an EXTREMELY RARE situation ***
The information given on the podcast and in this post comes from reliable sources, such as the National Park Service, the REI website and more.
PARTING STORIES:
On my two week section hike of the Appalachian Trail with Jane and Gerry, we were really beat one evening. Generally we started looking for a camping area around 4pm. On this section, we weren’t having any luck finding a suitable place for all three tents and ended up more scattered than normal in a subpar location.
Even though I was pooped, I couldn’t fall asleep right away, and around 11 pm, I heard what I thought was Gerry, who was tented closest to me, outside my tent. I was wondering why she was going to the bathroom so close to my tent instead of nearer to hers. The next morning, when I stepped outside to go to the bathroom, I saw a fresh pile of bear skat that most definitely wasn’t there the day before. So it turns out that “Gerry” was in fact a black bear (the only kind in NC).
We had followed procedures and our food was stored far away, and was untouched, as were we. Luckily, I just got a funny story out of it.
When my friend, Venti and I were in Glacier National Park, we were lucky to have several grizzly sightings. Mostly from the safety of our car in what they refer to as BEAR JAMS, where folks stop their cars to watch to the distress of the rangers. But seeing that grizzly emerge from the woods and wander down to the lake is one of my favorite memories! What a delight to see such a magnificent creature in an equally magnificent setting!
Bears aren’t stupid: they live in some of the most beautiful places on earth! So go out and enjoy the scenery, but just be bear smart. If you follow these guidelines, and pack along your common sense as well as your gear, you’re going to be fine.
And like always, I prepare a PDF on all episodes. You can get them absolutely FREE if you sign up for my monthly email. Note that I said monthly! I don’t sell your name or spam you – promise! In this email, you’ll also find other tips and deals not mentioned on the show. SUBSCRIBE HERE FOR FREE!
Visit ActiveTravelAdventures.com to subscribe or just shoot me an email at Kit at Active Travel Adventures dot com. I’d love to hear from you and what you think of the show!
Links mentioned in this episode:
Backpacker magazine article 9 Bear Safety Tips
Bear country episodes: Glacier National Park, Pisgah National Forest, Banff (Canada)
Center For Wildlife Information – (the cool bear graphic)
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