Postcard from Glacier – Our Bear Encounter
You know from our last post that we had a huge day earlier in the week here in Glacier. It started with an incredible hike, turned into a sad story and then – after walking into a bear and her cub – ended with a lot of whiskey.
It’s not uncommon to spot a bear or two on the roads within Glacier. It’s actually pretty fun to spy a black bear or grizzly from the safety of a car.
Running across a bear while on foot is an entirely different story. It’s only happened to us a few times, and it’s terrifying. Over our several visits, we’ve hiked hundreds of miles in the backcountry of Glacier and are honestly surprised that we haven’t had more encounters.
Honestly, there are times – when we’re deep in the wilderness – when it consumes our thoughts. Last year, on a monster hike, we came across fresh grizzly scat and nearly lost our minds. Most of the time we keep our cool, but it’s tough to keep scary thoughts from invading the brain in those moments.
We follow the backcountry rules, though, and are very good about making lots of noise, being careful with food, etc. We know the drill and take safety precautions seriously. The thing we always keep in mind is that bears don’t want to encounter us anymore than we want to encounter them. As long as they know you’re around, they are typically happy to get out of your way. This is particularly true of black bears, who tend to be a bit more relenting than notoriously prickly grizzlies.
All bets are off when a cub is involved. Mama bears don’t mess around when a cub is in the mix.
As you might know from that last post, our bear encounter occurred near dusk when we were taking a short hike from camp over to a lake in order to clean up. We were distracted – and even numb – from the day, but we were, as always,”bear aware” as they say. Dawn and dusk tend to be the riskiest day parts for bear activity.
We were startled at our first glimpse of the bear and then all out stunned when we saw the cub. We collected our breath, safely snapped a couple pictures, headed back to camp and drank whiskey.
Here’s the really strange thing. Bears haven’t been our biggest concern on this visit because there have been mountain lion sightings near our camp.
More whiskey please!
BEARS! We saw four in Yellowstone (3 grizzlies, one black bear cub) and I was always hoping for more–when we weren’t at our campsite in Bear Country, that is….
We have a love/hate relationship with bears when we are out in the wilderness. We are laser focused on seeing them and terrified at the same time.
The title is MISLEADING. I was thinking about a whole different “BEAR” encounter….jajajaja!!! Oh & yes all bets are off when a CUB is involved. Jaja my friends call me a CUB so sad.
We were wondering why you were so quick to comment. You must have been thinking “Oh… this will be great!” LOL
Wow! That’s awesome.
Oh, wow- that is too close for my comfort!!
Not what I want to see on Vacation in the Wild
http://www.freelancetourist.com/delighted-lucky-50-final-shuttle-landing-atlantis-nasatweetup-sts135-landing-attendees/
commentluv is not working for me lately and I have not discovered the solution yet
I so want to see bears in the wild. I would be completely freaked out coming across a grizzly but what a story to tell. How likely are you to see a mountain lion? I didn’t realize they were still around. Loved seeing them in Africa but they are definite call for more whiskey!
Well, three people in the area of our camp saw them in the last week. Freaky.
WOW! love those photos! can’t believe you had the guts to take them! i’ve never seen a bear outside of a zoo (how sad is that) and i think i’d need a whole lotta whisky fast after that!
We were all “Stay calm we’re safe. Stay calm we’re safe. OK…how’s that picture coming along.”
Being surrounded by nature and wildlife is just so thrilling!
I’ve never been in the vicinity of a bear, but I’ve done some camping in areas of Africa and heard a hippo sleeping close to our tent – I was waay too scared to go outside to pee in the middle of the night…
Awesome that you guys were able to get some shots of the bears.
Oh god, Mark – we could tell you story after story. One night – in the MIDDLE of the night – we heard a major rumbling coming from the rock wall/cliff that was at the base of our camp site. We thought a mountain lion was coming down to feed and created all of these bizarre scenarios. Turns out, a big boulder had rolled down the cliff-side in the middle of the night and landed at the foot of our tent.
Whiskey is good!
Nice pics!
Word.
oh man, adrenalin! mountain lions! what if they are attracted to whiskey?
If they are attracted to whiskey then we are very stupid guys.
I think you fellas had predicted bears before you had left on your trip…just the universe delivering your request…
Wrestle those dang bears! Do it!
Pretty amazing and humbling experience ay?
Seeing wildlife (of any kind) always seems to be humbling. I think it goes back to the idea that we’re in “their territory” or something like that.
Love seeing bears in the wild either from the inside of a car or way far away! When I was a child, we used to go watch the grizzly’s at the dump just outside Yellowstone but they don’t let you do that anymore. They are amazing!
I can see why you needed that whiskey but I want to know how you can tell the difference between grizzly scat and black bear scat?
Well, there’s a little more to the story. A ranger had told us – earlier on the trail – that he had received a report of a grizzly up where we were headed. So, we that was our first clue. Plus in the bear’s search for grubs, there was lots of upturned earth in which we could see pretty huge claw marks.
How cool and scary all at the same time. Lions, and Tigers and Bears oh my! I would be downing the whiskey too. Cheers!
Yikes! You guys have seen it all on this trip!
Whiskey is definitely the right reaction to spotting bears and mountain lions. It is probably the only thing that would keep me in the tent overnight.
LOL – I hear you!
Bears scare the crap out of me. I have the same fears about them that you do. Yes, black bears are easier to scare than grizzlies. I would do a lot more hiking off the beaten path if it weren’t for bears. I guess I’ve read too much stuff lately about bear attacks that I am more fearful than I should be.
If you fear these experiences, pray you NEVER encounter a polar bear!!
We prefer gin generally!
We were perfectly happy seeing bears from he safety of our car along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Glad you are safe!
What – no big bear hug?!
Wow. As a Brit, I find it hard to cope with nature that can actually kill you. We have no lethal animals or insects in the British Isles, not even snakes, so it’s fascinating to read a practical perspective on coming quite close to death…
I would love to see a bear. I would hate to see a bear. I would love to see…you get the idea.
I would love to see a mountain lion. I would hate…
More whisky please.
Awesome! I saw a bear last summer while driving through British Colombia. We were going to take pictures but it was doing a Number 2, so it felt wrong!
Great photos guys. I’ve come across many a black bear but never a Griz and never a mountain lion. In fact I think I would rather deal with a bear than a mountain lion. But the thrill of seeing them in person and on foot, not in a car, is beautiful. I love it! Anyway, enjoy that whiskey!
Yes, trust us – you would rather come across a bear than a mountain lion. We received “mountain lion attack training” and it’s not a very promising picture (if you’re not the mountain lion).