- If the bear is close to you, back away slowly. Never run.
- Stay calm and move deliberately. This will help calm the bear and let it know that you are not a threat.
- If you are in a group, bunch up, or join other hikers nearby.
- If you are carrying bear spray, get it ready, just in case.
- Speak to the bear in a normal tone of voice. This helps to identify you as human and satisfy the bear's curiosity.
- Leave the area or take a detour. If this is impossible, wait until the bear moves away. Always leave the bear an escape route.
There are two types of bear attacks. What you do depends on which kind, as indicated by the bear's behaviour.
1. If the bear behaviour is defensive
You surprise a bear. It may be feeding, protecting its cubs, or just unaware of your presence. It sees you as an immediate threat and feels that it must fight. This is the most common attack situation.
- If you have bear spray, use it (according to the manufacturer's instructions).
- If the bear makes contact with you, play dead! Showing submission will probably end the attack.
- Lie on your stomach with your legs apart, so that the bear cannot easily flip you over.
- Cover the back of your head and your neck with your hands.
- Keep your pack on to protect your back.
In this case, fight back!
2. If the bear behaviour is predatory
The bear stalks you along a trail and then attacks, or the bear attacks you at night or in your tent. This kind of attack is very rare.
- Try to escape into a building or car. Climb a tree.
- If you can't escape, do not play dead.
- Fight back! Use bear spray. Do whatever it takes to let the bear know that you are not about to give in.
So I've been in bear country, out in the forests of Western BC and Washington State, and in the Canadian Rockies. I only saw a few bears out there, and still the only one I've seen up close was this cub in Nova Scotia. But needless to say I was bricking it, particularly when I camped on my own out in Snoqualmie Forest near Seattle. I now know how to hang a bag of food 15 feet off the ground and 5 feet from the tree trunk.
In other news, I've got loads more photos online here, including some really cool ones of Carhenge and the Wild West. Will try to get through them all and post some up here too.
Today I did the Grouse Grind. It took me 54:57, which beats the average of 90 minutes but isn't quite in the "hikers who are physically fit" league, according to Wikipedia. What bollocks - I passed about 30 people and no-one passed me...
Off to Vancouver Island tomorrow, then more camping.
3 comments:
If you are in a group... make sure you run faster than at least one of your colleagues.
Vancouever Island is wonderful. Wild and woolly. Our bear advice was also that there are two kinds of bear; black and grizzly. Never play dead, they said, as bears are omnivores, not a bit fussy if your're flesh or fowl, or even alive or dead, and they're always hungry.In any event, the advice only applied to bear type one, the black bear. In the case of meeting a grizzly it didn't mater much what you did. We never dared to wilderness camp, so we found ourselves hygenically enclosed on a gravelled patch between the motorway and the railway tracks. I'm proud of you. Try not to get eaten. T
Continue to enjoy your diary! The reference to "bear advice" reminds me of advice to people swimming with dolphins - "they have a wicked sense of humour and like to pin you to the bottom of the pool". Fancy that? Bring on the bears!
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